Nice!
HiJust wanted to let you know that I did the conversion from the defective fuel strip sensor to the float potentiometer sensor on my (newly acquired) 2008 R1200GSA with electronic suspension (ESA).
I followed the instructions at this UK GS forum: Instructions
One word of warning, the English at this British forum is barely comprehensible to me. As a result, it took all day to complete, but it worked without a problem.
The parts you need are float sensor 16148554065, a OBD Solutions MX+ Bluetooth adapter and OBD port cable adapter and the MotoScan ultimate app.
Remember to remove the old fuel strip sensor, which hooks on to a metal hanger that is suspended from the gas cap inlet area.
Loop the two blue wires from the new float around something, as pictured, so that they won't touch the float, or your reading could be affected.
Also, when you insert the new fuel pump/float assembly, the float will get lodged between the tank and the fuel transfer hose in the tank bottom. You'll need to then use a hook or long screwdriver to pull the float up and free.
You must fully remove the tank to do the work because the ZFE computer wiring harness is under the tank, and you need to swap the pins. The instructions aren't clear, but the connector with the pins to swap is the upper one with the fatter wiring bundle.
To remove the inner wiring pin holders from the ZFE harness, you need to remove the top shell cover. To do this, carefully pry the back and front corners of the cover's flange up with a small screwdriver while sliding the shell forward. Do this successively in both sides until it is free.
I'm not sure if it's necessary to first clear the fuel strip fault with the resistor network pictured below, as is the case with the preobeemer.nl signal converter, but I did it anyway just in case. I doubt it's necessary, however because you are deactivating the fuel strip during programming.
Please ask if there are any questions. I don't recommend doing this work unless you are pretty good with mechanics and electronics, however.
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Hallelujah!!!
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Yes, Motoscan ULTIMATE for Android is all that you need. By the way, I found it also lets you do the throttle body stepper motors calibration, so no more dealer rip off for that service!Hi
Brilliant thanks
Can you confirm motoscan app will do this. Just got mine and only reference I saw was to recalibrate strip.
Thanks
Mark
Yes, my float sensor was completely dead when I did the conversion. You do not need a working strip sensor.Thanks for the instructions, I appreciate you taking the time.
I am curious to find out if anyone had any luck fitting the new float sensor to a bike with a completely dead strip sensor? I am unable to zap mine back to life and not sure about making that resistor work around.
Is it necessary to have a functional strip sensor before starting the process?
I have an 08 GSA
Thanks!
Wanted to report back that it worked perfectly! No error codes to start. Followed your instructions and I now have a working fuel gauge. THANKS!!!Yes, my float sensor was completely dead when I did the conversion. You do not need a working strip sensor. The purpose of the resistors is simply to trick the bike into thinking there is a good fuel strip sensor attached, to clear a fault code. I do not think it is required however. Actually, I suspect it is an unnecessary step that is only used if you are NOT converting to a float. The motivation for the resistors came from the strip to float "converter" box that is sold by the Dutch gentleman. With that box, the bike still thinks a strip is attached, hence the need to fool it into thinking a good fuel strip is attached. That said, it's quite easy to build if you know elementary electronics, but again, I think it is unnecessary.
Great to hear that it is working for others. The fix really isn't that hard. This is what BMW should have done instead of increasing the fuel strip warranty to 12 years. The fuel strip is defective by design, and in 2010, they switched back to the float. For the cost of replacing thousands of fuel strips, they could have just converted the bikes to floats. But then you wouldn't need to buy a new bike!Wanted to report back that it worked perfectly! No error codes to start. Followed your instructions and I now have a working fuel gauge. THANKS!!!
Since you have 14 bikes, let me ask you this: Have you dealt with the dead fuel gauge on the GS/A ?? Mine is a 2007 GSA. The stupid fuel gauge stopped working & I found out about the Electrical strip inside the fuel tank and that it always fails. Is there a solution to this, other than the expensive $500 repair and calibration cost each time? Thank you.Well it happened for the 14th time
From what I read, there is no float conversation that actually works and gives accurate gas level measurement.We’ll there are two fixes
1. Have a BMW install a new stop and it is the warranted for two years. Then hope it fail short of two years and get a replacement that is warranted for two years more
2. do the float conversion That requires wiring modifications and will cost you sever hundred dollars in parts
3. Make a spoofer out of resistors so the tank always shows full and use the odometer to gauge fuel usage
I say get rid of your BMW and its endless problems and get that UJM of your dreams.From what I read, there is no float conversation that actually works and gives accurate gas level measurement.
The tank now always reads empty, I just fill it and use the odometer and fill it before it gets to 275 miles. Even with this, somehow it ran out of fuel one time on the freeway, that was not fun.
I think my next bike will be a Honda, had it with BMW and their endless problems. I can just imagine the new bikes with all the electronics when they get few years old and all the problems they will have. NO, thank you.
@BMW Pains I moved these comments to a more relevant thread. If you are interested in a float solution read from the top.From what I read, there is no float conversation that actually works and gives accurate gas level measurement.
What is a UJM ??I say get rid of your BMW and its endless problems and get that UJM of your dreams.
Forgive my ignorance as I am NOT a big cell phone fan, in fact I hate cell phones.Yes, Motoscan ULTIMATE for Android is all that you need. By the way, I found it also lets you do the throttle body stepper motors calibration, so no more dealer rip off for that service!
By the way, I updated the instructions. I had an issue whereby the fuel reading would only go down to ~75% and stop. After some investigation, I determined that the wire arm of the float sensor needs to be bent up to clear the tank bottom and the transfer tube. The 2010+ R1200GSA tank must be shaped slightly differently. Anyway, after this change, the reading seems very accurate from 100% to 0%.
Hi,UPDATE (12/24/2022): I was able to solve the calibration problem with the new float sensor. The accuracy is now very good, but I believe the fuel tank on the 2010+ R1200GSA must be shaped slightly differently. Previously, the fuel level would go from 100% to around 75%, then start heading back up again, after completing the modification. I took the tank back out and measured the resistance of the new float sensor, which is 4 to 88 Ohms. Also, with a 10-turn potentiometer, I measured the bike's reported fuel level (from the computer / ECU side) to be empty (warning light) at 82 Ohms and 100% full at 16 Ohms.
Further investigation revealed that the problem is mechanical, not electrical or software. The metal wire "arm" of the float sensor is not quite the right shape. It actually hits on the bottom of the tank and can't clear the transfer tube either. It needs to be bent up to clear both.
With some trial and error, I was able to bend the wire arm into a shape that gives a pretty accurate reading of the fuel level from 100% down to 0%. For the most part, you only need to bend the arm "up" (to a tighter angle), as shown in this picture (red line is the approximately original shape):
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--------------------- Original Instructions ---------------------
Just wanted to let you know that I did the conversion from the defective fuel strip sensor to the float potentiometer sensor on my (newly acquired) 2008 R1200GSA with electronic suspension (ESA).
I followed the instructions at this UK GS forum: Instructions
One word of warning, the English at this British forum is barely comprehensible to me. As a result, it took all day to complete, but it worked without a problem.
The parts you need are float sensor 16148554065, a OBD Solutions MX+ Bluetooth adapter and OBD port cable adapter and the MotoScan ultimate app.
Remember to remove the old fuel strip sensor, which hooks on to a metal hanger that is suspended from the gas cap inlet area.
Loop the two blue wires from the new float around something, as pictured, so that they won't touch the float, or your reading could be affected.
Also, when you insert the new fuel pump/float assembly, the float will get lodged between the tank and the fuel transfer hose in the tank bottom. You'll need to then use a hook or long screwdriver to pull the float up and free.
UPDATE (12/24/2022): It is necessary to bend the wire "arm" of the new float sensor up to clear the tank bottom and the transfer hose. See the instructions at the top of this post. Otherwise, the fuel reading will stop at ~75% and never go any lower.
You must fully remove the tank to do the work because the ZFE computer wiring harness is under the tank, and you need to swap the pins. The instructions aren't clear, but the connector with the pins to swap is the upper one with the fatter wiring bundle.
To remove the inner wiring pin holders from the ZFE harness, you need to remove the top shell cover. To do this, carefully pry the back and front corners of the cover's flange up with a small screwdriver while sliding the shell forward. Do this successively in both sides until it is free.
I'm not sure if it's necessary to first clear the fuel strip fault with the resistor network pictured below, as is the case with the preobeemer.nl signal converter, but I did it anyway just in case. I doubt it's necessary, however because you are deactivating the fuel strip during programming.
Please ask if there are any questions. I don't recommend doing this work unless you are pretty good with mechanics and electronics, however.
REMEMBER TO BEND THE WIRE ARM OF THE FUEL SENSOR UP BEFORE INSTALLATING! SEE INSTRUCTIONS AT THE TOP OF THIS POST.
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Hallelujah!!!
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I do have an Android phone. So the obvious question is How much is it? And how much is the cable to attach it to the bike? I assume it will have usb plug at one end to plug into the Android phone ? This is why I hate this endless technology which keeps breaking down. Fuel floats did not do that.@BMW Pains c’mon now…
No MotoScan Ultimate is not free but if you plan to keep your GSA it is a good diagnostic tool to have. Worth noting it is only compatible with Android (very cheap tablets/phones can be had)and does plug to the round diagnostic connector under the seat.
No, I did find it in the Google store. But it doesn't say if it free or how much and I did not try to download it because I am on a laptop.@BMW Pains c’mon now…
No MotoScan Ultimate is not free but if you plan to keep your GSA it is a good diagnostic tool to have. Worth noting it is only compatible with Android (very cheap tablets/phones can be had)and does plug to the round diagnostic connector under the seat.