Boxwrench Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 When I fill my tank up to the the fill neck I see full bars. However, shortly after it drops one bar. even when the engine is not running. Also; how many bars are supposed to show when the fuel light trips? I ask because on first taking it home the stealer it didn't have a full tank and the light went off at 5 bars. That just under 1/2 tank. On the last fill I let it go to 3 bars and it lit up for a minute and then went out. Link to comment
LGannon Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Mine does that too, I don't think I've seen full bars for more than a couple of minutes, however the low fuel warning only comes on at 1 bar, which the manual says is four litres remaining. Link to comment
boatzo Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Did you have it on the side stand or the center stand when you filled it up? I usually fill on the center stand and the top bar stays there for a while as you can get a bit more fuel in the tank. The low fuel light should come on around 1 or 2 bars. The level sending units are separate for the low fuel light and the fuel gauge on the RID. You may have a problem with the float sticking in the tube in the fuel gauge sending unit. Link to comment
4wheeldog Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 My experience is with an R1150RT, but the equipment is similar. If I carefully top off the bike while upright, I can keep the top bar showing for 20 miles or so. Different fuels by location and season have different specific gravity, so the gauge and the warning light will vary according to that as well. In general, you will have at least a gallon left when the light comes on, so I always make sure that I get gas within 40 miles. I have yet to run out! Good Luck! Link to comment
smiller Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 When I fill my tank up to the the fill neck I see full bars. However, shortly after it drops one bar. even when the engine is not running. Also; how many bars are supposed to show when the fuel light trips? I ask because on first taking it home the stealer it didn't have a full tank and the light went off at 5 bars. That just under 1/2 tank. On the last fill I let it go to 3 bars and it lit up for a minute and then went out. You may have two completely independent issues going on there because as was mentioned, the low fuel light and the RID fuel gauge are completely separate from each other. The top bar of the RID going out quickly after a fill-up (or never showing at all) is a very common occurrence. You can try cleaning the contacts of the under-tank connector and it might help a little bit for a little while, but it will probably come back. It's mostly a 'just live with it' kind of thing. If your low fuel light is coming on too early it's probably because the float arm got bent during a fuel filter change (and again, this float is not related to the display on the RID gauge.) The light should come on with about one gallon of fuel remaining, which is usually around 1-2 RID bars (but this varies a bit bike-to-bike due to the amount of resistance in an individual bike's RID gauge circuit.) Link to comment
John in NC Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Under the right fairing cover there is an electrical connector to the fuel tank. The problem is that over time the contacts get oxidized and resistance builds thereby causing the fuel gauge not to register properly. The fix is to spray some contact cleaner in there then put in some dielectric grease. I do this every time I have the fairing off. BTW. If you are anal like me, you may be attempting to overfill the tank in order to get those bars to show on the gauge. DON'T DO THAT. I did that and as the fuel expanded, the carbon canister became plugged, vacuum built up in the tank and the fuel pump blew the hose off. Link to comment
T__ Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 clip~ I did that and as the fuel expanded, the carbon canister became plugged, vacuum built up in the tank and the fuel pump blew the hose off. John, something not related there.. Vacuum in the tank will lower fuel pressure not raise it.. Twisty Link to comment
AndyS Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 When I fill my tank up to the the fill neck I see full bars. However, shortly after it drops one bar. even when the engine is not running. Also; how many bars are supposed to show when the fuel light trips? I ask because on first taking it home the stealer it didn't have a full tank and the light went off at 5 bars. That just under 1/2 tank. On the last fill I let it go to 3 bars and it lit up for a minute and then went out. I think it's fair to say that most of these bikes do that have the symptom of not showing all the bars at top up, or if they do, it very soon looses one bar. As for how many bars show when the light comes on....well yours is not right, however both of my bikes sometimes displayed 1 bar, sometimes none, and just occasionally 2 bars showing. None of the above concern me because I generally know how far I have ridden on this particular tank load, so I know what my probable range is, and top up accordingly. Andy Link to comment
Boxwrench Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Thanks for the replies. I do watch the trip meter. My zuki only has an Idiot light for fuel so I am use to guaging range w/ fuel. Just hafta learn the RT I am surprised to find from BMW forums that the range of the RT w/ it's bigger engine is farther than my 805cc Boulevard, but then bouly only has a 4.1 gal. I think for now I will watch the light to learn what it is doing to get the full story. I also followed the links and saved the info on tanks and cannister. Link to comment
John in NC Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Twisty, My comment wasn't intended to imply that vacuum raised the pressure in the tank. The vacuum created a lack of atmosphere in the tank and pressure from the pump on a hose that wasn't secure enough from the factory blew off. It was the lack of pressure on the outside of the hose and the constant pressure on the inside that blew the hose off. John Link to comment
BFish Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Under the right fairing cover there is an electrical connector to the fuel tank. The problem is that over time the contacts get oxidized and resistance builds thereby causing the fuel gauge not to register properly. The fix is to spray some contact cleaner in there then put in some dielectric grease. I do this every time I have the fairing off. BTW. If you are anal like me, you may be attempting to overfill the tank in order to get those bars to show on the gauge. DON'T DO THAT. I did that and as the fuel expanded, the carbon canister became plugged, vacuum built up in the tank and the fuel pump blew the hose off. have never cleaned this on my RT so i guess it's time. where exactly is it located and what does it look like...thanks. if it's shown in the owners manual i apologize...don't have it in front of me. Link to comment
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