Anyone in the Midlands who can replace and recalibrate fuel strip?

[Lord Snooty]

My 2010 1200GSA has the dreaded fuel strip problem. Tried local dealer for some BMW goodwill but BMW say no Is there any independent in the Midlands area who can replace the fuel strip and then do the necessary recalibration? I will try this avenue first before going the BMW dealer route and pay their extortionate labour rates.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Try Mikeyboy over in Melton Mowbray Mike. He should be able to sort you out

 

[Lord Snooty]

Ta Chris

 

[chablis]

Come on, grab life by the b4lls and do it yourself.

Have not read the threads to fix this, a full take of gas, a piezo electric lighter module and crossed fingers.

Just let us know how you get on, as for some reason the full on failures seem not to report back.

 

[Lord Snooty]

If it was a simple case of replacing a fuel sender in the fuel tank then I would but the fuel strip needs a GS911 and the right software to recalibrate it and I have neither.

(Probably don't have the competence either )

 

[chablis]

Come on, grab life by the b4lls and do it yourself.

Have not read the threads to fix this, a full take of gas, a piezo electric lighter module and crossed fingers.

Just let us know how you get on, as for some reason the full on failures seem not to report back.

Don't think your are any less a bloke for admitting this.

I've had two done, both by the dealers, I've no idea what I will do when it goes again, and I own a GS911

 

[Beemerman59]

Has it totally died i.e reading zero with the warning light or is it just out of calibration i.e reading 2/3 full when its nearly empty? If its the former you either try the piezo trick which sometimes works/sometimes doesn't or replace with new. If its out of calibration you just need the GS911 or dealer to recalibrate.

 

[Lord Snooty]

Beemerman, you've got me thinking now. It has not totally died as I do have a read out which is inaccurate causing me to run out of fuel a few weeks ago - I had no reserve warning light and the range reading was showing 66 miles when I ground to a halt on the M42 Maybe a recalibration is all that is needed.

 

[Mistacat]

If you want to recalibrate the old fuel strip with a GS911 it has to be done Dry. ( best to take it out of the tank and leave it for a couple of days to dry properly).

 

[Lord Snooty]

So what is involved in recalibration then - my reading of that is that it takes place with the strip out of the tank, is that right?

 

[Beemerman59]

Yes, the strip has to be dry. You need to remove the fuel pump so you can unclip the strips connector and then you can release it from the filler end to get it out. I used a big screwdriver and hammer to undo the retaining ring that holds in the pump after disconnecting the FPC and fuel strip connectors. Be careful not to damage the seal pulling the pump out. Its a bit fiddly the first time you do it but easy enough. I left the strip a day to dry out fully. Then you reconnect the strip to the pump again (outside of the tank), reconnect both connectors (FPC and fuel strip) on top of the fuel pump and then its a matter of recalibrating with a GS911 if you have one.

Its a lot easier I found with not much fuel in the tank so you can easily fiddle getting the strip located back properly. Then put it all back together again and hopefully you have an accurate fuel gauge again. If you need a bit more detail let me know.

 

[Bendy toy]

Could it be the fiddly refitting that leads to the fuel strip getting damaged enough for it to fail early.

 

[sparky56]

Hi Lord Snooty, my fuel strip failed in the same way at the weekend, dropped to six bars 100 miles after filing up then, stayed on six bars, occasionally flicking to five bars then back to six again. Fortunately I still have the habit from my last bike of resetting the trip after each fill up. The gauge went back to full again after filling up.

Could you please keep us updated on if your fuel strip could be re-calibrated successfully or not as it could be worth me trying to re-calibrate mine.

Thanks in advance.

Steve.

 

[Beemerman59]

Hi Lord Snooty, my fuel strip failed in the same way at the weekend, dropped to six bars 100 miles after filing up then, stayed on six bars, occasionally flicking to five bars then back to six again. Fortunately I still have the habit from my last bike of resetting the trip after each fill up. The gauge went back to full again after filling up.

Could you please keep us updated on if your fuel strip could be re-calibrated successfully or not as it could be worth me trying to re-calibrate mine.

Thanks in advance.

Steve.

I've re-calibrated mine successfully

 

[sparky56]

That's great news thanks, I'll give it a go when I can do without the bike for a few days to dry the strip out.

 

[Lord Snooty]

Mmmm, I am going to call my local dealer again about this. If it is just a matter of recalibration rather than replacement then I will get them to do it. Like Sparky I just need to book it in when I can do without it for a few days to let the strip dry off.

Sparky - do you have a GS911 then?

 

[Lord Snooty]

Beemerman - just a thought, why does it take a day to dry it out?, surely the petrol vapours will evaporate completely within an hour or so?

 

[Beemerman59]

Beemerman - just a thought, why does it take a day to dry it out?, surely the petrol vapours will evaporate completely within an hour or so?

Yeah probably but the strip is encased inside a plastic sleeve which will slow evaporation. You could quicken the process I guess using gentle heat - hair dryer etc., but you're guessing to an extent as you can't see the film. I wasn't going to try and open the casing up to see.

 

[sparky56]

I don't have a GS911 at the moment but I'm planning to do my own servicing so it's on my shopping list, I'm scanning the for sale section daily.