Fuel Gauge and Low Fuel Light

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Today when I was finishing up my daily ride my low fuel light came on. I had ridden 136.3 miles since last fill up. I was down to one bar and was coming up a mountain. My low fuel light came on. It went off when I topped the mountain but did come on a time or two more before I stopped and filled up. It took 3.4 gallons to fill it. I always fill with me sitting on the bike and it perfectly vertical and fill to the same place. I got a fraction over 39 MPG on that tank. My question is, why does the low fuel light come on and show only one bar when I had nearly two gallons of fuel left in the tank. If the tank is 5.3 gallons as the owners manual states I should have had about 1.8 to 1.9 gallons remaining. Little help on this guys. Thanks in advance.

[dennisbailey]

My light has never turned on without having been down to a gallon left. I rode this weekend and put on 145 miles and the light had not turned on yet when I fueled and I tock 3.9 gallons. My buddy was riding a Nomad also and he took 4.2 gallons and his light had not turned on yet either.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Thanks for your reply. Maybe I can get some more input on this. I have been farther before and the light didn't come on then. I did get better mileage before. This 136 miles was a lot of short trip riding with no more than 15 miles being the longest stretch. When I have ridden farther and went about 150 miles my light didn't come on then either. Of course my gas mileage then was in the mid 40s. But like I said I still had almost two gallons of gas left today. I said I had 2.8 or 2.9 in my earlier post but I meant 1.8 or 1.9 gallons left in the tank. I went to the earlier post and modified it.

[rickyboy]

I'm not sure if this is the answer or not {probably not}... but could it be because of the incline of the hill? If the fuel was "sloshing around" perhaps the sensor was misreading the amt. in the tank. I know when I've been low {one bar} and I've been riding that required leaning, etc. that my light has come on and gone off repeatedly. Just what I've found.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by AlabamaNomadRider

Thanks for your reply. Maybe I can get some more input on this. I have been farther before and the light didn't come on then. I did get better mileage before. This 136 miles was a lot of short trip riding with no more than 15 miles being the longest stretch. When I have ridden farther and went about 150 miles my light didn't come on then either. Of course my gas mileage then was in the mid 40s. But like I said I still had almost two gallons of gas left today. I said I had 2.8 or 2.9 in my earlier post but I meant 1.8 or 1.9 gallons left in the tank. I went to the earlier post and modified it.

Perhaps the fact that you were climbing a hill had something to do with it. The fuel would have moved to the rear of the tank, away from the float.

These fuel gauges work pretty well, but you will get used to knowing when you need fuel by the mileage instead of the gauge. I go by gut feel and by mileage, not the bars on the gauge.

[audiogooroo]

Originally Posted by cactusjack

...I go by gut feel and by mileage, not the bars on the gauge.

And I had you sweating that gut feeling heading north toward Wyoming in June, didn't I Scott?

[bobhamlin]

Originally Posted by cactusjack

Perhaps the fact that you were climbing a hill had something to do with it. The fuel would have moved to the rear of the tank, away from the float.

These fuel gauges work pretty well, but you will get used to knowing when you need fuel by the mileage instead of the gauge. I go by gut feel and by mileage, not the bars on the gauge.

The Nomad's handling of gas in the tank and the digital fuel gauge are the bike's only "features" that bug me. This is my first digital gauge and I'm not impressed. We also have riders reporting varying amounts of "usable" gas. [/whining]

Some riders report rocking the bike sideways to eke out any remaining fuel. I'm beginning to think it's a front/back issue. I, too, notice that the light comes on more going uphill. Before the warning light stays on constantly, going downhill, or abrupt braking, can make it turn it off.

For some reason, the gas seems to accumulate more toward the rear of the tank. Going uphill exagerates the problem.

There seems to be variability among Nomads. I'd be interested in knowing where the bike's center of balance is with the weight of a particular rider(s). My theory is that the more weight over the back wheel, the more the bike's tank slopes toward the rear, and the more susceptible to unusable gas.

I've yet to trigger the yellow light with my wife as a passenger, so this is all speculation based on just my weight (235).

I'd be interested in hearing the weights of the individuals with no problems and those with problems. Or even from those who've done enough traveling with a passenger to have noticed a difference.

If it is a front/back issue, we could shim the tank a bit?

[bigwolf]

Here I was thinking the light was just what I always called a idot light something to give me a clue I was somewhere close to getting low I have always gone by milage or miles on a tank

[ringadingh]

I also use the odometer, as a reference for fuel. But I did notice that I get much better mileage in the summer than I get in the fall, About 50 miles to the tank difference. Colder weather makes it use more fuel.

[garyo4]

I read on a post here yesterday that the bike is not suppose to be held vertical, nor are you to be on the bike when re-fueling. You can apparently put more gas in the tank when you fill it as it leans on it's kick stand. The tank's gas cap holds the gas in from overflowing when you stand the bike up straight to leave. I believe it was "Yellow Jacket" that tried it out and stood the bike up after filling it without closing the gas cap and quite a bit of gas spilled out. This means you'll be able to go further (and have more fun) when re-fueling the bike while it's resting on the kick-stand. Not to mention what "could" go wrong while you are pumping gas between your legs and balancing a 800lb+ bike!

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by audiogooroo

And I had you sweating that gut feeling heading north toward Wyoming in June, didn't I Scott?

Yeah, I was starting to worry since gas stations became few and far between was we got north of Cheyenne.

My fuel economy was about 20-25% lower than normal towing that trailer. I'm sure Mitch can verify that.

[bfancett]

Per the manual, you are supposed to fill the gas tank with the bike on the side stand. Gas is not the same as oil!!!

As for the light, what you are experiencing is correct. As has been discussed on many other threads here, the low fuel indicator light will come on with about 1.2 - 1.5 gallons of fuel left. As most bikes hold about .83 - 1.0 gallons in the reserve tank, Nomads do not have a reserve tank, so the triggering on the low fuel indicator light is to let you know that you are getting ready to run on "reserve".

I agree that the digital gauge is not that great, and sometimes it cannot be trusted. When the bike is in turns, going uphill/downhill your fuel moves in the tank according to gravity, so the sensor is more/less covered depending on how you are riding.

Just go by the rule of thumb that if you are driving straight, and the light comes on, you have about 40-50 miles before your tank will actually be dry.

[blowndodge]

It seems all the Nomads guages have a mind of there own. I've had my bars go out every 35 miles like clock work on some tanks and other tanks I've have all 5 bars lit after 100 miles of riding only to watch them disappear one by one every 5 minutes after that! ..

Yesterday I rode 148 miles put 4.108 gallons in and no light came on ever.....

After 140 I start looking for gas always...

[dkdixie]

Originally Posted by Brian ("Itinerant Man")

Per the manual, you are supposed to fill the gas tank with the bike on the side stand. Gas is not the same as oil!!!

As for the light, what you are experiencing is correct. As has been discussed on many other threads here, the low fuel indicator light will come on with about 1.2 - 1.5 gallons of fuel left. As most bikes hold about .83 - 1.0 gallons in the reserve tank, Nomads do not have a reserve tank, so the triggering on the low fuel indicator light is to let you know that you are getting ready to run on "reserve".

I agree that the digital gauge is not that great, and sometimes it cannot be trusted. When the bike is in turns, going uphill/downhill your fuel moves in the tank according to gravity, so the sensor is more/less covered depending on how you are riding.

Just go by the rule of thumb that if you are driving straight, and the light comes on, you have about 40-50 miles before your tank will actually be dry.

And that "rule of thumb" varies.
My light usually comes on around 185-190 miles. Usually takes 4.5 to 4.6 gals to fill.
Wouldn't want to chance that extra "40-50" miles.

[nomad]

my 2003 1500FI does exactly the same thing....every time. i get around 135 miles and the light comes on. i ALWAYS end up putting 3.4 gallons in it. i too was curious why it wouldn't use the
last gallon but ended up not worrying about it. must be a design flaw or something. i set the trip odometer to know when its time to refuel.