fuel sender questions again! (fixed see pics)

[klingklang]

As many of you, my fuel sender is sometimes going weird.  When I go around, doing some stop and go here and there I is fine.  But, when I cruise on the highway from full to empty, it drop a lot more faster. I'm empty (light on)at about 15liters taken (3.9us gal.)  Do you experience the same thing?  To those who changed it, do they the same thing or it is fixed? I don't like to be on the trip to evaluate my consumption.

[MARKC]

Mine has had its fuel sender replaced twice. When I fill up now it will read full but will read empty at least 30 or 40 miles before the low fuel light comes on. The low fuel light is very accurate each time.There has been 4 litres left. The fuel gauge on my 900 only ever read 3/4 full even when topped up and dropped to empty very quickly. I just measure the fuel by the trip meter,filling every 190 - 200 miles. If Tigers have to have a weak spot I can live with it being the fuel gauge.

[BykBoy]

Same simptoms here.



My mechanic said the sender units suck and recomended not replacing it because it would just happen again... I just ignore it and fill up every 200 miles or so.

[NortonCharlie]

I have been impressed with the accuracy of my Tigers gage, once you get to know it.  On mine the fuel light comes on when the needle hits the bottom of the red and has about a gallon left.  The gage continues moving below the red as I run the last gallon out.  Been working that way consistently for the last 70,000 miles.

[Sasquatch]

After 6 years, mine just developed a really odd issue.



Works as it always did full to empty.  After I fill up, usually on my way home from work, the gauge will go to full, then rapidly fall to empty.  It sits at empty for a few seconds then slowly rises back to full again.  Does this 2-4 times in the 10 minutes or so it takes me to get home.  I shut the bike down, the next morning, all is good again.  Stays stable all the way to empty.  Fill up again and the scenario repeats.



Seems that this type of issue is not mechanical, i.e. the float.  When mechanical failure happen, they just happen.  So it looks electrical.  The signal from the sender does go through the ECM, so I am betting the problem lies there.  I bet they have a circuit in there that "averages" the fuel reading so you do not have a gauge that bounces all over the place.  My guess is that this is where the problem lies.

[iansoady]

I've just fitted a new (used) sender to mine and noticed that the float on this one (froma cast wheel post-05 bike) is made of a solid plastic rather than the spongy white stuff the original on my 04 had. It's early days but it is working so far (10 minutes....).



I had similar bizarre behaviour to that Sasquatch describes in that it would work perfectly sometimes then just drop to zero. It was definitely the sender as I checked the resistance and it was about 93 ohms regardless of how much was in the tank (should drop to about 15 when it's full).



Sasquatch, I suggest you check the resistance across the sender and you'll find out if it's that or as you suspect electrical.

[Chris Canning]

Fuel gauge has been the same on both of my Tigers,when the dial goes to zero,i know i have 40 miles till the light comes on,and then aleast another 40 after that.

[klingklang]

OK, Since I dont like to stress with "did I reset my trip?" I bought a new fuel sender.  Now that I have a backup, I did not resist to open it and check what may be the sources of the problem.







The fuel sender come in a long tube. all base, seal, tube cap an inner pcb are the same. production dates are even the same on pcb and tube. cpa and base dont have those.   The tube can easyly be removed by unsnaping the grey cap by pushing on the snap on each side.







It is obvious that the float is not the same.  The new float is the one on the left (dark brown). Beside the colors, is the weight. I can feel very well that the new one is lighter.  the new one is made like a baloon, mean a real float.  By comparaison,  the older float is in fact a solid plastic parts. By the texture and some kind of experience, It is full of foaming agent to get it lighter. Foaming agent is normaly used to reduce the price of some resin parts of help mould flow in some cases. I think that with the time, the resin become saturated with gas chemicals and become more heavy and create misreading.  An another thing I noticed, is that: inside the center hole, there is a metal blade that seems to be heat inserted there. Around mine there is kind of excess melded resin that I suppose, in some unit may be bigger since it is an uncontroled process, and probably get stuck with the pcb components and cause some of the common problems happening with that fuel sender.  Anoter thing I would have tried (knowing now that the difference with the new float) is to drill some hole from the bottom but not trought the parts to reduce the weight. If someone try it, let us know. watch not to drill inside component close to the center hole. I would also remowe all the inner excess of materials (melt and flash)with an exacto.









Hum, when I notice that I said to myself: great how canwe solve a problem by generating a new one?  that was probably in the head of the designer worked on it. It was probably if first day at the job, no experiences and obviously " what do you mean by tolerences"

In the new float, the center hole is a bit smaler. In the top cap, there is a rib all around the center PCB hole that keep it centered. That "frame" act as a male connector with the hole in the new float. So just by turning the fuel sender upside down, my floaw was getting stuck in the top cap. That is probably the source of some of the fuel showing full all the time I saw. I then remove some materials by scrapping the external walls with the tip of an exacto all around the cap rib. I cut the sharp corner to fit the float internal radius and also scraped som material too until it won't stuck in the cap when turning it upside down.





All the time I was working on that, I asked myself "why not just selling the new float? "  the answer is probably $$$$$





If some of you try a few things base on that, for the benefice of all tiger onwers that have fuel sender problems, and they are numbers of them, let us know!



sorry for my english...

[iansoady]

KlingKlang,



Just what I found when I fitted a new (used) one to mine recently, as I mentioned a couple of posts above. But good of you to post pics - at least we now know there's a good reason for the problem.



BTW I did try what you suggested and drilled a couple of holes in the old float, up from the bottom, but it didn't do anything useful.



And another BTW - the metal "blade" is in fact a magnet that actuates the reed switches which give the different resistance at different heights.

[Jim S]

I replaced mine with a new unit from Triumph back in April this year and it's working fine. At only £49 I'll replace it again if neccessary, the old one lasted two years so if I get a couple of years and have to change it again I will. I can remove the tank, (although you don't need it off to do the sender unit, just lift), replace the unit and put it back together in less than 30 mins so no big hardship, just do it along with the service.

[blacktiger]

Drilling hole in a float is the wrong thing to do because you're removing bouyancy. It's like drilling holes in a boat. The original float is a foam material and the little gas bubbles in the foam gives it bouyancy. You drill out some of those bubbles you've reduced the bouyancy.
I was told the reason these go wrong is mostly, just as you've found, there are ridges in the moulds that get the float stuck. I was told that by the dealer mechanics that fitted my second one and I think they did what you've done and fettled the float to fit properly. That second one is still working fine some 41000 miles on.
I would guess the reason you cannot buy a new float is that Triumph probably buy these in complete and cheap from China.

[greg]

Well I sort of like the way my bike still has at least 40 miles in it when the light comes on. I once got 292.8 miles out of it with a little bit left in it. I never worry when the light comes on.

[Putts255]

I know this is an old post but since we have seen several questions pop up about the fuel sending unit I thought I would chime in with my latest arrival.

I got a fuel sender on e-bay and it arrived today.  I have a 2001 Tiger 955i, the unit i bought was used out of a 2006 Sprint ST 1050 and is identical to mine.  7.99 GBP or $15 CDN$ versus $118 CDN$ from my local dealer.

Because of this post and its pictures the first thing I did was open the cap on the fuel sender and checked to see the type of float in it and it matches the dark brown/black unit above.  Good sign.  The next thing I did was hook my multi-meter and tested it.  It ranges from 14 to 98 ohms.  All is good and will be a quick swap once I drain a little of the gas.

But my main point here is to let anyone who is worried about this to just order the new float from the dealer, take out the fuel sender, pop the end cap off pull the old one out and replace it.  It really is no more work than getting the whole unit and replacing it.  And it may save you some good cash.  I say this because I was rather nervous about doing just that, but now that I have this unit in hand it is no longer a big thing to consider or worry about.  

The Bike Bandit part number from their website is 1395459
(5573907-001).  Just do a search for float and it will come up.

Cheers!

[Timbox2]

I know this is an old post but since we have seen several questions pop up about the fuel sending unit I thought I would chime in with my latest arrival.

I got a fuel sender on e-bay and it arrived today.  I have a 2001 Tiger 955i, the unit i bought was used out of a 2006 Sprint ST 1050 and is identical to mine.  7.99 GBP or $15 CDN$ versus $118 CDN$ from my local dealer.

Because of this post and its pictures the first thing I did was open the cap on the fuel sender and checked to see the type of float in it and it matches the dark brown/black unit above.  Good sign.  The next thing I did was hook my multi-meter and tested it.  It ranges from 14 to 98 ohms.  All is good and will be a quick swap once I drain a little of the gas.

But my main point here is to let anyone who is worried about this to just order the new float from the dealer, take out the fuel sender, pop the end cap off pull the old one out and replace it.  It really is no more work than getting the whole unit and replacing it.  And it may save you some good cash.  I say this because I was rather nervous about doing just that, but now that I have this unit in hand it is no longer a big thing to consider or worry about.  

The Bike Bandit part number from their website is 1395459
(5573907-001).  Just do a search for float and it will come up.

Cheers!

Yeah, Ive had my float out twice now, it was sticking inside the tube, but touch wood its now been ok for well over 10k miles. If it was to go again though I probably would go buy another float as mine is the earlier white coloured job.

PS: For the benefit of others the actual Triumph Part No for the float is T2400201, still not cheap for a bit of plastic £16 odd, but cheaper than a complete sender unit.

[walker]

the one that came out of my 2000 tiger is a different design on both float and on the PCB that goes through the middle of it.... the float had 2 copper contacts that ran along 2 lengths of copper strip, one on each side of the PCB.

The resistance was based on the length of copper or something like that - it was a continuous strip.

the new design appears to be inductive, and there are little diodes across an electrical trace at set intervals, like a ladder, all the way up.

I just ordered a new unit, plugged it in, and it seems fine. Sits on full a little longer than before, but moves as fuel is removed from the tank.