vfrgiving Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 I recently noticed my fuel level gauge start to drop bars quicker than usual. It seemed to correspond with the warmer summer temps. I could start out a ride somewhat cool and once it started getting toasty two bars would drop in quick succession. I reset the trip meter at every fill up, so it's easy to keep track of. At its worst the gauge wasn't reading full even when filling up to the tank cap. It would top out at just 7 bars. It would be reading 1/2 full with only 60 miles and was flashing the last bar at only 115. There was well over 2 gallons still in the tank filling up at that point. Since the display is getting the level from reading resistance to ground through the float, my hunch was a dirty connector adding resistance and reporting a premature empty reading. I had to get at the dash to change a back light bulb anyway so it was the perfect opportunity. I pulled the blue dash connector, cleaned with contact cleaner and added little dabs of ox-gard to the connector pins. I lifted the tank, unplugged the little blue float connector and gave it the same treatment. My next stop would have been the orange spider ground, but I've never had a problem with that connector so I left it alone. The level gauge now reads more optimistic than I've ever seen it. With mixed riding I can get just over 100 miles before it hits half. I hit warning flash around 186 miles, and there was about a gallon left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bmart Posted July 16, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted July 16, 2023 Mine works like your last note...so I guess that I'm good! 200 miles seem pretty easy to get to before reserve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ShipFixer Posted July 17, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted July 17, 2023 Interesting. Mine has always been a little pessimistic, meaning quick to show 7/8 tank regardless of how full it is. And when I swapped tanks I verified the float is physically fine. I'm going to try what you did here. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfrgiving Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 3 hours ago, ShipFixer said: Interesting. Mine has always been a little pessimistic, meaning quick to show 7/8 tank regardless of how full it is. And when I swapped tanks I verified the float is physically fine. I'm going to try what you did here. Thanks! Is it only the first segment that disappears quickly, or do they all start dropping off at a similar rate? If it was a dirty connector causing extra resistance I would expect to see all bars dropping off faster than usual. I'll fill the tank until the level skims the bottom most lip of the fill neck. From there I can expect segment 8 to stay up for 20 - 30 miles. The following bars will also stay up for 20 - 30 miles. Try to time a fill up when the tank hits half, or the last segment and see how much fuel was is in the tank by subtracting what you added at the pump from 5.5. It was obvious for me something was up as when I went to fill at the last segment flash and it only took 3 gallons to fill the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ShipFixer Posted July 17, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted July 17, 2023 1 hour ago, vfrgiving said: Is it only the first segment that disappears quickly, or do they all start dropping off at a similar rate? If it was a dirty connector causing extra resistance I would expect to see all bars dropping off faster than usual. I'll fill the tank until the level skims the bottom most lip of the fill neck. From there I can expect segment 8 to stay up for 20 - 30 miles. The following bars will also stay up for 20 - 30 miles. Try to time a fill up when the tank hits half, or the last segment and see how much fuel was is in the tank by subtracting what you added at the pump from 5.5. It was obvious for me something was up as when I went to fill at the last segment flash and it only took 3 gallons to fill the tank. Nah it's only the top eighth, and I fill to the same. When the bike was new, it took a reasonable number of miles before it went to 7/8. Now, not so much, sometime right after I filled it up. The rest of the readings are accurate. It's not so off that I want to take the sensor out again, but no reason not to try cleaning up the connectors next time I lift the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfrgiving Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 I forgot to mention.... I also unclipped and cleaned the gray dash connector as well since I was in there. That connector is carrying a ground for the instrument cluster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ShipFixer Posted July 17, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted July 17, 2023 13 minutes ago, vfrgiving said: I forgot to mention.... I also unclipped and cleaned the gray dash connector as well since I was in there. That connector is carrying a ground for the instrument cluster. There's a couple reasons why sometime this year I will be taking the whole front end apart. Like I said, doesn't hurt to try! 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfrgiving Posted July 18, 2023 Author Share Posted July 18, 2023 The connector cleaning definitely made a huge change. This was the third tank after the work. Trip A reset to 0 at fill up. It was getting close to dropping to bar 3, but still... In the past it would be getting into the 2nd bar at this mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer WDIV Posted July 19, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted July 19, 2023 8 hours ago, vfrgiving said: The connector cleaning definitely made a huge change. This was the third tank after the work. Trip A reset to 0 at fill up. It was getting close to dropping to bar 3, but still... In the past it would be getting into the 2nd bar at this mileage. I guess I need to clean my connectors cus... I've never ridden more than 10 miles before the first bar disappears. I assumed I was filling the bike incorrectly. 🤪 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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