Sending Unit...bending...

[chuckycheese]

My bike runs great and the gas gauge works...sort of. It shows me at empty at about a half a tank. Has anyone ever removed the sending unit and bent the sending unit arm so it would be more accurate?...seems like it would work but I'd be very interested in hearing from somebody that's done it. Thanks!!!

[gremlin]

i would take the sending unit out and clean it first. then hook it up, and see if it will show full and empty. It just mite be hanging up on crud. if its not hanging then a bend mite help.

[earlfor]

Re: Sending Unit...bending...

There are four different value resistors that the float activates to give you a guage reading. An indication of zero with half a tank of fuel indicates you need to check the resistance values of the sending unit at various float heights

Earl

My bike runs great and the gas gauge works...sort of. It shows me at empty at about a half a tank. Has anyone ever removed the sending unit and bent the sending unit arm so it would be more accurate?...seems like it would work but I'd be very interested in hearing from somebody that's done it. Thanks!!!

[chuckycheese]

Thanks

Well, thanks...but I was hoping (and still am) to find someone that's dealt with the issue. Here's what I know...

The electrics are fine and they only "know" what is going on with the mechanical armiture of the sending unit. It indicates the tank is empty when it's at the end of it's range of motion.....the reason it works so poorly on my bike is because the same sending unit was used on a bunch of different bikes and their gas tanks had a variety of different shapes and sizes...thus, it was probably a lot more accurate for some models than for others...( i.e. a tank that is wide and shallow, perhaps).

Now.....you're wondering if I'm so damn smart, why am I asking the question..right?? Well, because I'm still curious about the question...has anyone ever bent the sending unit arm and achieved good results without boogering the whole thing up??

By the way....Chuckycheese doesn't ride with crud in his tank so that's not an issue...

[Craig]

There is an proper allingment for the sending arm. email me and I will copy the page to you.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Bending it a little shouldn't permanently damage it. You can always bend it back.
I've never tried it. My only experience with an inaccurate gauge is this. My original (new bike) gauge always dropped to soon and got worse with time. I installed a new unit and the gauge acted the same. I lived with it. Years later I installed a new tachometer/gauge. The gauge works fine so far. In my case, the gauge in the tach' was the problem.

[earlfor]

Re: Thanks

Well now, YES I have bent the arm, but it was on a riding lawnmower. :-) :-)

Earl

Now.....you're wondering if I'm so damn smart, why am I asking the question..right?? Well, because I'm still curious about the question...has anyone ever bent the sending unit arm and achieved good results without boogering the whole thing up??

By the way....Chuckycheese doesn't ride with crud in his tank so that's not an issue...

[chuckycheese]

Thanks

Thanks to all!! I'm going to give it a try and feel like it should be adjustable. I'm interested in your information, Craig, and will email you.

[bwringer]

Y'know, I've had to do the same thing with floats on toilet tank valves.

Bend the arm a bit, and the toilet usually shuts right up. Blessed silence.

Totally unrelated, I know... :twisted:

[earlfor]

So, how much do you charge for potty seat tune ups? Do you make house calls or does the errant device need to be drop shipped to you?

Earl

Y'know, I've had to do the same thing with floats on toilet tank valves.

Bend the arm a bit, and the toilet usually shuts right up. Blessed silence.

Totally unrelated, I know... :twisted:

[Anonymous]

Sending unit - gas gage

Nope - never disassembled.

If there are 4 "film" resistors that the sending unit slide arm arcs over as the float goes up and down, sometimes some of the resistors wear out. Usually, its the ones that tend to be "rubbed" against the most. If you ride with a half tank more, then those wear first.

If it's wear on a few of the resistors, bending won't help. Does the gas gage go down with fuel use, and than suddenly drop to zero in the span of a few miles? If so, either worn resistors, or the slide arm is a little bent and loses contact with the resistors. I have seen conditions like this with wear.

Fortunately, it's easy enough to disassemble and check. And mechanically, the function of the sending unit is easy to understand. Dieter