I had to remove my tank in in order to run some speaker wires.

Today, I finally got a chance to ride. After about 30 miles , I noticed that the gauge was still on F. When I got home, the gauge was still on F. Looking into the tank , it seems like I have about half a tank of fuel left.

I was wondering:
1- could it be a blown 15 amp fuel fuse?
2- could it be one of the harnesses in the dash not plugged in properly?

I pulled off the fairing and checked the connection to the fuel gauge and that's not a problem.
I didn't see anything in the troubleshooting section of the service manual.

Guys please help me figure this out.

Thank you

 

pull your dash for a do-over.

year and model would help but on the 09 a 4 pin connector is used for the gauge and the fuel pump- the yel/wht wire is for the sender and the blk/grn is the sender ground. orn/gy and black are for the pump.

if the fuse is blowed, none of your other instruments will work

mike

 

Thanks, it's a 2012.

 

Bad gauge?

 

2012 uses same wiring code for fuel gauge.

I just checked.

Mike

 

My bike is a 2005 Electra Glide. After about a year the fuel gauge became erratic and eventually just sat on "full." Or was it "empty?" Regardless, after many attempts at trouble-shooting and repairing I gave up and took the gauge out of the fairing. In its stead I re-installed the air temp gauge that I had removed years ago when I put in an oil temp gauge. I put the air temp gauge back primarily to fill the hole, but as everyone knows...without the air temp gauge a person can't tell if they are cold or hot when I'm riding. (A little sarcasm there.)

Now I watch the odometer/tripometer to determine when I need fuel.

FWIW, I used the Service Manual and many on-line articles to trouble shoot the system from the float in the tank to the gauge itself. Every single aspect of the system functions within normal parameters, but the dang needle still sat on empty/full. Obviously the bike is haunted, so why fight it?

 

Electrical problems are usually caused by bad grounds; maybe the harness ground wire is damaged? Or maybe clean the connector and add dielectric grease?

 

Thanks but I don't want to take the chance and guess when I'm low on fuel. I ride through the mountains a lot and gas stations are spread out. It was working fine before I removed the tank, my guess is a harness in not plugged in tight. Worse case, I'll stop by the local dealership. I bought the extended service plan and never used it. So, If I can't fix it, I'll have the service dept fix it.

 

If I went by my gauge to determine where my fuel was I'd be filling up 2x more often than I do. Once I've got good documentation of my MPG, I use the trip mileage. When I used to go by my gauge I would fill at approx 140-150 mi point, now I just do the math and go till I'm at 180-190 mi and at times even 200 mi. I always have approx 1 gallon left in the tank.

 

only being on the harley davidson for about 30 years now, the fuel gage is still in its infancy with lots of room for development and improvement.
when they work, its better than the time to switch to reserve hickup.