Fuel guage stopped working

Cameron

0
Joined
Nov 14, 2011
Messages
110
Location
Lafayette Hill, PA
Bike
'10 Silver NT700
When I started my NT this morning, the guage indicated better than a quarter tank and the trip meter indicated just over 150 miles. However, by the halfway point in my 13-mile morning commute (temp was just below freezing), the guage shows at the bottom of the red zone, though the needle was not resting on the peg.

How does the guage work? Would it be effected by cold? Has anyone else had this issue? I carry a small bottle of extra fuel with me, but have also been reading that the electric pump can be negatively effected by running it dry, so I'd rather not try. Still, it's kind of frustrating to have bought the bike less than two months ago (with less than 800 miles on it) and have this type of issue already.
 
I have found that the gauge does not move from full until I have around 70 -80 miles on the tank. Then it drops very quickly to empty over the next 100 miles or so. Mostly this is due to the shape of the tank, wide at the top and very narrow and small at the bottom. I think, but not sure, that cold weather can reduce gas mileage due to air density. All that said, I don't rely on the gauge but refill by trip mileage. In commuter service, I refill at around 150 miles anyway since my commute is 52 miles round trip. It's an old habit because my first bike had no fuel gauge.

Hope this helps you keep the shiny side up,

Chuck
 
Yes, this a very nonlinear gauge. There seems to be some variation among the bikes how it responds, but with the mix of driving I do mine comes off the peg down to F at about 75 miles, hits half around 130 miles, then flat plummets the rest of the way. Close to the bottom of the red the bike will take 4 gallons or so to fill up and the odometer will read about 200 miles.

My biking profile is suboptimal for gas mileage, but I'll take the 50 MPG.
 
The mention of cold weather on the guage operation is interesting, as I too, rode to work in near freezing temperature yesterday morning. About half way to work, (10 miles) my clock suddenly displayed the wrong time. I think it went to 1 AM. I know it was correct when I left home.
I also had a problem with "flooding" when it didn't start the first try, and then would not start until I opened the throttle like a carburated engine.
This is the first problem I have had with the clock and the second or third starting problem in cool weather in 4200 miles.
 
dannyjo said:
The mention of cold weather on the guage operation is interesting, as I too, rode to work in near freezing temperature yesterday morning. About half way to work, (10 miles) my clock suddenly displayed the wrong time. I think it went to 1 AM. I know it was correct when I left home.
I also had a problem with "flooding" when it didn't start the first try, and then would not start until I opened the throttle like a carburated engine.
This is the first problem I have had with the clock and the second or third starting problem in cool weather in 4200 miles.
Click to expand...

Did your trip odometer also reset? The clock going to 1 AM is what happens when the battery is disconnected (or something else interrupts the circuit). And most of the other stuff in the instrument panel resets when this happens.

I've been driving mine in almost nothing but sub-40 degree weather and haven't seen anything peculiar.
 
OK, here's my theory. Your gauge is just fine. It's just an NT gauge. When you turned on the bike, it was on the side stand. It'll show between 1/4 and 1/2. Then you pick it up, and it drops below 1/4, but you're just getting rolling and you're not really looking at it. Then, because it's so non-linear in its action, it drops pretty quickly when you're established on your commuting route and you think, "Oops! Gas gauge ain't working!"

I'll bet it is. 'specially if it's not on the peg. My observation is that when you get to 1/2 indicated (with the bike upright and steady) you've burned about 3 of your five gallons. I can always get between 80 and 90 miles out of the bottom "half" of the tank. But it sure makes you nervous when you get down into the red. Sometimes when your needle is at the very bottom of the red, put in one gallon. It'll bring the gauge up to nearly 1/2 tank.

I'm betting that there's nothing wrong with your bike.
 
Given today's heavy rain, I rode my PC800 and hope the weather permits my riding the NT tomorrow. I'll take another look at it then and let you all know my findings.

Thanks for all the replies. It seems the guage works in much the same way as my PC800 did before I adjusted the float to provide a more reliable reading. May have to do the same with the NT.
 
Lots of folks adjusted the floats on Concours C-10s, too. Always seemed simpler to me to just remember what the needle location on the gauge meant. If you ignored the markings except as reference markers, they all meant something specific. Same deal with the NT.

3/4 means you've burnt a bit less than 2 gallons; 1/2 means you've burned about 3. The middle of the red means you've got a bit (a tiny bit) over a gallon left.

Like Rick said yesterday, 170 miles on a trip meter zeroed when you filled up means "start thinking about gas." 200 means, "Think about gas now." 220 means "Buy gas."

I have gotten 265 miles once and only put in 4.7 gallons. That won't happen often.
 
The fuel gauge on mine works pretty much like all the others so I have noticed the fast drop after 100-miles but also noticed that when filling with needle at 1/2 tank, it takes 2.5 to 2.6 gals which is exactly half. And having the bike upright and level can effect fuel needle position!
 
I get about 120 miles from full without the gauge moving. Then it moves at a rate of about ten miles per quarter tank. It is really dreadful. You might expect it from one of the old Russian manufacturers or the early Chinese bikes but not from Honda. Bet their car fuel gauges aren't as bad.
 
I had a '96 Kawasaki 1500 Vulcan that stayed on full for about 45 to 55 miles, then rapidly dropped from there. But I already knew I needed to fill up by the time 130 miles or so went by on the odo. That bike only got 38 mpg avg.
My '98 Honda PC800 would wait until 65 miles or so before it would come off full. It also dropped more quickly after that point.
The PC avg'd 55 MPG. But I also knew I could go 150 to 180 miles before a fillup.
The NT hangs in there at full until 75 miles or so then does the same as my other bikes did. Come down quickly after the needle starts to drop. I have been averaging 63+ mpg on the NT so far. But I do very minimal interstate, and do most of my riding on back country roads at 50 to 55mph. I know I can go 200+ miles before I know I need to stop for fuel.
Other folks on this forum will get varied mileage based on how and where they ride.
Ride Safe.
 
Car fuel tanks are generally more rectangular than a bike tank, so using a float to measure it is much more linear. The slanted teardrop shape of a bike tank means that no float will have a linear progression. Using some other measuring mechanism would add expense, complexity, and another possible failure point.

As long as you know what to expect, the gauge serves its purpose just fine. Every bike I've had with a gauge, has this type of issue.
 
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