ossman

I have a '99 bird and the fuel reserve sensor is busted. Replacing the entire thing costs a few bucks, so I was hoping it could be fixed. Has anyone here been able to do so?

I've determined it's the sensor by measuring it (it always indicates 2.2kOhm) and by shorting the leads to the dash to make sure the light there still works.

smurf211

It's the fuel sending unit in the tank. I think the total cost was ~$50. I have one but I haven't put it in yet. there is a remove / replace procedure in the service manual. It can be done by lifting the front of the tank (almost empty) and supporting it. // -sm

ossman

Yeah, I had determined as much. But a new unit costs ~$160 over here so I was hoping that were some way of fixing it.

Has anyone ripped one of these apart and determined how it works? My guesses would be conductivity through the gasoline or a chemical reaction that changes the resistivity of the element. Either way one could hope that it's a matter of cleaning it.

jonscott

What the...Wow, that'd be expensive, complicated, and dangerous.

It's a standard float sender (on my 97).

You could start with pulling it down and seeing if it sticks at a lower point, and you could try cleaning it, but it's prolly better/easier/more time and cost effective to just replace the fuel level sender set.

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DeathWish01

conductivity = electical current through something... i don't think you want electricity going through your gasoline LOL.... but yeah its usually a float

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bullet

Its a variable resistor changing its ohm output while the floater moves...

Have the service manual in hand ..then with an ohmmeter check the shown resistance by moving the floater top up and bottom down...if the values shown are out of manual specs then it is faulty and needs to be replaced...

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smurf211

I was thinking about this today. When I first got my bike I thought my sending unit was bad also. I found that the calibration of the meter is out of sorts. I was on empty and went to the station and to top off and it only allowed 4 gallons, meaning I had 2 gallons left (~72 miles). My fuel warning light finally came on after a long trip and I was close to home (many gas stations). I was relying on the trip meter to keep me in the ball park. So now I just time myself. I still have the FSU down stairs and will probably put it in over the winter and test the old one and post the results. Probably just needs to be cleaned. Just haven't gotten to it because it's riding season and haven't had the time. Depending on the rain I may get to it sooner. Get that thing down to almost empty and see when the light comes on. You'll have about 40 miles to go so have a station within reach.

*********
It is a variable resistor and the specs for full and low are in the book.
pg 19-17 Resistance (20C/68F) Full 4-10 ohms Empty 81-91 Ohms.

You can measure the resistance on the plug to see if it is varying proportionally to your gauge reading. Try this and see if we can save some money.

The 99 and 00 (which I have) are grouped together regularly for parts and procedures.


Just some thoughts. // sm

smurf211

Sorry, didn't read all of your post. I go by the trip meter as rule anyway. It may just require removal, clean and reinstall. How much to order one for you in Sweden? // smurf

ossman

Gasoline requires quite a bit of effort to ignite, so a few milliamps going through it in liquid form is not going to get me concerned at least.

ossman

This is a '99 so it has two sensors. The float works just fine, it's the reserve sensor that's busted. And that things is not mechanical but a small epoxy sealed capsule.

ossman

My English might be lacking here, but I read this as you asking what a new unit costs over here, which I wrote earlier was $160.

I'll probably end up a buying a new one next winter if I can't fix it, but I'd be much happier if I could spend those $160 on other toys.

Uglystick

If I remember correctly gasoline isnt actually flamable unitll its in vapour form..

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Uglystick

To be honest I dont think that my birds low fuel light works either. I usually fill up at about 300 - 320 klm's but I have had it all the way up to 383 on one tank and the light still hadnt come on and she was starving for fuel when travelling uphill.

Mine is a 99 also, so this may be a common problem.

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ossman

It might be a Honda issue as my VFR suffers from the same broken sensor. Might also be why the removed the sensor for the '02:s and went with just the floater.

Poundstretcher

My light seems unreliable seems to be on a lot of the time but brighter as the fuel goes down. I make sure I keep the tank topped up.

smurf211

That's what I get when I'm half asleep trying to respond to theses things, sorry. // smurf

smurf211

Air filter, plugs, PC III USB, Pipes:

smurf211

Ossman, I pulled my old FSU and have it in a box. I don't know how much shipping is but if you want it let me know. // smurf

ossman

Sure. I can make an attempt at cleaning and reviving it. USPS with their "show up some time between next christmas and never" service isn't that expensive ($11 according to their web site). I'll send you my details in a PM.

smurf211

Oss, it works I just don't know how accurate it is. At least it will give you some indication. I'll clean it up a little with some WD-40 and see about getting it to you. -sm