Fuel Gauge Question

[Craniac]

My fuel gauge has started indicating two to three bars low when it is full. I put 35 miles on a full tank and it indicated half tank.
Anyone else with this problem?
Anyone know the fix?

Nearest dealer is 180 miles one way and I would rather not take it in for them just to look at it and order parts so I can come back when the parts arrive.

 

[billybovine]

My 09 did that. Removed and inspected the plug on the back of the gage cluster and on the fuel pump. The fuel pump one is hard to get to. Found nothing visually wrong. After I put it back together it was fixed. :dontknow:

There is a test procedure in the service manual. Just need a multimeter and some way to suck the fuel out of the tank.

 

[ARtraveler]

It does sound like an electrical or mechanical issue with the fuel gauge itself. Until you get it to the dealer, just keep tabs on your current fill by setting a tripmeter to zero when filling. 125 - 150 miles or so, and time to fill again (depending on your actual mileage). Assuming the fill light is also operating based on three bars low.

 

[Craniac]

Thank you for the replies.

My bike has the LCD fuel gauge not the mechanical one. Has to be electrical.

 

[AlphaJoe]

I am having the same issue. I just got my bike 2 weeks ago (a new 2014 ST-S) and I thought I was getting the worst gas mileage ever, but when I would fill the tank it only needed 3 gallons. Just happened at bike week yesterday. I filled the tank, went 5 miles and a bar had already dropped off the gauge. I am going to let it run all the way to the bottom and see how many gallons it takes to fill it back up. I will also check with the dealer to see if they can look at it.

 

[900Dave]

I am having the same issue. I just got my bike 2 weeks ago (a new 2014 ST-S) and I thought I was getting the worst gas mileage ever, but when I would fill the tank it only needed 3 gallons. Just happened at bike week yesterday. I filled the tank, went 5 miles and a bar had already dropped off the gauge. I am going to let it run all the way to the bottom and see how many gallons it takes to fill it back up. I will also check with the dealer to see if they can look at it.

Do you put the fuel nozzle all the way in when filling up? If you do you will never get it full. I stick the fuel pump nozzle about an inch through the filler hole in the tank, that is it! When I first bought my :spyder2: I put the nozzle all the way in and when I started the :spyder2: to leave I was a bar down before I went anywhere.

 

[AZ Y Factor]

Do you put the fuel nozzle all the way in when filling up? If you do you will never get it full. I stick the fuel pump nozzle about an inch through the filler hole in the tank, that is it! When I first bought my :spyder2: I put the nozzle all the way in and when I started the :spyder2: to leave I was a bar down before I went anywhere.

I also did the same thing when I first got my :spyder2:. I was down a bar after supposedly filling up and a few more miles down the road I was down a second bar. Figured it out pretty quick. Some stations I have to let it dribble in.

 

[pwpalmbay]

I always reset my B trip meter after I fill the tank. At ~120 miles I know I need to look for a gas station and this is backed up by the gauge. When it comes down to it, I could probably go without a gauge and base the amount of gas purly on mileage. Although, having a new bike or relatively new, it really shouldn't be that way.
2013 ST

 

[bluestratos]

My 14 still had 2 1/2 gallons when the gauge read empty. When I installed my digital volt meter I discoverd the guage bars on the dash are much more accruate, now when the fuel light comes on I have around 1.5 gallons left. In either case it makes for some pucker power when riding in the desert of Eastern California when the next station is still 70 miles out! lol. I always carry a gallon and a half with me on trips like this so it give me peace of mind.

On one trip coming back I decided to see how many miles past the last bar I could still go but lost my nerve when I seen a gas station after 40 miles (pulling my trailer). I pulled off the free way and as I was coasting down into the station the motor quite. I actually coasted right up to the pump, tried restarting and no go. I filled the tank, it took 6.4 gallons and after 2 attemps the motor fired right up.

 

[Craniac]

I don't know if I have ever put more than five gallons in. That is when I drove past the "Feed Me" light came on. Gas stations can be a hundred miles apart in this area. So an accurate gauge would be a big help.

I actually top mine off. I fill until I can see the gas near the fuel opening.

And NO topping off does not cause the gas smell. Boiling gas causes the smell.

 

[900Dave]

I don't know if I have ever put more than five gallons in. That is when I drove past the "Feed Me" light came on. Gas stations can be a hundred miles apart in this area. So an accurate gauge would be a big help.

I actually top mine off. I fill until I can see the gas near the fuel opening.

And NO topping off does not cause the gas smell. Boiling gas causes the smell.

:agree: I have had NO gas smell on a cool/cold day when filled up to the top. I have also had extreme gas smell on a hot day when the fuel gauge was down to 1 or 2 bars!

 

[roselover58]

My 14 still had 2 1/2 gallons when the gauge read empty. When I installed my digital volt meter I discoverd the guage bars on the dash are much more accruate, now when the fuel light comes on I have around 1.5 gallons left. In either case it makes for some pucker power when riding in the desert of Eastern California when the next station is still 70 miles out! lol. I always carry a gallon and a half with me on trips like this so it give me peace of mind.

Question, if you please - where do you carry gas? There are times that I need to go further and on the highway, gas stations can be few and far apart.


Thanks!

 

[rminas879]

Not just me.

Thanks gang. My 2013 fuel gauge started acting up too. In the morning, the gauge would not display at all. Seems when it sits in the AZ sun it would come back on but doesn't read right. This will give me a chance to 'tinker' around with it. Well, after the battery gets charged. That's a new one to me too. Went to start it this morning and nothing.

 

[Bfromla]

Ive noticed mine wold be a peg less than when I parked somtimes, so now i double check and will stay extra min facing down hill on driveway to see if peg comes back. Fyi is slow keep eye out��. The major change is going ethanol free back to ethanol mix. Big bite in mpg.

 

[KTLaw]

Mine did that, then it started being way off during a recent day long trip. It's at the dealer now for a electrical harness replacement.

 

[Craniac]

Mine seems to be working correctly now. Seems to have healed itself.


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[AY4B]

The fuel tank holds 6.6 gallons. Supposedly it has a 1 gallon reserve. Not sure what that means, I think you have more than that when the low fuel light comes on. It looks like the 1.5 gallon estimate is closer to the truth.
The Garmin GPS has a low fuel setting to play with as well. You have to input how many miles for each tank I think.

 

[900Dave]

The fuel tank holds 6.6 gallons. Supposedly it has a 1 gallon reserve. Not sure what that means, I think you have more than that when the low fuel light comes on. It looks like the 1.5 gallon estimate is closer to the truth.
The Garmin GPS has a low fuel setting to play with as well. You have to input how many miles for each tank I think.

Approximately 1.5 gallons is correct when the low fuel light comes on as I normally put about 5 gallons in +/- when the light turns on.

 

[ingramwc]

My fuel gauge is not real accurate either, I was down 3 bars it took .8 of a gallon rode about 20 miles after the "fill up." The next time I got on it to ride it was down 3 bars again! I will stop dropping the nozzle all the way in to the tank and see what happens.:yikes: BTW, my Spyder is a 2013 ST-S.

 

[Sh37720]

LCD Fuel Gage question.

Does the white LCD bar change color, once the fuel light is on, to let you know how much of the 1.5 or 1 gallons are left? I stop once my fuel light comes on. I was running hard at 85 mph tonight, and light came on at 148 miles, I finally came to a station around 167 miles