Dodgy fuel gauge FIXED :-)

blues n twos · Oct 17, 2005

There are lots of bits of info on this but I thought I will relay what fixed mine.

When I filled up it would show empty and only start registering fuel when about a third of the fuel had been used. I had to change the fuel filter for the 24k service so I thought I would have a go at fixing it.
Image below shows the electrical connection that registers fuel levels from the float arm.

You can remove the float arm by unclipping it from its housing and then you will see underneath the housing are two brass contacts that slide up and down the part arrowed. I cleaned the contacts with thinners and gently bent out the brass contacts to make a firmer contact on the sender unit. This is done very easily but don't overdo it and snap it.

When all put back together and the tank was filled and fuel gauge now working as it should.

A happy Jon

cookie · Oct 17, 2005

that's a hell of an arrow :eek

blues n twos · Oct 17, 2005

I pinched the picture from an earlier thread.

I forgot to get permission from the copywriter.

Jimb · Oct 17, 2005

It was my picture but your'e welcome to use it, you will find that the fuel itself makes a difference as well, Morrisons is shite as are most supermarkets and will make the guage do all sorts of things, same on my mates Aprillia but any of the larger suppliers, Shell, Esso, BP, Jet, etc are fine.

(RIP) Kaister · Oct 17, 2005

you will find that the fuel itself makes a difference as well, Morrisons is shite as are most supermarkets and will make the guage do all sorts of things

how does this happen then ? Does the fuel have varying levels of density ? I don't think so.
Does it have different levels of electrical conduction ? i don't think so.

Supermarket fuel comes from the same storage as the other places.

Are you saying it has water in it ? Water is denser and is always at the bottom of the tank - might be a tank problem not a fuel problem ?

Fanum · Oct 17, 2005

motomartin said:
you will find that the fuel itself makes a difference as well, Morrisons is shite as are most supermarkets and will make the guage do all sorts of things

how does this happen then ? Does the fuel have varying levels of density ? I don't think so.
Does it have different levels of electrical conduction ? i don't think so.

Supermarket fuel comes from the same storage as the other places.

Fuels are not all the same, and they may be stored at the same place but they're certainly not the same.

There are three tiers of fuels...Tier 1's contain additives and detergents that are designed to actively help engines and combustion, Tier 2 fuels contain basic detergents and anti foaming agents but aren't as advanced as Tier 1 fuels and tier 3 fuels contain the basic minimum in additives to pass Gubmint standards.

I have no idea what sort of effect this has on the speficic gravities of the different types, but there are differences.

(RIP) Kaister · Oct 18, 2005

I have no idea what sort of effect this has on the speficic gravities of the different types

ok - i sit corrected - anyone know the answer to the SG question ?

cookie · Oct 18, 2005

Fanum said:
Fuels are not all the same, and they may be stored at the same place but they're certainly not the same.

There are three tiers of fuels...Tier 1's contain additives and detergents that are designed to actively help engines and combustion, Tier 2 fuels contain basic detergents and anti foaming agents but aren't as advanced as Tier 1 fuels and tier 3 fuels contain the basic minimum in additives to pass Gubmint standards.

I have no idea what sort of effect this has on the speficic gravities of the different types, but there are differences.

can you say, with certainty, which stations have which tier fuel then?

i've seen all brand tankers filling up at Hythe depot & it appeared they were all getting the same stuff.

i use tesco

fuel mostly & have never had any guage related problems , or any fuel related problems for that matter.

ps. don't really have morrisons down here, but from what i hear, if their petrol is as bad as the foodstuffs they sell, i think i'd give it a miss

cookie · Oct 18, 2005

precious little info about varying quality between brands, but i did find this:

"I’ve posted this in the past but will repeat it. My son in law drove fuel tankers for Wincanton with Texaco livery several years until about two years ago when he changed to car transporters.
He tells me that when they fill the tanker they are given some kind of card by the clerk in the office which slots into the filling rig which tells it what additives to put in.
It depends who the customer is what additives and how much is put in.
The drivers haven’t a clue what additives goes in as everything is done automatically and literally don’t care either but is definitely different for different customers."

Piggers · Oct 18, 2005

I am no expert, but I doubt that the SG of any petrol would change enough to affect the SG significantly and the fuel guage readings.
I can only guess that it was coincidence that problems were witnessed when filling at Morrisons, unless you filled it with Diesel

, but I am sure you would have noticed

Piggers

blues n twos · Oct 18, 2005

I read with intrest the comments,

The way I looked at the problem I had was just through logic.

Some people have fuel gauges that register different levels of fuel regardless of whats in the tank. I noticed there was a pattern to the behaviour on my RID. The fuel reading was accurate from below two thirds and the fuel light came on when the last bar went out. When I filled up it registered nothing and the temp gauge went all doolally. I first thought the float arm might be getting stuck but then thought that was unlikely everytime I filled up. After much reading on different threads about the set up inside the tank I thought it could only be the contact points on the sender unit.

This has proved to be correct. I fill up with fuel at the nearest station when the light comes on and have never noticed any difference in the running of the bike. It is a basic sort of engine anyway. :mmmm

A high performance bike or car may notice differences but that remains to be seen.

The only thing I couldn't work out was why the oil temp played up at the same time? But anyway it has fixed itself so I am a bit more of a happy bunny now.

Jon

Jimb · Oct 20, 2005

The fuel wiper is exposed in the fuel along with electrical contacts, and either there is something in supermarket fuel that makes it more resitant to current flowing or there is something missing which is present in others, either way the guage is up and down like a brides nightie with Supermarket fuel and OK with others.

Have you also noticed that when you are in Europe the fuel is noticably better, we get consistently better fuel economy in Europe all on different bikes than here in UK.

cookie · Oct 20, 2005

Jimb said:
either there is something in supermarket fuel that makes it more resitant to current flowing or there is something missing which is present in others, either way the guage is up and down like a brides nightie with Supermarket fuel and OK with others.

that's not my experience with tesco

's finest

MasterDabber · Oct 20, 2005

blues n twos said:
I fill up with fuel at the nearest station when the light comes on and have never noticed any difference in the running of the bike. It is a basic sort of engine anyway. A high performance bike or car may notice differences but that remains to be seen.

Jon

Me too Jon. I've never monitored it but I reckon 75%+ of all my fill ups have been at supermarkets with the majority of those being at Sainsbury. I've only had one problem with the fuel guage (1150GS std) and that was when filled up to max it registered 2 bars short of full. This got resolved using Mike O's suggestion in this thread
I just don't see the need to run a 30s engine on superduper fuel.

(RIP) Kaister · Oct 20, 2005

unlike my 1988 saab turbo that has APC - auto pressure control - and a knock sensor. Opens the wastgate earlier if knock is detected - exacerbated by lower octane fuel.

so it really does go faster with better fuel

Dodgy fuel gauge FIXED :-)

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