Fuel Guage Problem

RD.

Active member
UKGSer Subscriber
Joined
May 5, 2010
Messages
436
Reaction score
5
Location
Lower Normandy, France.
Hello All,

I have a problem with the fuel guage on my 2010 GSA.

I've been using my bike throughout the winter and haven't sprayed it with ACF 50 as per usual and most of the rides have been cold, wet and dark so my bike has suffered some corrosion and the battery has taken a beating on short rides using heated grips, fog lights and charging my phone etc

About 4 weeks ago I rode home on a dark wet evening and noticed I was low on petrol and the amber light was illuminated however being wet and tired I just wanted to get home and thought I'd fill up on my next outing.
Last week I geared up and got my bike out of my dry but mouldy garage to lay some roses down on my mum's memorial about 120 miles away. I forgot about the very low fuel and tried to start my bike about 5 or 6 times and then realised that the small amount of fuel may have evapourated, so I asked the wife to drive 3 miles away to buy a can of petrol which she did happily............ :censor::headbat:forry:eh:hide

Upon receiving the petrol and filling my GSA with a gallon of the finest, the fuel guage didn't move up from the depths of despair, the low fuel amber light was still illuminated and the amber warning triangle was also lit but I tried again to start my GSA but after a few attempts the battery didn't have the guts / amps to do the job so I decided to get a deep cycle battery from my garage, remove the saddle and jump start the bike and about the 2nd or 3rd push of the stater buttom she fired up - Hooray!!

I then rode 10 miles and filled up at a fuel station but kept my bike ticking over and used a spare key to open the fuel cap.
My son (pillion) and I then rode the remaining 110 miles or so to my mum's memorial.
When we left the crematorium I was concerned that the battery was fooked and I'd be calling out recovery but suprisingly she fired up first time without any problems however since all this occurred, the fuel guage hasn't moved up from the bottom, low fuel amber light and the amber warning triangle are still illuminated.

Any ideas what the problem is and how to fix it?

Helpful ideas appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich.
 
Inside the tank is a strip that measures the fuel.Unfortunately they do pack in quite regulary. If you have extended warranty they will change for you. If you haven't but have it serviced at a main dealer, they may help you with some of the cost.(This is a common known problem) Think it's about £180 but someone will correct me if that's wrong. I have heard it can be recalibrated.(Riders in Cardiff told me this) however not sure that that is true.Well it didn't work on mine. :thumb
 
There are tons of threads about this on here. Inaccurate gauge can can sometimes be recalibrate (sometimes not always) but yours is broken. There is a trick using a pizo spark ignition thing that can sometimes weld the tracks together using the high voltage from the sparker. Have a search, it will be easy to find the thread. Other option is to buy a new fuel strip but it really should be calibrated to the bike by either the dealer or a GS911. Some on here have reported theirs worked fine without calibrating so you pays your money and takes your chance.
 
Make sure fuel tank is full, then disconnecting the battery for a least 1 hour. This worked for me on my 08 GSA.
 
My 2009 Adventure fuel gauge is on drugs,,,, it shows 2 bars then jumps to 5,, then back to nothing and puts the light on, then after a while comes back to 2 bars, light off ???

I've started working out my fuel reserve by resetting the trip as I did with my sports bikes,,,

Is this a known issue ?
 
My 2009 Adventure fuel gauge is on drugs,,,, it shows 2 bars then jumps to 5,, then back to nothing and puts the light on, then after a while comes back to 2 bars, light off ???

I've started working out my fuel reserve by resetting the trip as I did with my sports bikes,,,

Is this a known issue ?

Yes see above
 
Marki,, is it a new fuel gauge sensor, a re-calibration or a hopeless pursuit to try and fix?
 
Hello Gents,

Thanks for your posts and the info.

I'll give the full fuel tank and disconnect the battery idea a try but will disconnecting the battery cause other issues?
It looks like an expensive trip to the dealership is forecast. :(

Thanks again,

Rich.
 
You might get away with recalibrating. If you have a GS911 already it's free to try and up to you if you want to spend the money at the dealer if you don't. There is no guarantee it will work for you. If it works it will most likely screw up again at some later date. I have had 2 fuel strips under warranty and gave up replacing them when the warranty was up and it went inaccurate again. I have recalibrate it and it's not too bad but like yours it still goes up and down a bit. It seems to be accurate at the top and the bottom of the scale but I ignore it now and use the trip. At least unlike the OP it isn't completely stuffed with the warning light on all the time.
 
I think the float type only has 2 wires going to it where the strip has 3. As per robbo though if the guage is still working properly it's probanly a float lol.

Que everyone saying they have a strip sensor and it has never given them any issues!
 
I think the float type only has 2 wires going to it where the strip has 3. As per robbo though if the guage is still working properly it's probanly a float lol.

Que everyone saying they have a strip sensor and it has never given them any issues!

Actually it's 4 for the film sensor type and 2 if you have the float system.
In a bid to be helpfull I will tell you how to quickly test the film sensor .
Ignition off and remove the panel to get better access to the pump connections.
Remove the plug with the 4 wires so it exposes the 4 pins sticking up in the bottom of the fuel pump flange

Set your multiple meter to ohms and measure the outer 2 pins ( known as pins 1&4). These should measure between 30- 40 ohms anything else it's duff. If that's ok measure the inner 2 pins (2&3) these should be between 2.200 - 2.800 ohms. This is the circuit that usually causes the problems and you probably find you get no reading at all - fecked
 
Great post! having issues with my sensors I recon only one is working will give this a try.

Actually it's 4 for the film sensor type and 2 if you have the float system.
In a bid to be helpfull I will tell you how to quickly test the film sensor .
Ignition off and remove the panel to get better access to the pump connections.
Remove the plug with the 4 wires so it exposes the 4 pins sticking up in the bottom of the fuel pump flange

Set your multiple meter to ohms and measure the outer 2 pins ( known as pins 1&4). These should measure between 30- 40 ohms anything else it's duff. If that's ok measure the inner 2 pins (2&3) these should be between 2.200 - 2.800 ohms. This is the circuit that usually causes the problems and you probably find you get no reading at all - fecked
 
Hi,

Thanks for the useful info.

Excuse my lack of auto electrical knowledge but does it matter or effect the resistance reading if the fuel tank is empty or full?

Thanks,

Rich.


Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk
 
The strip doesn't work as a resistor in the sense that a float does so fuel level won't matter much. One part of the strip is a heater and the other part is more like a thermometer. The heater heats, the fuel cools and the more fuel the more cooling over the length of the strip. Not a very scientific explanation on how it works but you should get the rough idea.
The main idea of the resistance check is you should get some and not an open circuit. It won't check the accuracy of the sensor.
For anybody with a constant warning light and you just want to get rid of it without paying for a new sensor. Have a search on the forum, there is a post about how to disconnect the strip and fiddle the reading for around half tank. Obviously you loose anything useful from the gauge but you do get rid of the distracting warning light
 


Back
Top Bottom