Fuel Guage Is Incorrect...AGAIN

[rugbug]

This is really starting to p**s me off and I wonder if any other GS owners have had experience of this.

9 months ago, fuel guage started to show incorrect fuel level and began to fluctuate badly. Sender relay was replaced under warranty. Seemed to go away...

...but has come back. Guage never accurately shows a full and empty tank's worth of petrol. The sender was replaced again last week, under warranty, but now it's worse, as the guage will now fluctuate when the tank is full of fuel!

I have had the tank on and off this week to see if it makes any difference - alas, no.

It is no going back a THIRD time, but I am not instilled with confidence.

I would like to hear from anyone who has experience of this.

Many thanks.

 

[MikeO]

Clean up the contacts on the plug under the right hand side panel. It's exposed to a lot of road crap and, after a while, the contacts corrode. This affects the voltages sent to the RID and results in the fluctuations you're experiencing. You'll find the fuel warning light more reliable - this is because it relies on a simple on/off signal, rather than a specific voltage...

Unplug it (it's a flat 4 pin connector) and use a little rolled up wet & dry to clean the contacts - I use some silicone lube as well. It's a job I have to do every 3 months or so (depending on the weather I've been using the bike in). It takes about 5 minutes.

I always rely on the trip meter, rather than the fuel gauge, on this or any other bike, though.

Mike

 

[Jimb]

Clean This

Clean the sender wiper, its exposed in the fuel and gets craped up, clean with fine ( 600 ) or finer wet & dry on a lolipop stick wetted with petrol then clean with switch cleaner, also remove the float arm, its only clipped to the wiper then slide the wiper out so you can turn it over, its captive so don't try to take it completly out then clean the two little contacts and set them out a bit more so there is a better contact.

Test the assy before reinstalling in the tank, the sampling rate is once every 10 secs or so, hold the float arm up and switch on the ignition if the RID shows all bars then the guage and sender are OK, BUT beware when you reinstall that it can bind at the upper level, you won't know this till you fill up again, but if it then shows 1 bar less then its catching inside, the whole process has to be done again but just set the float arm out a bit, only a touch.

I speak here from experience, It took me 3 attenpts before I finally cured it, now I know how to do it though its easy.

 

[rugbug]

Thanks fellas for that - I am going to attempt this tomorrow. What concerns me a tad [as an afterthought] is that TWO different delaerships cannot get this done correctly and that it takes other riders to establish an alternative solution [which will most likely work!]

[head banging against nearest wall...]


Ta.

 

[Jimb]

This is what it looks like

here you go

 

[MikeO]

RB,

I've just done the throttle cables on my bike, which involved removing the tank. This is the connector I mentioned, that generally causes the problem...

These contacts need cleaning.

It might be an idea to see if that cures your problem, before taking the tank to bits.

If you do end up having to strip the tank's internals out, it's a good idea to have a spare gasket (like a large O ring) to re-fit, as the one you'll take out will probably expand and be impossible to re-fit, unleass you dry it out in the airing cupboard or something...

Mike

 

[rugbug]

this is starting to get on me wick now...the fuel guage has been fluctuating so badly in the last couple of days, even showing as 'nil' for about 20 miles, no orange fuel light, so no idea if i am running on reserve or not. The guage has been jumping about before this point.

Took it too the first fuel station on my return home, low fuel light now comes on! But only need about 25.75l. It's all gone tits up.

I am off work tomorrow so I will try cleaning the connectors to see if this has any effect.

 

[Jimb]

Rugbug

It'll have to come off and clean the wiper and contacts, is it a 30 ltr tank ??? if so then there is more room in it so you can bend the senderarm out a bit so it won't catch on the inside.

 

[Spout]

"If you do end up having to strip the tank's internals out, it's a good idea to have a spare gasket (like a large O ring) to re-fit, as the one you'll take out will probably expand and be impossible to re-fit, unleass you dry it out in the airing cupboard or something...
"
A smearing of petroleum jelly can help the 'oversize' o-ring seat properly (if you haven't a new one).

 

[The Phantom Pieman]

If it is of any help mine does the same sort of thing ... once it gets to three bars, it has a habit of totally disappering, and then may be comeing back every now and then. Seems to be sensitive to whether the bike is warm or not, and the yellow light doesn't come one!!

I work on the basis that when the yellow light comes on I have about 5 litres of fuel left ...... or so I have been told

 

[Guzzler]

Hey guys, I just did an extensive ride around the western United States (~6,000 miles) with many fill up's.

About the fuel gauge... It is really sensitive to fuel additives in each brand of gasoline. I started my trip with a perfectly working fuel gauge. Filled up one time, the gauge went stupid on me. Filled up later at another brand, gauge started working properly again.

After several sessions of this, I started to see a corralation with what brand of gasoline and which state I was in.

Here in the USA we have different fuel additives (oxygenators) thrown in the gasoline, dictated by our "Enviroment Protection Agency" (EPA) to help with pollution. Some have more or less ethenol, MTBE, alcohol, etc. thrown in. And each brand (Chevron, Mobil, Exxon, etc) have their own detergent additive to "clean" your system (Techron for example).

What it boils down to, is each one had a different effect on the fuel gauge. Some wouldn't effect the gauge at all (working pefectly). Others would mess it up a bit (wouldn't show full, one or two bars on the RID missing). And finally some would REALLY mess of the RID readings (only showing half the bars on the gauge).

It was really interesting to see how quickly a tank of gas would effect the display.

I also was curious about the possiblity of the "way" of filling up the tank might effect the readings. So I made sure I was ALWAYS consistent on how I put fuel in. Always standing on the right side of the bike, put the nozzle in the opening the same way, trying my darnest to make sure the flow rate was the same, etc (hey, I was doing my best to be an experimental scientist).

Oh, just to let you know, I have done everything described above previously trying to figure out the mysteries of errent fuel gauge.

My suggestion... try a different brand of gasoline for a tank or two. Personally I found that Chevron did the best at keeping the gauge properly.

 

[Hillhound]

fuel gauges

Have to agree with guzzler.

I have cleaned the external plug to no avail.

Now with a dodgy fuel gauge in both my car and the GS I was beginning to wonder what the connection was. It was then I realised my local BP where I had always bought my petrol at home had closed and I had been going to a Shell garage.

I have now switched back to BP in the car and the fuel gauge problem is gradually resolving itself. I will try this out on the bike soon. (In recovery mode at the moment folowing an op. so biking is a bad idea just now)

 

[MasterDabber]

Clean up the contacts on the plug under the right hand side panel. It's exposed to a lot of road crap and, after a while, the contacts corrode. This affects the voltages sent to the RID and results in the fluctuations you're experiencing. You'll find the fuel warning light more reliable - this is because it relies on a simple on/off signal, rather than a specific voltage...


Mike

Mike... thanks. Had a problem the last couple of times I filled up that the RID was showing 2 bars short of full despite me having filled to the top.
Took your advice and cleaned up those connector contacts... problem seems to be fixed.

 

[finglonga]

Esso and Shell plays havock with my fuel guage but Jet isn't so bad, switched to BP and the guage is always correct. I try to avoid filling with anything but BP(depending on £/ltr) and all seems well.

However when I did look at the connector block under the tank it did need a clean, but didn't make any difference to the guage.

 

[MasterDabber]

Esso and Shell plays havock with my fuel guage but Jet isn't so bad, switched to BP and the guage is always correct. I try to avoid filling with anything but BP(depending on £/ltr) and all seems well.

Sainsburys, Tesco... whatever cheapest for me.
I know people make the case for using Optimax and other "specials" but I have difficulty understanding why an agricultural old lump of an engine like the 1150 (RTW pretentions) needs anything special. I'm not saying that others are wrong in being selective but I just have a problem with the idea.
Having said that... I'll take note and if I have continued problems I'll maybe have to rethink.

 

[Slimie]

I'm with MikeO, the fuel gauge only seems to be there for it's entertainment value!

 

[cookie]

i've not had any problem with value petrol, which is what goes in mostly, or anything else for that matter.

yet.

 

[phil adams]

I have also had same problems. When I contacted dealer, he was convinced that it was to do with additves in the petrol.

I just thought what a load of crap until I started to use different petrol stations. The gauge seemed to respond to another stations petrol. I know this doesn't right but I did no cleaning of any electrical contacts or stripping of the tank.

Apparently, some of bm's top of the range cars have had same problem, according to dealer.