fuel gauge does not read right.

[Duce]

I just bought a 99 Valkyrie interstate. Everything seems to work right except the fuel gauge. The guy I bought it from said it was disconnected when the Honda dealer replaced the air filter. Honda left the fuel gauge unplugged. I ran the Tank down to reserve, pulled and plugged the sensor back in. I reinstalled the tank and filled it with fuel. 

While it was unplugged the fuel gauge reserve flashed. Now after plugging it in and filling it up reads 90% ( 1 bar down from the top F ) and the tank is almost empty again.

Do any of you pros out there know How to tell where the problems are? Sensor, LCD, wires...ect..?

Thanks for your help!!!
Duce in Palm Coast,Fl

[MP]

Pinched the wire?

Did you take the sender out of the tank?  If so, it may be backwards.  The wires come out on the BACK side, pointing towards the rider.

MP

[Michvalk]

I'm no expert, but, my first thought is the sending unit in the tank. I would pull the tank, and remove the sending unit to check and see if that is working correctly. It kind of sounds to me like the sender is installed incorrectly (not facing the right way). I might be off base, but, if your tank is nearly empty, good time to check

[Ricky-D]

I think the float inside is probably stuck and not succumbing to gravity.

No reason to think the assembly has been removed from the tank.

Use you hand to bang the tank a bit (do no damage) to see if you can jar it loose.

That may be the real reason the thing was disconnected, because it's malfunctioning.

My gauge is not that accurate either, no comfort here! Although it does work properly.

Lean the bike over hard and bang the tank - make it shake, maybe take loose the tank bolts so it can rattle better.

I'm sure it's the float inside.

***

[gordonv]

Pinched the wire?

Did you take the sender out of the tank?  If so, it may be backwards.  The wires come out on the BACK side, pointing towards the rider.

MP

+1, exactly the same problem on my new to me IS. You can unfasten the rear of the tank, lift it up a little, and see if the wire comes out toward the back of the tank. Easy to confirm, a lot harder to fix.

When the sending unit comes out, and you "try" to put it back in correctly, it will be a real "B" to do. That is why it's in there wrong now.

[Duce]

I am a happy guy!!! I drove the bike down some real bumpy roads. The fuel gauge  jumped up and down for the whole ride.When I went back to the smooth road it settled down and seems to be reading ok. It does read at 170 miles at 1/2 tank. At least I have some feeling for where the fuel is at. That first half tank goes a lot further than the last half. The sensor must have clean itself on the rough road. Thanks to all
Duce In Palm Coast, Fl

[sugerbear]

drop in a can of techron. may have varnish built up.

[dubsider]

mine does not read right either.... no, ....  wait ...  mine is a standard 

[tonyfan70]

mine does not read right either.... no, ....  wait ...  mine is a standard 

yeah, I was just thinking...what the hell's a fuel guage?