Pingle Problem?

[BonS]

I've had my present fuel setup for over a year now. Pingle, dan-marc solenoid valve, no additional filter. On the way home from Inzane X, and after 2,000 miles of smooth performance I felt the engine burbling and lacking acceleration just like it's running out of gas. The problem is I still had 3/4 tank. I switched to reserve and everything returned to normal. Having little else to do I switched back and forth between normal and reserve. Each time the problem came back while on normal and disappeared when switched to reserve.

I figured that I had a clogged filter screen.

I just pulled the tank and drained it. While draining the normal petcock position worked just fine as did the reserve. I then pulled the petcock: No rust, no debris. You can see right through the screen and It looks perfect.

While on the road I didn't try opening the tank to let air in because 1) reserve works and 2) I had just run over 2000 miles without any issues at all.

Anyway, I'm baffled. Any suggestions as to what's wrong?

[Ricky-D]

Yeah, I think your estimate about how full the tank was, was faulty!

***

[Mr. Nuts]

I had a problem like that too a couple hundred miles after the dan marc installation and an inline filter. Drove me crazy figuring it out. Switching to reserve often seemed to fix it, or stopping to fill up even though I knew I had 3/4th tank left. Finally I read a thread here that suggested a kink or kinks in my fuel line caused by it being just a little too long. Finally I found two kinks forming under certain conditions. Shortening the hose about an inch solved my problems...

[BonS]

Yeah, I think your estimate about how full the tank was, was faulty!
***

You're probably right as it was more like 7/8 full. I'm riding an I/S and I filled up about 50 miles before this began.

I had a problem like that too a couple hundred miles after the dan marc installation and an inline filter. Drove me crazy figuring it out. Switching to reserve often seemed to fix it, or stopping to fill up even though I knew I had 3/4th tank left. Finally I read a thread here that suggested a kink or kinks in my fuel line caused by it being just a little too long. Finally I found two kinks forming under certain conditions. Shortening the hose about an inch solved my problems...

I too had an inline filter and experienced the starvation problem so I removed it. I also had a slight kink in the line after installing the Dan Marc valve so I shortened it up as you did to avoid the kinking.

The reserve port is at the very bottom of the tank versus the top of the Pingle so the fuel pressure is greater when tapping from the reserve. I'm thinking that I should review the plumbing again and even look under the air box because there might be kinking that I can't see. It was really hot and I was running fairly hard so maybe the fuel line hose was collapsing because it was softening and still under some compression. That seems to be the only explanation at this point.

[Mr. Nuts]

While I can't prove it, in hindsight I believe my problem with kinking was brought on with a combination of factors that made it hard to catch. When I finally caught it in the act it was a hot day which I believe made the fuel line more pliable and subject to kinkiness. I was also under load while pulling a trailer. Still the problem seemed to come and go. When I finally felt up under the tank along the line I could feel two distinct kinks that weren't there before. I could still run up to about 75 before the starvation became apparent. Feeling the kinks I was amazed it could run at all. I have retained the F10024 inline filter I originally suspected and now believe it was innocent.

[BonS]

As I said earlier, I had previously removed some extra length from the fuel line after I first discovered some kinking. I now understand that the proper fix is to completely replace any hose that had been previously kinked at all.

After todays inspection I can see that both the line between the petcock and the solenoid valve as well as the hose between the solenoid valve and the fuel line tee had previously been exposed to the kinking pressures and thus are predisposed to do it again, when warm, even though I had removed the offending "inch" of excess hose.

Next step is to replace it all with new 3/8" hose and eliminate any compression that may lead kinking. Live and learn.

[X Ring]

Use 5/16ths.

Marty

[BonS]

A followup that may help someone: I got some fuel injection 5/16" hose but it won't fit the tee at the carburetor split. The tee at the carb split hose is 0.430" so I'm going to use a 3/8" (0.375") hose from the tee to the Dan-Marc solenoid valve 3/8" hose barb. I'll then use a 5/16" barb on the other end of the Dan-Marc solenoid and run 5/16" (0.340") hose to the Pingle. The fuel injection hose is nice as it has internal fiber reenforcement and this makes it quite stiff and kink resistant.

[BonS]

Final update, I hope. The new fuel tubing is installed. It's not rocket science but it's more like brain surgery: tight quarters. The length of the fuel hose can't just be approximated but must be quite exact to avoid the kinking that happened to me. I'm now comfortable that it's right because the relaxed length and position of the fuel tubing, and the carburetor fuel T hose, is exactly the length and position that it is when attached to the petcock. In short, no stress at all. Ahhhhh. Now back to riding!