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Gas Cap Proximity Detector

No more lost petrol caps.
  (+5)
(+5)
  [vote for,
against]

RFID (or some similar technology - radioactive lint, possibly?) embedded in your fuel cap sends a constant signal to a sensor in your car, if the signal is ever lost via the fuel cap itsself ever going out of range (IE you or a lazy attendant forgets to replace it before you leave the filling station) triggers an alarm inside the car alerting you that your gas cap is missing.

I recently loaned my car to a friend (who, might I add, didnt actually put any gas in it before giving it back)and when I went to fill it up today found my gas cap to be missing. I guess it serves me right. I could write a whole page on this but it would just turn into a rant, so Il leave it be.

andrew1, Apr 06 2008

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       [+]   

       (Extra [+] for not ranting)
8th of 7, Apr 06 2008
  

       I've often wondered why the filler cap doesn't have a tether on it, I'm sure I've driven a car with one once or maybe I'm just thinking of the little fuel cans that have them.
marklar, Apr 06 2008
  

       No, most cars have a tether for the petrol cap, as far as I'm aware.
MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 06 2008
  

       I think the tether is so that you don't lose your car when you take the cap off.
Ling, Apr 06 2008
  

       See what you do is to stuff a rag down in there and you got yerself a molautov cocktail.   

       If you forget to put your cap back on, does that create a fuel-airhead bomb?
normzone, Apr 06 2008
  

       Most cars have a tether, and most cars these days will light the "check engine" light if the cap is not replaced--not that that is particularly clear.   

       You wouldn't need a signal or RFID or anything, just to sense a closed circuit when the cap is replaced. I have lost caps before on previous cars, so it would have been helpful (but pointless in the face of the simpler tie-on). Luckily I live in a state now where only trained professionals can fuel my car, and they're much better at remembering the cap than I am.   

       How about a cap that you don't take on and off? When you open the fuel filler door (which in my car is done by remote) an internal valve opens which allows fueling. It closes when the door is closed.
partdavid, Apr 06 2008
  

       //I live in a state now where only trained professionals can fuel my car// Say what?
MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 06 2008
  

       On older Range Rovers, the cap was integral with the filler pipe top, and hinged away so it couldn't be detached and lost. Land Rovers just had a little length of chain, exactly measured so that when the cap was left to dangle it left a distinctive scratch in the paintwork just below the fuel filler.
8th of 7, Apr 06 2008
  

       I also live in a state where only trained professionals can fuel my car, and they're much better at forgetting than I am. *grumblegrumble* The trouble is that I don't normally get out of the car at a gas station, so I haveno opportunity to check and make sure it went back on.   

       (Oregon. There is no such thing as self-serve gasoline in Oregon. Nobody quite know why, but it's nice for not getting smelly hands and having oil on your shoes.)
gisho, Apr 07 2008
  

       // getting smelly hands and having oil on your shoes //   

       Sounds like you're doing it wrong ....
8th of 7, Apr 07 2008
  

       It seems that after 10 mins instruction, some can become trained professionals. Since it took me 8 years, I obviously wasted the better years of my life and should have become a forecourt attendant.
Ling, Apr 07 2008
  

       Can I have a tether for my radiator cap too please?   

       Lost that once - not good.
FishFinger, Apr 07 2008
  

       //forecourt attendant// sp. Propulsion Administrator
jtp, Apr 07 2008
  

       //I live in a state now where only trained professionals can fuel my car//
Sounds like union rules have been confused for State Law.
coprocephalous, Apr 07 2008
  

       Next time I go to the states I must remember to fill up in Oregon. I always prefer to have my car filled by a trained professional in case I accidentally fill up a bin / a flowerpot / my shoes by mistake. Better safe than sorry.
wagster, Apr 07 2008
  

       Hey gisho, how much does a gallon of gas cost in Oregon, with the added premium of paying an attendant?   

       I miss the old days of "fill 'er up?" and having the windshield washed and the tires checked.
Noexit, Apr 07 2008
  

       //I miss the old days of "fill 'er up?" and having the windshield washed and the tires checked//
And don't forget the air-line bell that rang as you drove over it.
AbsintheWithoutLeave, Apr 07 2008
  
      
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