Well, this is an odd thing in a fuel gauge

New VFR800 owner, got it about two months ago. Couple of days ago, first really chilly morning when I left work it started right off, but the fuel gauge was showing the 'You'd better gas up NOW' blink; I'd filled up the afternoon before. That afternoon was working normally. This morning it started off ok, then as it idled while I tied on the helmet the level dropped until it started blinking again; this afternoon, worked normally. So cold weather makes the gauge act wonky, it seems.

Anyone else run into this?

 

not here. I'd get it looked at. Is it still under warranty?

 

Is all else working electrically??

You dont live next door to a guy who owns a rubber hose and a jerry can??

 

All else works just as it should, she runs beautifully. And the tank has the amount of gas it should.

Not under warranty, it's a 2004

 

Well, I would say if you want to get it fixed, then go for it. It may be the dash is bad, or the sensor in the tank or whatever that does is bad.

If you want to know what the repair manual says, let me know. Chapter 21- Page 20. A few steps, but it looks if you are somewhat mechanically inclined, it can be tested. You will need an electrical tester, and it even says that it could be the dash.

 

Intermittent problems are the worst. If you were to test it, to find the fault you would have to replicate the problem. So you would have to test it when its freezing cold out and the gauge is acting up. Sometimes this is the only way to find these kind of problems.

 

Welcome aboard

 

Were you on an incline or decline? 6th gen VFRs are notorious for this. I can add that both mine, and a co-worker's, will show up to 3 bars difference depending on whether the bike is level, on an incline, on a decline, or is moving. Just a thought

 

The 5g's aren't much better. The float for the sensor is in the rear of the tank where the pump and pickup are. On an incline it will read high, on a decline it will read low, and if i turn the key on while the bike is on the sidestand it will also read low until the bike is vertical for a minute or so. Some variance is to be expected but if the bike has almost a full tank theres no way it should read empty unless you've strung it upside down from the ceiling. Check the connectors for the gauge circuit as the gauge uses a variable resistor (rheostat) to modify a reference voltage sent from the computer to determine the number of bars to illuminate on the display. Any unwanted resistance caused by loose or corroded connectors will throw readings off. Check all grounds as well as computers are very picky when it comes to poor grounds. I'd be hesitant to suspect the cluster over the float in the tank as solid state circuitry with no moving parts rarely fails. Good luck with the fix.

 

I think it boils down to: it's a gremlin that sounds hard to trace down. Keep track of your miles, and look in your tank for fuel level.

 

Seems to be something caused by temperature. If it's above 50, reads just fine; around 45 or below, it acts weird.

And yeah, when it's on the kickstand after starting it'll read a bar lower than after you have it vertical.

Get a chance the next few days I'll raise the tank and check the connections, but it may just be an electronic oddity caused by temperature.

 

Keager, appreciate the offer; comes to that I'll definitely ask

 

If the wiring/connectors are ok.
It isnt too much trouble to pull the fuel guage out and inspect for corrosion (you could have had water in it previously). I put some photos of this on a thread titled fuel leak - help (i think). The hardest thing was getting the fuel guage back in (having the fuel pump out made this simple as you could see the float through the pump hole. Any dramas, just yell