Low fuel warning light?

[Okey Dokey]

How do these work? What triggers them to come on?

On my 2005 GSX-R 750 Suzuki it seems to come on well before there is only 1.7l left in the tank. According to the manual that is when it should light up.

Is the mechanism "confused" by the tank leaning during cornering on the open road?

I tried searching but couldn't find any information. Many thanks to anyone who can shed light (sorry bad pun:laugh:) on this issue.

[98tls]

Maybe its a 2 stage thing,on the TL it comes on in a slow flashing mode when down to a certain level then stays on when it time to find a garage or consider walking,dunno,just a thought

[awayatc]

usualy it is like a float in a tube in your tank....at a certain level the float is low enough to close an earth circuit and presto the fuel light comes on....
So yes leaning will affect when the light comes on....or going up or down steep hills.
It is an indication only, get to know your bike, and see how much yo got left after it comes on permanently.....

[Okey Dokey]

Yes, I wondered about that, too. But it just comes on and stays lit, and the manual says to head for fuel when the light comes on as there will only be 1.7l in the tank. Thank you for the suggestion, but I'm guessing it is something else.

[Okey Dokey]

Oh, maybe that is what is going on, awayatc. I agree getting to know the bike is the way to go, but I was curious about how this thing worked and why it was so inaccurate. Thanks for the input.

[3umph]

all sensors will be slightly different...
1.7l is only an estimate to what it should be..

at what level do you think it is at???

mine comes on when I am about 15l down giving me 3l to play with..

one day I will carry some extra gas and see how far I can go with the light on

[cs363]

It's just random - the light is connected to a sender unit in the tank (look underneath it next time you have the tank off, there will be a big hex head plug with a couple of wires coming out of it. Most of them work with some type of a sliding float on a rod or a sensor that lights up the light when the fluid level drops below the sensor.
If it really bugs you, you can pull it out and bend/adjust it as required. Though be warned, this does take some experimentation! :)

[98tls]

Yes, I wondered about that, too. But it just comes on and stays lit, and the manual says to head for fuel when the light comes on as there will only be 1.7l in the tank. Thank you for the suggestion, but I'm guessing it is something else. Seems weird,the TL one is annoying as it comes on when theres a shitload left,possibly an annoying Suzuki thing,i remember it coming on 1/2 way across the pig route going hard and i still made it back to Oamaru.Leaving you with only 1.7l before it comes on sounds a bit harsh.

[Okey Dokey]

3umph, I guess that is an answer to my question- the sensors do vary. I'd guess mine is also leaving me about 3l to play with. Thanks.

cs, thank you for the explanation of how they work. i appreciate it.

98tls, Suzukis do like to be different- I think we have touched on how the speedos over-read 8% before tonight! Today the light came on at the top of the Lindis and I wondered if there was really less than 2 litres left!

[FJRider]

3umph, I guess that is an answer to my question- the sensors do vary. I'd guess mine is also leaving me about 3l to play with. Thanks.

at 3 litres is better warning than 1.7 litres...

[Okey Dokey]

FJR, that is so true. We ride in some big country and I would hate to ever get caught out! 3l is much more forgiving...

[3umph]

best way to roughly work it out would be go to the nearest garage when it comes on and fill up and se what it takes to fill...

do it a few times and see if it is constant

[FJRider]

best way to roughly work it out would be go to the nearest garage when it comes on and fill up and se what it takes to fill...

do it a few times and see if it is constant

In Okey Dokey country... garages (that are open) are scarse at times...

[piston broke]

bring back the old reserve tap i say.
maybe i'm just old,but the reserve thing gave me more confidance than the light does

[marty]

thre's a few different methods of it coming on.

1. dry bulb - the fuel acts as a conductive medium between two points, when it's not there, the circuit is no longer present, and the light comes on

2. float-type. quite rare (moving parts)

3. prism/light type - when covered, the light being shone onto the prism is refracted into the fuel. when the prism is uncovered, it reflects back into the sensor, sending a signal to the system to light the fuel light.

4. gauge sensor. when the gauge drops below a given value (like 1/8th of a tank), the light comes on.

[TLDV8]

2005 GSXR750 fuel pump

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/101_2659.jpg>

Suzuki seem to favour this set up,the TL1000 has two that trigger the warning light to blink at four litres and go solid at two litres giving at least 60/80 kms.
A 1.7 litre reserve does not sound right even on a 750.

[=cJ=]

If it's like my GSX-R 600 then it'll be 3.5 ish litres at blink, 1.5 ish litres at steady on, though I have no idea how much Suzuki fiddled with things between model years.

[98tls]

2005 GSXR750 fuel pump

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/101_2659.jpg>

Suzuki seem to favour this set up,the TL1000 has two that trigger the warning light to blink at four litres and go solid at two litres giving at least 60/80 kms.
A 1.7 litre reserve does not sound right even on a 750.

<img src=http://www.trailbikeriding.com.au/images/CanningStockRoute/pic1.jpg> Methinks its gone bad and missing the blink.Edit,damn methinks im in for another site warning..ive bought your pic with it Les.

[TLDV8]

You probably still have time to edit the pic links out Mike.

I got infracted for posting a pic around 30 pixels to big yet it says nothing about pixel size in the FAQ.
The retarded Mod could have simply PMed me,its a pity you can not put mods/admin on your Ignore List,i tried with the spelling troll with no success. :laugh:

[awayatc]

sport/camping stores sell plastic bottles approved to contain fuel (stoves)
1 ltr for about $10..... and also half liter ones for a bit less.
(Handy bit of kit to have for longer trips.)
I quite often carry one or two....Great to find out at least once how far you can actualy go after the light comes on.....
(My Aprillia exactly 16kms on reserve, and max 75kms after solid fuel lght....)

[Okey Dokey]

sport/camping stores sell plastic bottles approved to contain fuel (stoves)
1 ltr for about $10..... and also half liter ones for a bit less.
(Handy bit of kit to have for longer trips.)
I quite often carry one or two....Great to find out at least once how far you can actualy go after the light comes on.....
(My Aprillia exactly 16kms on reserve, and max 75kms after solid fuel lght....)

I've got a couple little aluminium fuel bottles for camping; that is a good idea and I will follow it at some stage.

[breakaway]

I believe the fuel light flashing has a delay - that the moment that low fuel is detected, a timer is started, and at the end of the timer if low fuel is still detected, the light starts flashing. This reduces the number of false positives due to lean angles etc. Because after I fill up my bike (K1), it takes a minute or so before the fuel light stops flashing.

[Okey Dokey]

My bike does NOT have the flashing stage. It comes on and that is it. Perhaps it should have the flashing stage and that is why it triggers earlier than I expect...but looking at the pic of the pump it may not be fitted with the flashing stage.

I really appreciate everyone here who has helped me to understand how this mechanism works. My old bike had the reserve with switch and no fuel light, so I am trying to learn what my fuel light really means and thus to trust it. Many thanks.