R3T Fuel level indicator not reading.

ZoneIII

Supercharged
Joined
Mar 7, 2016
Messages
284
Location
Northern Illinois
Ride
2015 Triumph Rocket III Touring
As I was changing all the fluids on my 2015 R3T getting it ready to ride, I noticed that the fuel gauge was reading zero even though the tank is full. If anyone else has had this problem or has any suggestions, I'd like to hear from them.

There was no problem with the bike when put away last fall. The last time I rode it before putting it up for the winter, everything was working fine. It starts and runs fine although I haven't taken it out on the road yet because I'm changing all the fluids. All lights work (headlight, aux lights, tail light, brake light, turn signals). There's no error codes. Dummy lights on console all light up normally.

Now, here's what I did last week which would make me think that it has something to do with the problem but I was extremely careful and neat in my work that I describe in another post linked here:

New horns - relay necessary or not.

I replaced the silly OEM horn with two P1AA slim-line horns. They work perfectly and they are LOUD! As a precaution, I did install a harness with a relay so the horns are on their own circuit even though these particular horns don't require a separate circuit. For those who aren't familiar with the setup, the original horn wire goes to a relay which closes contacts and directs current directly from the battery to the horns on it's own circuit. It has an inline fuse. I don't think this has anything to do with the problem but it's the only thing I did so I thought I'd mention it. Again, the horns work perfectly.

I cleaned all the pins and sockets on the connector to the instrument panel with electronic contact cleaner. I thought that might be a problem because I did have the instrument panel off and the tank raised when I routed the horn wire to the battery.

There's no blown fuses. Just before I came in for the night, I checked the voltage at the fuel level sensor (on the right underside of the fuel tank) and it only read a few millivolts.

I do have the factory service manual but I hate circuit diagrams and they give me a headache trying to follow them with a magnifying glass. :-(

I'm going to finish changing the fluids tomorrow and then I'll work on the fuel gauge problem but, as of now, I'm stumped and not sure what to even at this point.
 
Ride it a while and see if it comes back, this is a common issue with these bikes. It may take a few start/stop cycles or about 7-10 miles of riding before it comes back up. I wouldn't go chasing anything right now. This is one instance where patience may pay off.

bob
 
Ride it a while and see if it comes back, this is a common issue with these bikes. It may take a few start/stop cycles or about 7-10 miles of riding before it comes back up. I wouldn't go chasing anything right now. This is one instance where patience may pay off.

bob

That's excellent advice and that's just what I'll do. It appears that the fuel level sensor works with a regular float. Maybe the float is stuck but, in any case, I'm going to follow your excellent advice. I'll finish changing the fluids and take it for a ride. Thank you very much!
 
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Ditto to what Bob R said.
Thanks, guys! That advice may save me a lot of time and aggravation. I must be getting senile because I should have thought of that because I know that OBDMII systems can have to go through cycles to clear some things up. I guess I didn't think of it because a code wasn't set. I did let the engine run while flushing the flushing the coolant, etc., but I'm going to just get on it and ride and see what happens before I start messing around with the electronics like I would have done without your advice. I'll be sure to post back what happens.
 
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Let us know what you get. It always takes me a few miles after a fill up for the fuel gauge to register full.
I will. My fuel gauge always takes a bit of time to come up after a fill up too - maybe 15 seconds or so - but the gauge is just dead this time. I ran the engine several times for ten minutes or more while flushing out the cooling system and it stayed dead. It was full to the top all winter long with non-ethanol gas and Stabil. We'll see what happens when I take it for a ride. I'll report back when the problem is fixed one way or the other.
 
Sure enough! My fuel gauge came to life within a quarter mile. You folks saved me a lot of time and aggravation because I would have been straining my eyes trying to follow wiring diagrams and tracking down wires without your advice. I guess what threw me off was that it wouldn't come to life when the engine was just running. The bike has to be rolling. Then again, I think I'm getting senile! :)

Thanks again!
 
Sure enough! My fuel gauge came to life within a quarter mile. You folks saved me a lot of time and aggravation because I would have been straining my eyes trying to follow wiring diagrams and tracking down wires without your advice. I guess what threw me off was that it wouldn't come to life when the engine was just running. The bike has to be rolling. Then again, I think I'm getting senile! :)

Thanks again!

Well, I didn't know that either, (has to be rolling). Now I do. :thumbsup:
 
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