- Recently, a mid 90's Buick was involved in
an encounter with a UFO. The vehicle involved was parked overnight outside
the home of an abducted couple when the UFO arrived. The next morning,
the husband went out to start the vehicle which had an excellent track
record of starting every time for several years. However, the engine would
not even fire even after cranking the engine numerous times. This particular
vehicle's gas tank was a little less than 1/4 full the day before,
and it has analog needle-type gauges for temperature, oil pressure,
etc...This particular model vehicle also has one small red warning
light near each gauge to warn the driver of any serious engine
parameter associated with each gauge.
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- What made this even more strange was how the vehicle
behaved. When the vehicle did not start, at one point the man turned
the key to the full "off" position to go back into the house.
However, the four small red warning lights on the dash remained ON,
even though the analog gauges dropped to their lowest values. Yet the ignition
switch was turned off and the key was in the man's hand! Although
the radio was also off as were all other dashboard lights, the red
warning lights beside each of the analog gauges remained ON. This odd behavior
had never been observed before with this vehicle. He repeatedly turned
the key on and off, which did nothing to correct the problem. The red indicator lights continued
to stay on.
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- After considerable cranking the engine started to fire
and ran a few seconds, but then sputtered out. This happened repeatedly.
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- The husband was about to give up and call for help but
then had an idea - since the gas tank was low perhaps the gasoline
and alcohol had separated, leaving only ethanol in the bottom
of the tank. He doubted any engine will start and run on
pure ethanol. To test his theory, he grabbed a gas can from his
garage and poured a gallon of gas into the tank. The engine roared to life
and ran properly. When the engine was shut off about one minute later,
all the red lights also turned off properly.
-
- Apparently a field of energy from the UFO (propulsion
system?) had separated the fuel in the gas tank overnight and
also "crashed" at least one of the microprocessors that run the
vehicle and control the lights or magnetized a relay. This strange behavior
with the warning lights indicates that either one of the vehicle's processors
had crashed, or a relay was somehow magnetized and would not release once
energized. A magnetized relay will continue supplying power to the
warning light system, even with the key in the off position and no
power being supplied to the relay's (electromagnetic) coil.
-
- It may have been an acceleration of time related
to the UFO that caused the problem with the fuel. A
phenomenon known as phase separation (more on that later) can
take place with blended gasoline and alcohol. Today, virtually all gasoline
contains 10% alcohol. However, it usually takes quite some time for gasoline
to separate. The presence of the overhead UFO may have accelerated the
separation of the fuel, causing the car to be unable to start. Or, perhaps
the overhead vehicle had somehow altered the chemistry of the fuel inside
the gas tank.
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- After running properly, he has reported that the vehicle
has been driven without further problems for several days since the encounter.
-
- We're not talking about an empty gas tank,
with a fuel pump trying to suck nothing but fumes. This event was about
a gas tank which was slightly less than a 1/4 full and the vehicle would
not start.
-
- History of the gas gauge in the above vehicle indicated
it has been quite reliable. Also, he stated that his vehicle was running
correctly the day before the abduction event when the engine was turned
off. When he filled his tank up later that morning, he found that indeed
the tank was not completely empty when he added the gallon of gasoline.
-
- A little research reveals that gasoline has a specific
gravity of about .739 and ethanol has a specific gravity of .815.
Though these two have a similar specific gravity, ethanol is clearly heavier
than gasoline. There is information on the web about these two fuels separating, which
is called phase separation. EPA recommends gas tanks should be
kept full when stored, such as those used in boats to prevent
this phase separation. Gasoline today is commonly called E10 gasoline,
indicating it is 10% ethanol. This can also cause damage to some boat engines
not designed to handle it.
-
- This fuel separation problem could happen to anyone, anywhere
and at anytime. It could happen in the heat of summer or the
dead of winter in some remote location, putting lives in peril.
-
- When you run your gas tank down near empty below 1/4
full, there is also a real risk of clogging the fuel filter with crud
when the in-tank fuel pump sucks up the sediment often present in
the bottom of gas tanks. If the fuel filter is badly clogged with sediment
the vehicle still will not start even after adding a full tank of
gas, until the filter is replaced. There is a fuel filter inside all gas
tanks and another one usually near the engine to protect the
pump inside the gas tank and the fuel injectors from clogging. If this
filter becomes obstructed, the entire gas tank must be removed in a service
station or dealer. Then the pump in the tank can be removed
and the filter replaced, a labor intensive task which is also very
expensive. The actual filter itself is a low cost part.
-
- So the lesson here is a simple one - don't let your
gas tank level drop below 1/4 full! And if you must run your tank
lower on a trip and park somewhere over-night? Don't turn your
engine off until you're at a location where gasoline is readily available,
in case it won't restart the next day.
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- Ted Twietmeyer
- >www.data4science.net
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