My car ran out of gas. I put some more gas in it, but it won't start.

Question

When I turned the ignition, it made a noise like it was trying to start, but the engine never did completely stare. I think that maybe it is clogged up or something from the last few times I ran out of gas. Should I try to turn on the ignition for a couple of minutes, or would that be bad for the car?

Answer 1

1 how much gas did u put in it   a gallon is often not enough2."last few times??/" fuel pump is cooled by the gas,,,running out may have burned it up...3 turn key to on[not start]if you crank it for a couple of minuits u will also be buying a new starter 300/400 dollars,,,,  take gas cap off and listen for pump humming...4 FI system may be airbound...mechanic can check  5 are you saving money by not putting in gas and running out?

Answer 2

Some cars have an Inertia switch which keeps the fuel pump from coming on in case of a crash.  I don't know how running the tank dry could turn this off, nor do I know where you would find the button to push to reset it since you don't say what kind of vehicle you have, but this is a possibility.

Answer 3

repeatedly running a car out of fuel is hard on everything. most newer vehicles have a submerged fuel pump and the fuel in the tank keeps it cool, when you run a car without fuel you run the risk of burning up the fuel pump, the other possibility is the fuel filter has clogged with all the trash that accumulates in the bottum of  a tank, either of these issues will prevent the vehicle from starting.

Answer 4

Don't just run the starter, that would be bad. I had the same problem last week. I just had air in my lines. What I did was I would try to start it. When I got those few revolutions for the first few seconds, I would get on the accelerator until it started to run again. If that doesn't work, you might have gotten some sludge in your fuel filter and you just need to clear the blockage.

Answer 5

You could have sucked some junk from the bottom of your gas tank into the fuel filter.  That would be the easy fix.  

With the door open, after you turn the key on, you should be able to hear the fuel pump turn on briefly.  If you don't hear it come on, you may have burnt up the fuel pump.  They don't like to run dry.  

The last, and least likely scenario is the fuel strainer for the fuel pump could be clogged with debris.