Fuel Gauge out - nothing in Clymer?

sebwiers · August 11, 2015, 10:15:25 PM

Went and filled my tank up (very full) and turned on the bike, the fuel gauge spiked to past full and then fell to below empty and stayed there. Can't find anything in Clymer regarding the fuel gauge. Anybody got suggestions? Its really one of the few 'luxury' touches that I prefer not doing without.

red · August 11, 2015, 11:14:20 PM

Quote from: sebwiers on August 11, 2015, 10:15:25 PMWent and filled my tank up (very full) and turned on the bike, the fuel gauge spiked to past full and then fell to below empty and stayed there. Can't find anything in Clymer regarding the fuel gauge. Anybody got suggestions? Its really one of the few 'luxury' touches that I prefer not doing without.

Sebwiers,

Siphon out maybe half a gallon of gas, and see if the gauge begins working normally. You may have driven the float a little too high to "read" the resistor in there. Otherwise, the sender has a problem. They can usually be tweaked a bit, to work again.

Cheers,
Red

sebwiers · August 11, 2015, 11:50:43 PM

Since the malfunction, I've ridden enough to 3/4 empty the tank a couple times. I'd hoped it would 'pop back', but still no go.

FJmonkey · August 11, 2015, 11:57:03 PM

Did it flip all the way over? Mine did... What side of the pin is it on?

sebwiers · August 12, 2015, 12:00:48 AM

I think it did, yes. There's no pin, afaik. I might get a picture of it in the morning.

FJmonkey · August 12, 2015, 12:04:55 AM

Quote from: sebwiers on August 12, 2015, 12:00:48 AM
I think it did, yes. There's no pin, afaik. I might get a picture of it in the morning.

There have been reports of the needle flipping all the way over. The fix is adding a second pin to prevent over travel.

sebwiers · August 12, 2015, 07:34:24 AM

Yep, mine flipped. Didn't see the needle because it's the same black as the rest of the dial. Its resting against the right (from drivers view) side of the needle.

So, what's the fix? Just get at the dial (removing the covering plastic somehow) and flip it back, and then put in that second pin to keep it from happening again?

FJmonkey · August 12, 2015, 10:24:19 AM

Quote from: sebwiers on August 12, 2015, 07:34:24 AM
Yep, mine flipped. Didn't see the needle because it's the same black as the rest of the dial. Its resting against the right (from drivers view) side of the needle.

So, what's the fix? Just get at the dial (removing the covering plastic somehow) and flip it back, and then put in that second pin to keep it from happening again?

Yes, that is exactly what will fix it and prevent it from flipping again. Someone posted that they used a thumb tack. They heated it up, pushed it through from the back side (somewhere above the full mark). Then applied glue to secure the pin head to the back of the gauge and painted the pin sticking through with black paint.

Arnie · August 12, 2015, 10:43:25 AM

You fix it with a strong magnet. This will attract the needle enough to let you get it back to the left side.

Then, you put a stopper pin in to keep it happening again.

Arnie

FJmonkey · August 12, 2015, 10:55:31 AM

I have heard of using a strong magnet if you don't want to take your cluster apart. However, once the cluster is open to add a pin, you won't need a magnet. I just might try the magnet too see how well it works. I don't really care about the fuel gauge, I use the trip meter, and my GPS blocks the view so mine can stay flipped.

sebwiers · August 12, 2015, 11:10:41 AM

I'll give the magnet a shot. I keep some on my bike anyhow for sticking map / direction sheets to the tank. That's my GPS.

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Fuel Gauge out - nothing in Clymer?