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The bastard fuel gauge got me again

4K views 40 replies 14 participants last post by  pauljac 
#1 ·
Conked out just after pulling of the motorway - both times it's died on a slip road showing 4 bars. Luckily only a couple of km from home this time.

Not much pisses you off more. And not much makes you feel quite as much of a cunt as filling a bike up from a can on the side of the road as your neighbours drive past. I feel like going around knocking on doors and showing them all a film of the fuel gauge while trying to start the cunt.

KTMs need to come with a sign you can put up while fucking about with it that says, "The bike is the cunt! Not me!"

Mind you, I'm the cunt for buying it.
 
#5 · (Edited)
It's the gauge.

The one time it happened before was when it was still a spring chicken about 5 years ago. Got recovered to a KTM dealer. I asked them to chuck in a litre of fuel and see what happens. Lots of sucking through teeth and, "Nah, it'll be a bit more complicated than that mate." Refused to drop some fuel in, so I left it with them

Get a call a couple of days later. "It ran out of fuel. We've had to get some new software from KTM. Downloaded. Rebooted. Blah. Blah. Bullshit. Bullshit. It now works." All on the guarantee, so who cares.

No bother until today. I guess it's starting to get a bit furry in there. Fucker hasn't budged with a full tank and a good kicking. Maybe it's time for more new 'software'.
40139
 
#7 ·
I guess it's starting to get a bit furry in there. Fucker hasn't budged with a full tank and a good kicking. Maybe it's time for more new 'software'.
View attachment 40139
It's the plastic float swelling that causes it, but then if it is this it would only jam when showing full.
Worth checking though as it's a pretty basic level sensor.

I still reset the trip on mine at each fill up, old habits die hard.. but I am relying more and more on that gauge.
 
#12 · (Edited)
My spider senses were tingling on the way home because I'm pretty sure it was showing half a tank when I left home and I was considering topping up the tank but it said it had a range of 230km, so I figured I would fill up after my meeting about 80km away, but didn't because of the gauge and it then konked out after riding about 170-180 km due to also running a couple or errands after the meeting. And most of those km's were quite fast on motorways. I've now put a sticker above the gauge that says, "Bullshit meter"
 
#8 ·
There is a new fuel level sensor part number that came out on the 2018s...
60307080100
It's allegedly a new design that won't stick.

Previous part number is 60307080000.

But in the last couple of months there has been a further update New number 60307080200.

This is a much better gauge , just make sure you get the latest version. Fit yourself takes 15 minutes at most and be sure it is done well . Will cost around £90 here in the UK


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#11 ·
There is a new fuel level sensor part number that came out on the 2018s...
60307080100
It's allegedly a new design that won't stick.

Previous part number is 60307080000.

But in the last couple of months there has been a further update New number 60307080200.

This is a much better gauge , just make sure you get the latest version. Fit yourself takes 15 minutes at most and be sure it is done well . Will cost around £90 here in the UK


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks. On the list for the coming winter when it's due its biannual strip-down.
 
#13 ·
Looks like the sensor's electrics are fried. Took out the sensor and the float's moving freely. Hooked it up and the bike's still showing 4 bars whether I turn it upside down or right way up with the float at the top or the bottom. Bike shows a failure and flashing fuel gauge when I disconnect it, so I guess the bike's brain is okay. Tried disconncting and connecting the battery, but made no difference. So I guess it's a new, latest and greatest sensor. Arse.
 
#17 ·
Just checked the wiring diagram and it is shown as being a 2 wire device, and it's symbol is of a variable resistor. I think in actuality it's just a series of fixed resistors along a strip, and the float connects across them as it moves.

What worries me is if it really is just this then it's unlikely to have failed in the way you've described.
I think if you did plan on replacing it I would first test the existing one to be sure it really is the problem.
Once the sensor is off the bike you should be able to test it at the connector with an ohm meter, and tip it over to make the level shift, which should result in the resistance changing in steps.
 
#18 ·
I know the fucking thing should work, I had to drive with a can of fuel for a mate cost his fuel gauge was telling porkies. My point is how did we survive before fuel gauges on bikes, we pulled the fuel cap and sloshed what was in the tank and listened.

I heard an entire steel plant shut down recently due to a cyber attack...FFS, 40 years ago the steel mills ran just fine without a computer.
 
#19 ·
It's a tricky bugger, because it sloshes even after it stops. The first time it happened 5 years ago the first thing I did was have a listen at the open fuel cap, shook the bike, and heard sloshing. So figured it was something else. It got recovered by a truck with a ramp that we pushed it up onto and strapped it down. After getting it off the truck at the dealer, I thought I'd give it a try, and it ran for about 20 seconds before dying. I guess because some of the last remaining fuel sloshed over to the outlet while pushing it on and off the ramp and during the drive. This is what had me then thinking it had run out of petrol and asked the melodramatic dealer to chuck a litre of fuel in to see what would happen.

They claimed it was a software issue back then. I had no reason to doubt them, but I kind of have since because I've not seen it on any forums. But maybe they were right and it's come back. I'll take it out tomorrow and see if it re-sets after 10 miles.
 
#22 ·
Fixed I suppose, don't know how, and it's clearly not to be trusted.

After about 3km it moved up to showing 6 bars, which should be right as I needed to drain fuel from full to get the float tube sensor out. Then filled it up, and it took about a km and a half to show full.

From looking at the tube and its guts, I can't see why it would be sticky. Seems to slide up and down no problem. Maybe the bike's computer has started doing the fuel calculations on its fingers. It has been a bit odd with random messages flashing up now and again after I changed the battery last autumn. Which is awful by the way. A Snell battery that really struggles in the cold, so that's being changed again. Maybe that's the problem.

Anyhow, looks like I'll be double checking with the trip meter from now on. Which reminds me, I'd better go out and zero it now. New habit to form.

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions.
 
#33 ·
Just remind never to fly with you.
"I'm sure it said it was full" ✈ 🔥
A wise move.

Years ago I was flying north in a carbon fibre aerobat called a Giles G202. It had 3 tanks. One in each wing for ferry flights, and a smaller 'acro' tank just behind the engine for flying aerobatics. You can't fly aeros with fuel in the wings because when you roll at 400+ degrees a second, the fuel flies out to the wingtips and rips them off.

The flight north is a long one, so I fill the wings for the first time. Each tank feeds into a single line leading to the engine with no tank selector between the two. And each tank has its own breather sticking out into the airflow underneath the wing.

About 300 miles in, as I'm requesting clearance through Sundsvall's controlled airspace it all goes quiet. The controller sounded a little concerned as I end my read back of the clearance with, "The engine just quit. Stand by".

I put it down into an airfield that was nearby with one empty wing and one full wing because the two breather tubes were supplying slighty different pressures due to the air moving over them. And guess which tank they put the fuel gauge sensor in.

A tank system clearly designed by KTM.

40214



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#35 ·
Most planes are full of them. Never fly in a brand new design.

I had another plane called an Extra that looked similar and had a similar tank layout. It had a better breather set up, but if you tried taking off on the wings the engine would quit because the fuel would run to the back and the fuel lines to the engine were connected at the front.

It also had a tiny acro tank. Caused some sweaty palms on the way home if you had to fly any distance to your display site.

40215
 
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