Fuel gage 3 bars to blinking

Mine has been doing this since I purchased the motorcycle but not consistently. The last time I fueled up I registered 2 bars and today I went from 3 to blinking. So this is not a condition where once it fails it needs to be replaced. In my case I drive my bike almost daily for 60 miles a day, so I am thinking all the fuel going through it is cleaning the sensors. I am curious if maybe Seafoam might fix this problem. I have not put any through my tank yet but has anyone who uses this product have this problem? My bike currently has 19,000 miles on it.
 
I'm in this bad fuel guage/sender do hickey camp as well...

last time I ran out of gas (Monday)...gauge showed 2 bars..and roughly 230 miles on the tank...

never went to 1 bar/flashing...just died...
Need to have it looked at...I will wait until the dead of winter where it wont be so bad being without the bike.....
 
Me too. 3 bars straight to flashing 1 bar on my '08. I fill to the front right and don't stick the fuel nozzle in very far. Been acting up consistently for a few thousand miles.

Heading to the dealer in the morning. I'll have them look at my sticking gas cap as well. The emptier the tank, the harder it is to open up.

Shuey
 
I tried putting an additive fuel cleaner in at each tank fill for about a month (about 4 tanks for me) ...didn't make any difference to the 3 bar problem...so I just bit the bullet and replaced the top sender..for $80 odd bucks its not a big ticket item...........no further problem since I did it about 12 months ago.

Dealer tried to tell me it was a major job and would take all day and many bucks.. they claimed they had to do all sorts of gauage tests etc etc etc... complete rubbish...just put in the new sender (1 hour max) and you will know if its fixed the problem in less than five minutes by slowly filling the tank and checking the gauge as you do....

PS: The dealer has since gone out of business...not surpring..
 
dteel said:
Chris, they replaced my upper fuel tank sending unit and it solved my problem. They also replaced the fuel line between the upper and lower tank. I believe the manual says to replace it if removed. My bike was under warranty. I believe you are safe just ordering the part and doing the work yourself. It's up to you if you wish to change the fuel line as well. Probably a good idea though.
Click to expand...

How long did they keep it. My 04 has been doing this for a year or more. I just get fuel when starts flashing but really want it to work right. It is still under the long term warranty, but I just hate to leave it--don't trust them too much.

JDP
 
I had 190 miles on the bike last night and 3 bars. I made a slow very low right hand turn and saw 2 bars, which then went to 3. This morning i started the bike and on the side stand it had 2 bars, but when I stood the bike up it went back to 3. I believe it should have remained at 2. I had to fill the tank but this problem should not exist as too many people apparently have this problem.
 
Sounds like your upper tank sender may be getting slightly worn if you are getting this for longer than say a few miles. The sender is on the left rear side of the tank...so doing a slow right hand turn will drain the fuel away from the sender and if the level of fuel is just at that point of 3 to 2 bars then it will vary up and down. I also sometimes get that if I am pointing down a hill and apply the brakes...it will go to 2 bars then back to 3 as soon as I accelerate or go up a steepish hill...only occurs for a few miles until the level drops slightly as fuel is used up and then it will drop to the consistent 2 bars. I also get the same type of reading variances on side stand and then pulling the bike upright...but its rare as it has to be at exactly that point where the fuel in the tank is just at the critical level. A 3 bar 2 bar reading is about right for 190 miles based on rough fuel use averages I have read.

It does seem more prevalant at the 3 bar - 2 bar range than say at 4 bar and above. Having looked at the sender floats connector arm, I suspect that its beacuse of the various kinks and bends in the connector arm - just the mathematical angle of dangles such that at a certain very small point in the fuel level the sending of information to the gauge isn't as perfectly linear for the amount of movement in the float arm throughout the whole fuel level range for it to record exactly (average) accurate data to the gauge - particularly as at that low level, fuel sloshes around in line with the bikes vertical attitude. So in fact it is recording exactly what it beleives is the fuel level... because just at that point, the fuel level is rising and falling more than usual as the bike is moved around.

I don't think you have a problem...many fuel gauges do exactly the same thing and more so when they get closer to empty where the fuel movement in the tank is accentuated.
 
Well, local Honda dealer installed a warranty new upper fuel sensor unit. Took about 20 minutes and I was back on the road. Whether it fixes the 3 bars to blinking 1 bar problem and gives me the 2nd bar back remains to be seen.

Sensor coming out didn't look any different than the new one as far as angle of the wire arm or anything. Metal contacts looked a little worn but in good shape. Swapped out at 33,000 miles.

More to follow after I ride the tank down below 3 bars.

Shuey
 
This morning at 185 miles the gauge went to 2 bars and stayed there. So I really suspect that this sensor is very prone to dirt. I put in some Seafoam before my last fill up and I believe that cleaned off whatever was causing my problem. My Bike has 19K miles so this might not work for bikes with higher mileage.
 
Well started the bike for the ride home and it was 3 bars all the way home. Will have to look into this more next week. I really don't want to leave this with a dealer and have them have to prove it is bad before they will warranty it.
 
Shuey said:
Well, local Honda dealer installed a warranty new upper fuel sensor unit. Took about 20 minutes and I was back on the road. Whether it fixes the 3 bars to blinking 1 bar problem and gives me the 2nd bar back remains to be seen.

Sensor coming out didn't look any different than the new one as far as angle of the wire arm or anything. Metal contacts looked a little worn but in good shape. Swapped out at 33,000 miles.

More to follow after I ride the tank down below 3 bars.

Shuey
Click to expand...

Two half tanks put through and the 2nd bar is back. To early to declare a final victory I think, but in this one case at least it looks like replacing the upper fuel sensor solved the problem of the missing 2nd bar.

Shuey
 
Shuey said:
Two half tanks put through and the 2nd bar is back. To early to declare a final victory I think, but in this one case at least it looks like replacing the upper fuel sensor solved the problem of the missing 2nd bar.

Shuey
Click to expand...

Good for you, and I hope it continues to work correctly. So since it is not easy for me to leave the bike and get a ride home etc. it sounds like I could wait on it if I can get the dealer to get on it right away. That is not always an easy thing to do. Hmmm. Thanks for the info.

JDP
 
jdpfms said:
Good for you, and I hope it continues to work correctly. So since it is not easy for me to leave the bike and get a ride home etc. it sounds like I could wait on it if I can get the dealer to get on it right away. That is not always an easy thing to do. Hmmm. Thanks for the info.

JDP
Click to expand...

Same situation here, it's 1/2 hour to ride there and no transportation home, AND I'd rather be there watching what they're doing anyway. So far, they haven't tried to kick me out while they're working.

I'm always complimentary about their work and how what they do keeps me from getting stranded, injured or dying! Really make them feel important . . . uh, wait a minute . . . that's all true! :)

Shuey
 
If you have the "3 bars directly to 1 blinking" problem, it is the upper sender that is bad.

If you have the "2 bars then bone dry "problem, it is the lower sender that is bad.
Jefro.
 
After having the bike sit for over a month I drive it several days and the 2 bars are back. I believe the seal foam did clean the contacts on the unit. I would recommend that people try this several times before replacing it.
 
This happened to me last summer. Did a one day trip on the Blue Ridge parkway and then Skyline drive. A little over 600 miles. The dealer was able to order the fuel sensor and then do the repair in one day. Said it could have been 15 hours of nothing but left and right turns.
 
Just wanted to give another update. I have gone through several more gas tanks and added sea foam 1 more time. The 2 bars are back, so it must have to do with something in the gas that is getting on the sensor. It appears the sea foam is cleaning this debris off.
 
After the 2nd tank of gas did the same 3 bars to 1 bar flashing thing, this current tank was almost completely empty in the upper tank so I decided to pull the float and 'tweak' it a little to see if maybe I had possibly 'bent' the float arm while putting gas in. Being very gentle, I removed the float assy and it looked fine. There apparently is a delay with the computer to display the float movement because I could not make the dash bars change by manually raising the float. So I gently 'realigned' the float upwards. That is I bent the float arm so the float would ride a little higher in relation to the sweeper arm of the sensor. Being careful/gentle I reinserted the float into the tank making sure the gasket was where it should be so I should not have any fuel leaks after this next fill up. Turned on the key and bam... 2 bars indicated. Should be seeing the 1 bar flash this afternoon on the ride home if all is well. I'll then fill it up and see what happens. Fingers are crossed.
Click to expand...

I also bent my float arm slightly and the problem has been gone for 9 months now. So much easier than having to take it to the dealer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom