Victory Motorcycle Forum banner

Fuel / gas gauge inaccuracy

39K views 157 replies 56 participants last post by  GrogAV 
#1 ·
I have put 450 miles on my new 2012 CCT and I've noticed that the fuel / gas gauge is very inaccurate. I've actually watched the needle move while sitting at a stop light.

The first time the fuel light came on and the gauge showed bone dry I was only able to pump 3.8 gallons into the tank. The second time I was able to get 4 gallons. This bike has a 5.8 gallon fuel tank!

Has anyone else experienced this issue? I didn't see any other posts mentioning this.

Thanks,

Kyle
 
#86 · (Edited)
I have run my tank down to the low fuel light 3 times now and the tank took about 4.2 gallons to fill it up each time. This was around the 170 mile mark on two of those fill ups but one was at about 135 miles but still roughly a little over 4 gallons to fill it up so go figure! My cheap little suzuki has no fuel gauage but the low fuel light comes on at around the 170 mark every time (bike gets about 52 mpg's).
 
#93 ·
This might be by design because the fuel pump is cooled by the gas in the tank. Run it too low too often and the fuel pump will fail.

Mine does about the same thing and I know to use both the mileage and the gauge to determine when I should get gas. The gauge is consistent so it is reliable for me.

I also use the mpg gauge to determine how many miles I have left on a tank of fuel. If I have been hot rodding it too much or just doing mostly in town riding; my mileage has gone down.
 
#87 ·
I'm a strong believer that the inaccurate fuel reading has nothing to do with the fuel unit. I believe it has to do with the inaccuracy of the speedometer/odometer. With bad information in, you can only produce bad information.

Ride safe.
 
#91 ·
If a speedo is off it could land you a ticket, or put you in the bad graces of a Peterbilt behind you that is trying to do 75 in a 75.
If your ammeter is wrong you could be on the verge of electrical meltdown with no clue.
Oil pressure gauge looks good while the pump is failing? There goes a few grand in motor rebuild.

I can't understand why we put up with gauges lying. I'd rather have old school no gauge than pay for something that gives bad info.

It's Pavlovian in Americans anyway to be forgiving of fuel gauges that are all over the map. Car companies told us for decades the favor they were doing us making sure we had a "few" gallons left when we started bumping up against E. Before the advent of data point collection systems when it was a float on a wire hanger doing the reporting I could understand the inconsistencies but it's become gospel that fuel information is supposed to skew on the side of having all kinds of spare gas. If that malarkey weren't bad enough here we are making excuses for a manufacturers failure to deliver and not only excusing that kind of shoddy workmanship but defending it.

I call BS. I'm a big boy and can do my own math. I sure don't want or need Victory or Ford to babysit my fuel fill up habits. As far as protecting the pump, bigger snake oil salesmen than Victory have dragged out that old saw. If that pump is that dicey, what the bejeezus are they doing putting it in a gas tank? It needs its own little coolant jacket or at the very least it shouldn't be relying on continuous immersion in boom juice to keep it functional. Pop was born, just not yesterday. Look here Vic. Either give it to me straight or don't waste my time.

A product manufacturer should understand that the place not to screw the pooch is the user interface. If Victory can't engineer a solution to the relationship between a gauge the user reads and a tank that contains what is between the user and a walkabout, then they need new engineers not mumbo jumbo. I don't tell my customers that "close is good" or " that's just how it is". I tell them that if it meets spec but they are not happy then I will find out what it's going to take to meet expectation and will give them options, or if it doesn't meet spec, I'll fix it on my nickel. Period.

Maybe this is one of those " it would cost us an extra fifty dollars a unit to implement a programming algorithm to correct for typical tank profiles" to which Pop says "OK, tack 100 onto the price. I'm good with you boys making a half a yard extra for providing me accurate data instead of feeding me crap for chump change."
 
#92 ·
Show me a bike manufacturer that has accurate gauges. When I get to 3/4 empty is time for a break as well as a fillup. No big deal. Lots of gas stations around. I'm certainly not getting stressed out over the accuracy of my gas guage.
 
#95 ·
gauge

what did you guys before they had gas gauges on motorcycles?,, i dont need some dumb ass light to tell when i need gas ,lol , simple 40 mpg, 160 miles, gas time, i can go extra miles if i have to,
i dont like xr gas gauge. drops way too fast, so i dont use it
spoons
 
#97 ·
People talk about having a $20K bike and the gas gauge isn't accurate.
People who buy a $150K Porsche Turbo get a gauge that won't move from empty if you only pump a few gallons. (this anomaly is written about in the owner's manual) The gauge is absolutely accurate from full to empty, but doesn't move at all when 3-4 gallons are added at empty. (and, that's nearly a quarter of a tank!) Anyone care to explain why a company with the engineering credentials of Porsche designed that?
 
#101 ·
There have been some customer concerns of fuel gauge accuracy. The concern has been that the gauge is not accurate leading some people to believe replacement of the sending unit or gauge would be a prudent course of action. Let me explain what the characteristics of the Cross Country fuel gauge are. The fuel tank on this motorcycle holds 5.8 gallons of fuel when filled. There is more area at the top and bottom of the tank enclosure than there is in the center area of the fuel tank when looking at it from top to bottom.

This is due to three main factors.

First: there is a large tunnel that runs the length of the fuel tank front to back. The top of the tunnel is about 2.5” below the top of the tank. This means more area for fuel to be held at the top 1/3rd of the tank than from the tunnel down.

Second: the shape of the sides of the tank allows for more fuel to be held at the bottom of the tank on either side of the tunnel than in the center portion. Look at a tank from the bottom there are two large flat surfaces on the bottom of the tank and the distance from the tunnel wall to the outside of the tank is wider in this area than at mid tank height. This allow for more fuel capacity at the bottom 1/3rd of the tank than the center 1/3rd of the tank.

Third: is that the fuel pump is also mounted in the center rear of the tank in the area where the center tunnel is shallower. The pump itself takes up some volume for the center 1/3rd of the tank as well.

These three factors are the primary reasons the fuel gage moves more rapidly through the center of the float range; subsequently the gauge display as well.

This explains why some customers have noticed that the fuel gauge seems to stay at or near the full mark to ¼ tank, then notice the gauge falls more rapidly from approximately ¼ tank to ¾ tank of fuel. Some riders have felt that the low fuel light comes on too quickly as well. This is done to allow a more generous run time on low fuel level just in case you need the extra range. Victory engineered the tank to normally refill before the tank is completely dry in order to add to the service life of the fuel pump. The fuel pump is both lubricated & cooled by the fuel in the tank. Allowing the fuel pump to run dry on any vehicle with this type of system on a regular basis could shorten the service life of that vehicles fuel pump.
 
#102 ·
That maybe then how come the owners manual says the low fuel light comes on when "This lamp illuminates when approximately one gallon (3.8 liters) of fuel
remains in the fuel tank." Are they contradicting what the owners manual states and if so why don't they change the manual. I think it is an excuse for a poor design. I guess that is what the "approximately" one gallon covers.
 
#108 · (Edited)
From a personal standpoint i believe that a manufacture should be able to stand behind their product. Especially with published material that comes with a new unit.

From a Dealer standpoint i can understand why they have it set up so that we can protect the consumer from having fuel pump failures while they are out enjoying the great product that is Victory Motorcycles.

back to your original quote about the low fuel light coming on with "approximately one gallon" I'll inquire with victory and see what they say.
 
#103 ·
Sergio, thanks for your contribution. I don't imagine that you are representing for Vic formally but I expect that what you are proposing reflects the groupthink in your corner of Victoryworld. Thing is it doesn't excuse the issue.
If as you and others argue it's a tank profile condition, there are easy and relatively cheap programming fixes that could flatten the highlows in the curve. The processor is already reading mileage and knows when the tank is full and when it is empty. That's enough parameters to report more accurately.
It doesn't have to report perfectly as long as it reports on a consistent curve that starts at full and signals for refill at a fuel level that actually has reached that stage. If I have a 200 mile range and I burned a hundred miles I expect the gauge to report half a tank. I don't give a hoot whether the float reports half a tank and the info is a passthrough or the programming approximates it based on data points. This ain't rocket scientry.
As it is my fuel gauge reports full accurately. Everything else it reports is disputable by my pad and pencil. Nope, not good enough.

The other thing is the fuel pump going kaput under low fuel conditions. Let's say that I go along that. If it is true then I do not have a 5.8 gallon fuel capacity on my Cross Country Tour. What I have is a tank with a 5.8 gallon reservoir of which 4.8 gallons (or some amount that has yet to be disclosed) is the fuel capacity and the final gallon is a cooling reservoir to keep the pump lubricated and cooled. In that case the gauge can and should report to that set of parameters and the specs on the machine should be written to reflect that. Further, Victory should slap on yet another big label on the tank warning us simpletons not to try any distance runs lest we fry our pumps. It should be a big part of the buying experience to get schooled that you will frag your fuel pump by running the tank down, or could it be that it just ain't likely?
Sorry. I'm not hanging it on you Sergio. You stepped up and that is appreciated. I'm just one of those whiny little s**ts that has nothing better to do than expect the systems, all the systems that I paid for to function acceptably.
That is not a universally shared concept I see. My life would be easier if some of these more accepting folks were my clients because the ones I am stuck with actually expect everything I provide them to work.
 
#104 ·
From a R&D standpoint this is child's play. The variation in the crossectional area of the tank from full to empty doesn't mean squat. Put 1 gallon in the tank and take a measurement from the sender... add a gallon, take another measurement... keep going till full. Test ten senders in this way. If you want to do a real good job use 1/10 gallon increments and test 100 senders. Use the info to program the guage to ACCURATELY display how much fuel there is in the tank. Could probably release a software update for the bike to fix this problem, and a few others, and not charge us for it. Then we could all complain about something else.
 
#105 ·
Since the tank is a strange shape a float sounds like it might not be the most accurate.
Maybe a manometer might be a better way to go. A manometer registers pressure and the pressure would not be affected by the shape of the liquid. Washing machines use a manometer to control the water level.
My fuel light comes on at more like 2 gallons left.
 
#106 ·
Exactly what I was getting at Pop. They love to advertise the 5.8 gallon tank and they also love to advertise the cross bikes as long haulers. If the last 1 gallon is to cool the fuel pump (which is hogwash, Sergio just repeating what has been said before) then I guess my 800 suzuki with a 4.2 gallon tank is a long hauler as well.
 
#107 ·
I don't disagree with any of you. I too feel that the fuel level metering system needs improving. If it means revising the Float system then so be it or using a different type of float system might help. There are multiple options Ma' Vic can go with. If i do hear of a fix for the tanks i'll let you all know.
 
#109 ·
Fuel / Gas Gauge Inaccurancy

My take is that if what Sergio says is true (and I assume it is seeing that after numerous emails/phone calls to Victory from myself and my Dealer here in San Diego) did they finally fess up to this whole "2.5 gallons" left in fuel tank vice "1.0 gallon" left like the Owners Manual states when the LFL comes on.

The other point is, why didn't my Dealer know this before and after I bought my 2012 CCT?

I still have no trust in anybody from Polaris/Victory.

It is a shame that paying this kind of money for a US made bike, and with the technology we have today, there wasn't a better design/effort put forth by Victory.
 
#110 ·
C'mon guys, you're overworking a non problem for which the solution is oh so simple. The fuel light goes on with 1 to 1-1/2 gallons left - that's 40 to 75 miles, depending on your fuel mileage. Note the ODO and proceed accordingly.
I too, had to learn the difference between a problem and an inconvenience, but learn it I did.
 
#112 ·
Me too. Let's go get a hot chocolate...my treat. :clap:
 
#114 ·
Just use the low-fuel warning light as a reminder to keep an eye on your trip odometer. ;)
 
#115 ·
Good grief! What would some of you guys do if you encountered a REAL problem? These postings make me wonder.
 
#116 ·
Pull over, and write a letter to Victory, what else? :ltr:
 
#119 ·
Recently tested mileage limit ;)

So, I recently tried to see if I could make it from the Talladega Speedway to my house in Nashville, TN without having to refill...and I found out a couple of interesting facts about my bike (your results may vary)

Google maps tells me that it is 240 miles from the gas station by the Speedway to my front door. I ran dry 13miles from my house (stuck on the side of the road dry, not limping in to a gas station). My odometer said I was already at 237miles when I ran out of gas.

Now on this ride, I was averaging about 85mph on the speedo (which my GPS tells me is actually 79mph) and hitting peak speedo readings of 95mph (gotta love Birmingham, AL traffic).

After my wife brought me my 1gal emergency gas can (which she was thrilled about), I limped into the gas station that was less than a mile away and put another 4.875 gallons into the bike.

And I'm not whining, just giving ya'll my experience.
 
#120 ·
That's one way to learn, TN Rider. Inquiring minds want to know why you didn't pack that spare container of gas when running that "test?" You were averaging about 40 mpg - pretty good for the speeds you were doing. Thanks for doing that for us, now I don't have to.
 
#121 ·
I was on a business trip down there, and wasn't really planning to run out of gas on the way...so I didn't pack the gas can when I left.:crzy:
 
#122 ·
I love to do biz trips on my bike instead of my 10,000 pound van, when I can. Taking a deduction of about 55 cents per mile makes it even more profitable. =)
 
#123 ·
I know exactly what you mean RICZ...I'm currently on a business trip down to Florida and Southern Georgia. And the new mileage rate is $0.565/mile :D
 
#124 ·
On your bike? If your answer is yes, I hate you! We're freezing and drowning up here. :(
 
#125 ·
I see that! I've got TWC on right now. Though at least the snow is staying in the mountains for you. When I left Nashville yesterday (yes on the bike!) it was 39deg out. I stopped in Atlanta to stay with a buddy of mine for Sat night so I got to Florida today. And after getting through all the rain near the FL/GA line, it was 70deg the rest of the ride!:p

I just got a new Pelican case to use on my luggage rack so I wanted to try it out. Didn't leak at all in the rain and I can use 2 ratchet straps to attach it instead of the multitude of straps my last bike luggage required.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top