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Crossing fuel gauge wires?


RoSPA_man

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My first one did that. It would drop from full at 120 miles (just over 1/2 the tank.)

 

The new strip drops around 50 miles. I think its the calibration.

 

David

 

For what it's worth, my latest fuel strip has lasted longer than any other (& still working); I've noticed something interesting which may or may not have any bearing on longevity.

 

My fuel guage shows full until I've used up about 3 gallons of petro, then drops to the correct level all at once. I gladly accept this if it would mean a long lasting fuel strip. Knowing nothing about electronics, I'm wondering if this strip has a thicker sensor in the area prone to failure.

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This is interesting. Mine was replaced in July of 2012. It will drop from full to half within a few miles and sit there then be dead accurate from half to empty.

 

Recently it stopped doing that and has been working somewhat normal. Odd. I was going to it replaced but I might wait and see what happens between now and July just before the warranty on the current runs out.

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  • 3 years later...

Hi everyone. This is my first post on here so firstly hello to all!! What a great site full of information on our machines!!

 

I have the dreaded yellow triangle and flashing fuel warning. I zapped the tank and it worked fine for about two hours then back to the same old.

 

Iv tried going down the bypass route today and

have had absolutely no luck. I am using the correct resistors and am pretty handy with the soldering iron.

 

Is there anything / anywhere else I can look to solve the problem? I am thinking maybe inside the tank will be my next place for a look!

 

Thanks in advance and I am looking forward to hearing back from some who have went this route ;)

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Hi everyone. This is my first post on here so firstly hello to all!! What a great site full of information on our machines!!

 

I have the dreaded yellow triangle and flashing fuel warning. I zapped the tank and it worked fine for about two hours then back to the same old.

 

Iv tried going down the bypass route today and

have had absolutely no luck. I am using the correct resistors and am pretty handy with the soldering iron.

 

Is there anything / anywhere else I can look to solve the problem? I am thinking maybe inside the tank will be my next place for a look!

 

Thanks in advance and I am looking forward to hearing back from some who have went this route ;)

 

Afternoon Itsjaymc

 

What model & what year are you working on?

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Hi Dirtrider,

Sorry should have included that, I am on a 2006 k1200s

 

Afternoon Itsjaymc

 

Have you checked with your local BMW dealer? BMW

has offered a 12 year unlimited mileage warranty

on fuel strips for most models (for sure on the R

bike & more than likely on the K bike)

 

Fuel%20strip%20letter_zpsu4n1j0j1.jpg

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Whoops another fact I forgot to mention. I am in London so no recall for us guys... Just a blind eye turned am afraid. I just fancied the bypass as what's the real point in getting a new one when I will never trust it anyways ;-) Hopefully someone can shed some light on this for me. ;-)

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Afternoon Itsjaymc

 

Well if no extended warranty on your side of the

pond then I guess you are a prime candidate for a

resistor try.

 

I'll start by saying I haven't seen or heard of a

K bike fuel gauge resistor bypass. In my wiring

schematics it looks like the wiring & operation is

about the same between the R & the K bike so no

outright reason that it won't work. (not saying it

will work but no reason to say it won't work)

 

One of the problems is, since the extended BMW

fuel strip warranty I don't know of anyone that

has tried or done the resistor bypass in a long

while now. That also means that the resistors

haven't been tried or tested on all applications.

 

If you have wired yours like the information

posted above in this thread & it still doesn't

work then I don't know what to tell you except

to try slightly different resistors.

 

I presume that you HAVE disconnected the pin 2

& pin 3 wires from the connector going to the

fuel gauge?????? (those wires need to be disconnected

so the bike side only sees the resistors & not the

fuel strip)

 

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Yep wires 2 and 3 chopped from the çonnector and a 2k resistor across 2&3. Then the power spliced from wire 4 with a 1m resistor. I even tried taking a + feed from other sources. No joy.

 

If I take it all apart again to test with different resistors can I get away with leaving the tank off and just turn ignition to ON? (Obvously not starting the bike)?? That would speed things up rather than connecting the tank and fuel line etc.

 

Thanks again for the help so far. Hopefully another k1200s owner comes along soon with a fix for me ;-)

 

 

 

 

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Yep wires 2 and 3 chopped from the çonnector and a 2k resistor across 2&3. Then the power spliced from wire 4 with a 1m resistor. I even tried taking a + feed from other sources. No joy.

 

If I take it all apart again to test with different resistors can I get away with leaving the tank off and just turn ignition to ON? (Obvously not starting the bike)?? That would speed things up rather than connecting the tank and fuel line etc.

 

Thanks again for the help so far. Hopefully another k1200s owner comes along soon with a fix for me ;-)

 

Afternoon Itsjaymc

 

The K rider with a fix will probably have to come from your area, in the U.S. not many riders have needed to come up with a fix since the extended BMW warranty.

 

As far as leaving the tank off?--possibly, but it might take having the fuel strip heater hooked up (plugged in) for it to start working properly. (without knowing for sure I guess I would hook the tank up)

 

Have you tried riding it with the resistors in the circuit? Sometimes it can take some time for the thing to start registering correctly.

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Yeah I guess am looking for a euro or UK rider really. I will run some extra cable up under the seat so I can play with different value resistors while the heater sides are plugged in.

 

I took the bike on a 5 mile trip just to see if it registered anything. It didn't change anything. I returned the wiring to stock and put her back together.

 

I got thinking about it all and was wondering if anything inside the actual tank had become disconnected but that shouldn't really matter as I was trying to bypass the gauge anyways.

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Afternoon Itsjaymc

 

I suppose the K bike could be different than the R bike, external wiring looks similar but possible the actual electronics inside the modules require something different.

 

Unless your strip heater (inside the tank) is the issue then you are probably dealing with the sensor side.

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Hello

How can you regulate the fuel indications

I want to replace the float line

 

1Mom changes very low voltage

Does anyone know any electronic circuit

Edited by robo1973
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Morning robo1973

 

Your post here doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

 

How can you regulate the fuel indications--What fuel indications do you want to regulate? What bike, what model, & what year?????

 

I want to replace the float line--What's a float line?

 

1Mom changes very low voltage-- That would depend on the circuit & how it reacts.

 

Does anyone know any electronic circuit --Yes, we know a lot of electronic circuits but without knowing what you need then I don't think any of them will help you.

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  • 1 month later...
Don_Eilenberger

If you follow his links given above, and use a browser that translates from Polish to English, you'll find out that he's designed a circuit that allows the use of a float-type level sensor with the BMW electronics that were designed to be used with the fuel strips.

 

And it appears to work.

 

If he can do this - there is no reason why BMW couldn't do this (or pay him for his work..) so the trick is - to get BMW motivated.

 

The way to motivate them is to file complaints with NHTSA every damn time your fuel strip fails - pointing out the dangerous condition it creates putting your life at risk.

 

Other motorcycle brands, and even other BMW vehicles (cars) have recalled the vehicles for this exact sort of fuel indicator failure, recognizing that running out of fuel increases the chance of an accident that may result in injury or death.

 

I started a bit of a campaign to do this on the MOA hex/cam-head forums on the MOA forum. That resulted in the 12 year warranty extension by BMW, an incomplete solution.

 

We need to continue putting pressure on BMW to fix the problem for good - and make a retrofit float-design sensor for the fuel strip equipped bikes.

 

Here is what I posted there:

Here is what I filled out (after selecting the on-line form found at: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/) <---- LINK UPDATED 10/3/16

 

  • VIN: Entered my VIN#
  • VEHICLE: BMW R 1200 R 2007 (this is on the drop down screen once you enter BMW.. it's down a ways.. look for your bike if it's not there use the ones that are there as a pattern to create a new model listing.)
  • APPROXIMATE DATE: I entered the date it first happened (as the instructions say to.)
  • CRASH: No
  • FIRE: No
  • FATALITY: No
  • VEHICLE MILEAGE: I put down the approximate mileage it first happened at
  • SPEED: I put down 65 for good luck.
  • AFFECTED PARTS: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM <-- this is the important one. This is how the complaints get lost.
  • TELL US WHAT HAPPENED: Fuel gauge stopped responding, leading to running out of fuel while moving. This is a common failure on many bike models from BMW from 2005-2013. I have had this happen 5 times so far, and each time the fuel level measuring strip in the fuel tank was replaced. This is an unsafe condition since loss of engine power from running out of fuel can be quite dangerous on a motorcycle.

 

I then filled in my personal info.

 

My suggestion - if you've experienced the failure - take 10 minutes to fill in the form... it might just help, and it can't hurt. Fell free to ignore this if it doesn't seem reasonable to you.. and I have no delusions about getting a "Friend of the Marque" for posting this up.. If anyone wants to point the K bike forum (of models that used the fuel strip) to this post, please feel free to.

 

Don't just whine here - whine somewhere that it will have an effect.

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I designed a fuel module

Now that will have me getting out my old Radio Control soldering kit and a circuit board.... :clap:

 

Agree, BMW should do this as a fix...

 

Bill R

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...

Sorry to resurrect this thread but having recently bought a 2008 RT, I have some issues.

 

The fuel gauge initially failed to drop below 1/4 tank. The bike had been standing for a few years, so I wasn't that surprised.

 

After a bit of maintenance (changing plugs and fitting a 12v socket to the battery, plus investigating a strong smell of fuel, which turned out to be a loose metal ring on the fuel pump assembly that was replaced under warranty by BMW.... I reassembled the bike but now have the dreaded empty fuel garage and yellow flashing light.

 

I found this thread and have purchased the resistors but the wiring diagrams and pictures are no longer shown. I've cut wires 2&3 and soldered in a 2.2k resistor. I then tapped into wire 4 with a 1 meg resistor bit it didn't cure the problem.the description doesn't state which wire (2 or 3) to connect the other side of the 1 meg resistor to. Does it matter?

 

Further, I tested the voltages at wires 1 and 4 and at most, I'm getting 1v. Nowhere near the 10v stayed here that I should be getting.

 

I'm wondering if my strip heater is faulty and the ZFE is sensing that and not putting out the 10v (I know it's intermittent from your thread) or whether my ZFE is faulty?

 

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. My dealer wants £260 plus VAT to replace the strip but I'm loathe to go down that route having read up on the strips, especially as I'm currently thinking it could be the ZFE! (Another £500?)

 

A friend with a G's-911 tried resetting the warning lamp and re-calibrating the fuel strip (which I removed and dried) but the G's-911 wouldn't take the re-calibration. It kept coming up with an error.

 

Looking forward to your wisdom!

 

Thanks.

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Sorry to resurrect this thread but having recently bought a 2008 RT, I have some issues.

 

The fuel gauge initially failed to drop below 1/4 tank. The bike had been standing for a few years, so I wasn't that surprised.

 

After a bit of maintenance (changing plugs and fitting a 12v socket to the battery, plus investigating a strong smell of fuel, which turned out to be a loose metal ring on the fuel pump assembly that was replaced under warranty by BMW.... I reassembled the bike but now have the dreaded empty fuel garage and yellow flashing light.

 

I found this thread and have purchased the resistors but the wiring diagrams and pictures are no longer shown. I've cut wires 2&3 and soldered in a 2.2k resistor. I then tapped into wire 4 with a 1 meg resistor bit it didn't cure the problem.the description doesn't state which wire (2 or 3) to connect the other side of the 1 meg resistor to. Does it matter?

 

Further, I tested the voltages at wires 1 and 4 and at most, I'm getting 1v. Nowhere near the 10v stayed here that I should be getting.

 

I'm wondering if my strip heater is faulty and the ZFE is sensing that and not putting out the 10v (I know it's intermittent from your thread) or whether my ZFE is faulty?

 

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. My dealer wants £260 plus VAT to replace the strip but I'm loathe to go down that route having read up on the strips, especially as I'm currently thinking it could be the ZFE! (Another £500?)

 

A friend with a G's-911 tried resetting the warning lamp and re-calibrating the fuel strip (which I removed and dried) but the G's-911 wouldn't take the re-calibration. It kept coming up with an error.

 

Looking forward to your wisdom!

 

Thanks.

 

Afternoon Gridders

 

Check your PM (private Messages) on this site as I sent you a picture.

 

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You might want to review an earlier thread, this post in particular: http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1002404#Post1002404

 

There is a link to a lengthy discussion on advrider that might tell you what readings to expect and talks about other efforts to patch up the system.

 

Also there are links to Ebay, where a Netherlands engineering firm is selling float type replacements for the unreliable sensor strips (click the RT link). Still not cheap but probably a better option.

 

Full disclosure: I have no experience with either of these approaches as my original strip is still working well.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Many thanks for he info. I've just picked up a brand new replacement strip from BMW having decided that if I can't rwaolve the problem myself, I might be better off taking the bike with a new genuine BMW part to my nearest dealer, which used to be near but isn't any more....

 

If it turns out to be just the strip and if the new strip doesn't last the course, I'll definitely go down this companies replacement flat system.

 

I did take the opportunity however to take some readings off the new strip before fitting it and am getting 37ohms across the heater strip pins and 2.64k ohms across the centre two pins.

 

I was getting 36ohms across my old heater pins and couldn't get a reading off the two centre pins at all.

 

I'm hoping that my bike will ‘spring back into life' with the correct part fitted rather than the resistor simulator. I'll update once I've fitted the new strip and had it calibrated.

 

 

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Update, it's all fixed. I will PM Dirtrider to thank him for his help etc but what I ended up having to do was fit a new fuel strip, then get it calibrated.

 

It would appear that tryingto calibrate the old strip, which it turns out was broken, (albeit it broke coincidentally whilst doing some completely unrelated work on the bike!) confused the ZFE. It couldn't complete the calibration so shut down the power supply to the fuel stripheater.

 

The resistor pack wouldn't then work, neither would the new fuel strip until a full re-calibration had been done, which we did with the bike connected to a 12v charger as you should. If the bike battery voltage drops too low, the calibration will fail and you'll also end up in the state I did.

 

Anyway, sadly I can't post pictures yet but I have dismantled my old sensor strip and will attempt to get into the resin connector where he cables meet the strip. I'm suspecting a diode in there has failed.

 

Cheers all, don't make the mistake I did!

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  • 2 years later...
147 Madmax

Hi I’m a new member.

I own a 2007 R1200GS. 
I have only owned the bike 6 months and was warned by the previous owner that the fuel gauge was not to be trusted as he had run out of fuel a couple of times even thou the gauge read half full. 
10 days ago the bike suffered the yellow warning triangle with flashing fuel low warning. 
After much searching I found you’re very helpful website which clearly explained how to bypass the faulty fuel strip with the aid of both a 1m and 2k resistor. 
I ordered 20 of each “minimum quantity “ at the grand cost of £2 from eBay. 
I fitted these today as per you’re instructions, turned on the ignition, waited a minute or two for the system to refresh, low and behold the flashing yellow triangle fault vanished and the fuel strip reads full. 
Thank you so much for you’re persistence in coming up with a hack for this problem and for sharing it. 

  • Like 1
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4 hours ago, 147 Madmax said:

Hi I’m a new member.

I own a 2007 R1200GS. 
I have only owned the bike 6 months and was warned by the previous owner that the fuel gauge was not to be trusted as he had run out of fuel a couple of times even thou the gauge read half full. 
10 days ago the bike suffered the yellow warning triangle with flashing fuel low warning. 
After much searching I found you’re very helpful website which clearly explained how to bypass the faulty fuel strip with the aid of both a 1m and 2k resistor. 
I ordered 20 of each “minimum quantity “ at the grand cost of £2 from eBay. 
I fitted these today as per you’re instructions, turned on the ignition, waited a minute or two for the system to refresh, low and behold the flashing yellow triangle fault vanished and the fuel strip reads full. 
Thank you so much for you’re persistence in coming up with a hack for this problem and for sharing it. 

Hey MadMax.  Glad to hear someone else got some use out of the fix.  Seems most everyone else would rather disassemble and hit it with a lighter every few months.

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147 Madmax

I did come across many posts giving advice on zapping the Fuel sensor, most stated that the fix required regular zapping, As the fuel gauges are rather sporadic anyway, It was a no brainer to undertake the 2 resistor fix. 
So pleased with the result. 

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  • 8 months later...
  • 1 year later...
skytherottie

I know this is an old thread, but I am so chuffed to have found a solution to the dreaded BMW Fuel Strip failure and resultant flashing dash warnings!

 

Many thanks to all the geniuses who worked this one out !!

 

 

IMG_0083.jpg

IMG_0084.jpg

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