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Fuel strip fiasco


Mick F

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Permanent fix?. I don't believe there is one. As it is BMW has warranted the part for 12 years.

 

There has been thread after thread regarding the fuel strip... with some very knowledgeable people weighing in regarding the legal side of this.

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Permanent fix?. I don't believe there is one. As it is BMW has warranted the part for 12 years.

 

There has been thread after thread regarding the fuel strip... with some very knowledgeable people weighing in regarding the legal side of this.

The 2010-2013 has a float. I wonder if that could be retrofitted. Probably need a computer flash.

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Permanent fix?. I don't believe there is one. As it is BMW has warranted the part for 12 years.

 

There has been thread after thread regarding the fuel strip... with some very knowledgeable people weighing in regarding the legal side of this.

The 2010-2013 has a float. I wonder if that could be retrofitted. Probably need a computer flash.

 

I will be getting one of these if it fits my 07 RT :

 

 

https://hposkam.nl/en/product/tanklint-emulator/

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A little point, I have a 2010 cam head that has a fuel strip, it wasn't until I believe October 2010 build date or later that they switched back to the fuel float.

 

I believe DR and others weighed in on the possibility conversion to a float system in prior threads.. from what i can remember it was pretty prohibitive. (?)

 

And fwiw, I'm still on my original fuel strip, working perfectly. I'll say it again, IMO, it's an electrical issue. Certain bikes EAT fuel strips over and over and some don't. What is the variable that can cause that? Not fuel.. all have been ethanol, not ethanol, etc,. Etc.. etc.. Is it the way the bike is fueled, I.e. from what side? When the bike is cold, vs. hot.. fuel splash directly onto a fuel strip?

 

I think all these things have been addressed by many posting about all these variables and doesn't seem to make a difference; So.. why do some bikes never eat fuel strips.. and some eat them like hotdogs at dollar dog night at the ballpark? Fuel strips are electrically controlled and electrically. Electrical spike, or poor voltage regulation in that circuit!? My bet...

 

Anyway, I always reset my tripmeter.(no biggie) habit from riding bikes LONG before we had fuel gauges, and who knows if or when mine may go. :ohboy:

 

FYI, even fuel floats can be affected... My Aprilia has had the fuel float changed..

Edited by w2ge
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A little point, I have a 2010 cam head that has a fuel strip, it wasn't until I believe October 2010 build date or later that they switched back to the fuel float.

 

I believe DR and others weighed in on the possibility conversion to a float system in prior threads.. from what i can remember it was pretty prohibitive. (?)

 

And fwiw, I'm still on my original fuel strip, working perfectly. I'll say it again, IMO, it's an electrical issue. Certain bikes EAT fuel strips over and over and some don't. What is the variable that can cause that? Not fuel.. all have been ethanol, not ethanol, etc,. Etc.. etc.. Is it the way the bike is fueled, I.e. from what side? When the bike is cold, vs. hot.. fuel splash directly onto a fuel strip?

 

I think all these things have been addressed by many posting about all these variables and doesn't seem to make a difference; So.. why do some bikes never eat fuel strips.. and some eat them like hotdogs at dollar dog night at the ballpark? Fuel strips are electrically controlled and electrically. Electrical spike, or poor voltage regulation in that circuit!? My bet...

 

Anyway, I always reset my tripmeter.(no biggie) habit from riding bikes LONG before we had fuel gauges, and who knows if or when mine may go. :ohboy:

 

FYI, even fuel floats can be affected... My Aprilia has had the fuel float changed..

 

There does seem to other factors besides the fuel strip itself. My 2007 RT still had the original fuel strip in it when I traded it in at 140k miles.

 

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A little point, I have a 2010 cam head that has a fuel strip, it wasn't until I believe October 2010 build date or later that they switched back to the fuel float.

 

I believe DR and others weighed in on the possibility conversion to a float system in prior threads.. from what i can remember it was pretty prohibitive. (?)

 

And fwiw, I'm still on my original fuel strip, working perfectly. I'll say it again, IMO, it's an electrical issue. Certain bikes EAT fuel strips over and over and some don't. What is the variable that can cause that? Not fuel.. all have been ethanol, not ethanol, etc,. Etc.. etc.. Is it the way the bike is fueled, I.e. from what side? When the bike is cold, vs. hot.. fuel splash directly onto a fuel strip?

 

I think all these things have been addressed by many posting about all these variables and doesn't seem to make a difference; So.. why do some bikes never eat fuel strips.. and some eat them like hotdogs at dollar dog night at the ballpark? Fuel strips are electrically controlled and electrically. Electrical spike, or poor voltage regulation in that circuit!? My bet...

 

Anyway, I always reset my tripmeter.(no biggie) habit from riding bikes LONG before we had fuel gauges, and who knows if or when mine may go. :ohboy:

 

FYI, even fuel floats can be affected... My Aprilia has had the fuel float changed..

 

 

How many miles on your RT ?

 

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I only have just over 30K on mine... it sits quite a bit since I bought the Aprilia a few years ago. Yesterday was literally first time I've ridden it since last winter! :-0

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Permanent fix?. I don't believe there is one. As it is BMW has warranted the part for 12 years.

 

There has been thread after thread regarding the fuel strip... with some very knowledgeable people weighing in regarding the legal side of this.

The 2010-2013 has a float. I wonder if that could be retrofitted. Probably need a computer flash.

 

These people have a project to do this.

 

https://hposkam.nl/en/projecten/

 

It doesn't seem to be for sale at the moment.

 

They also sell a fuel strip emulator if you don't want to replace the fuel strip (and use the trip meter instead)

This will get rid of the warnings on the display

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Permanent fix?. I don't believe there is one. As it is BMW has warranted the part for 12 years.

 

There has been thread after thread regarding the fuel strip... with some very knowledgeable people weighing in regarding the legal side of this.

The 2010-2013 has a float. I wonder if that could be retrofitted. Probably need a computer flash.

 

I will be getting one of these if it fits my 07 RT :

 

 

https://hposkam.nl/en/product/tanklint-emulator/

You should still be covered under the extended warranty if you live in the states.

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I've been following the fuel strip issue on the forum for quite awhile. Since my original is still working I'm just curious. What are the symptoms of a failed fuel strip??? :dontknow:

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I've been following the fuel strip issue on the forum for quite awhile. Since my original is still working I'm just curious. What are the symptoms of a failed fuel strip??? :dontknow:

 

Morning sardineone

 

THAT, depends on the way it fails.

 

The normal failure mode is the yellow dash light stays on even though have lots of fuel in the tank.

 

Another strip mode failure is the gauge showing you still have fuel in the tank even though you are about to run out (or you have just ran out). Always re-set one of your trip-sets when you re-fuel then ride with that one showing. If you get over 250 miles & the gauge still reads the same then your fuel strip has failed.

 

I had one fuel strip fail & the gauge stayed on full the entire time (I put in 6.5 gallons at fill up).

 

Another failure mode is random gauge readings as you ride.

 

That darn fuel strip can fail about any time so on the hexhead bike ALWAYS keep track of the mileage since last fill-up then verify miles traveled against fuel gauge reading.

 

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My first FS just showed highly erratic points - just very unreliable. Start the bike it would show 3/4, then no movement until three stops later start the bike and it would show almost on empty. Or the opposite, start the bike at 3/4 go 10 miles to the next stop and restart the bike now you had a full tank. Second, third, and fourth FS just stopped working - always empty. Our weather has not been good for riding so with the very limited mileage I have put on the fifth strip it could still be working or not. Kinda of like Schrodinger's cat.

Edited by Sonor
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Watch the video, make a zapper and do the repair! It takes longer to create the zapper than to do the repair. You can google up other videos of the zapper repair.

 

I did this on my 2005 R1200RT around 3,000 miles ago a it is still working fine. I have the zapper in the glove box just in case.

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I guess no one really knows why this is happening

 

Exactly..

 

me thinks if they really had a permanent fix, once and for all, they would've done that. Perhaps some bean counter convinced them it's cheaper to offer a 12 year replacement policy? 12 years is an awful long time...

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Count yourselves lucky if you get a twelve year guarantee! Here in the UK, BMW only offer a two year warranty.

 

My dealer tells me that they will charge me about £300 for my second replacement.

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Both our '07's still on original fuel strips. No issues. About 90k miles each.

 

Jan, now you went and did it! Five..Four..Three..Two.... :grin:

 

Pat

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Count yourselves lucky if you get a twelve year guarantee! Here in the UK, BMW only offer a two year warranty.

 

Maybe you guys are just too darn polite? :grin: Doesn't seem very fair. :dontknow:

 

 

Pat

 

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I complained about this to BMW Motorrad UK. Their response includes the following:

 

"I'm aware that BMW North America might have extended the warranties on this part, which they're entitled to do – each market area can make decisions on any issues they feel affect their customers. But BMW worldwide hasn't found a widespread issue with this part, and neither have BMW UK."

 

So there we have it. We are all imagining it and BMW North America just feel generous!

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Both our '07's still on original fuel strips. No issues. About 90k miles each.

 

Jan, now you went and did it! Five..Four..Three..Two.... :grin:

 

Pat

 

I knocked on wood, or something. :-)

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Both our '07's still on original fuel strips. No issues. About 90k miles each.

 

Jan, now you went and did it! Five..Four..Three..Two.... :grin:

 

Pat

 

I knocked on wood, or something. :-)

 

Yeah, I usually just use my forehead, sorta works for me. :dontknow::grin:

 

 

Pat

 

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I complained about this to BMW Motorrad UK. Their response includes the following:

 

"I'm aware that BMW North America might have extended the warranties on this part, which they're entitled to do – each market area can make decisions on any issues they feel affect their customers. But BMW worldwide hasn't found a widespread issue with this part, and neither have BMW UK."

 

So there we have it. We are all imagining it and BMW North America just feel generous!

 

Makes me proud to be an American. OTOH did BMW ship all of the bad strips only to NA and then continue to ship bad replacements? Could be if the rest of the world hasn't found a widespread issue. :dontknow:

 

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I have had 4 fuel strip replacements since I purchased my '05 in '08. They kept failing one after the other over time. I have created the zapping tool and used it several times. Even afterwards, the gas gauge would light up, but it wouldn't work reliably, and would only last maybe 15 minutes and then crash again. So, the zapper is not the fix all solution. I will no longer pay a BMW dealer big money to fix a problem that will never be fixed and have resorted to using electrical tape over the yellow warning. I just ignore the blinking gas pump.

 

Not much else I can do accept live with it, or replace the bike. So, there you go.

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I have had 4 fuel strip replacements since I purchased my '05 in '08. They kept failing one after the other over time. I have created the zapping tool and used it several times. Even afterwards, the gas gauge would light up, but it wouldn't work reliably, and would only last maybe 15 minutes and then crash again. So, the zapper is not the fix all solution. I will no longer pay a BMW dealer big money to fix a problem that will never be fixed and have resorted to using electrical tape over the yellow warning. I just ignore the blinking gas pump.

 

Not much else I can do accept live with it, or replace the bike. So, there you go.

 

Morning rglassma

 

There is one thing that you can do if you can do basic wire connecting & soldering. There is a little fuel gauge spoofer that you can make that will put the fuel gauge reading at part full.

 

It won't make the gauge work or read correctly but it will (should) keep the warning light out.

 

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Did you pay the dealer to replace the four fuel strips? My understanding is it's a 12 year free fix from BMW. I forget when that was implemented but you should still have time to get it repaired for nothing. Maybe you'll get lucky with the next one. :thumbsup:

 

Pat

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I have had 4 fuel strip replacements since I purchased my '05 in '08. They kept failing one after the other over time. I have created the zapping tool and used it several times. Even afterwards, the gas gauge would light up, but it wouldn't work reliably, and would only last maybe 15 minutes and then crash again. So, the zapper is not the fix all solution. I will no longer pay a BMW dealer big money to fix a problem that will never be fixed and have resorted to using electrical tape over the yellow warning. I just ignore the blinking gas pump.

 

Not much else I can do accept live with it, or replace the bike. So, there you go.

 

Morning rglassma

 

There is one thing that you can do if you can do basic wire connecting & soldering. There is a little fuel gauge spoofer that you can make that will put the fuel gauge reading at part full.

 

It won't make the gauge work or read correctly but it will (should) keep the warning light out.

 

Link to spoofer build?

 

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Link to spoofer build?

 

 

Morning Bud

 

I don't have a link as all I have is a hand scribbled crude diagram.

 

There is probably a link somewhere as the spoofer fix has been known for quite a while now. (now how to find it is the question)

 

As I get some time I will try to use my hand scribbled diagram & make an actual wire schematic then either post it here or PM it to you. (I'm pretty busy until just after X-Mas but will see if I can pick away at it & get you a diagram)

 

 

 

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Look at the end of the above thread for the final diagram of the fuel strip spoof wiring, this will display a full tank and no warnings. It has been used for many years on many bikes so as long as you wire it correctly there will be no damage, and it's always reversible if you decide you would rather replace your fuel strip every year :D

 

We originally figured this out on a GS but I know it works on RTs and have since installed it on my K1200GT so it will probably work on any fuel strip equipped model.

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Thanks everyone.

 

I'm getting it replaced and hope I get a good one. If not, the solution above will work.

 

12 year warranty, my bike was delivered in 07 as an 08 model. Still have a few more months if this next replacement doesn't work.

 

BMWST ROCKS

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