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09 rt fuel strip
- Thread starter davagail
- Start date
well it happened again second fuel strip in three weeks! i have a call to bmw motorad to see what they have to say if anything.... sure seems they could have come up with a upgrade by now!
Sorry to hear about your strip troubles, we all share your frustrations with this plague.
If you look at the parts phish on Max BMW it indicates the new 1200 gs have a float now in lieu of the strip
We can hope BMW will recall all strips and replace then with a float that works.
2008 R 1200R replaced 7 fuel strips in less than two years, 2008 r1200 gs two strips in 4 months?
Good luck
Dave
womanridge
New member
I was told by my BMW service provider that they cannot install a float in place of the fuel strip. The computer and fuel pump are not compatible from one style to the other. Don't know why Berlin can't reprogram the computer remotely, but then again, I'm no engineer.
marcopolo
Active member
Replaced mine -- for the first time -- on my '06 RT at the end of June. It lasted exactly one-and-a-half riding days. It's covered by BMW's two-year parts and labour warranty, but I'm in no hurry to rush to the dealer to get it replaced again (in the naiive hope that BMW will come up with one that actually lasts).
deilenberger
A bozo on the bus
Actually - I suspect this is a case of "dealer babble.." caused by the need to sound EXPERT when asked questions, most frequently happens with salespeople, but service personel are not immune. It's also known as talking out their as*es.. Despite what some people say, I've observed it appears to be a much less frequent occurance on bikes made prior to about late 2006, and it happens in countries where there is no ethenol in their fuel. If it was ONLY the midwest, what explains the 4 strips I've had on my R12R? It's never been west of West Virginia..
BMW does have a tradition of (1) blaming the owner.. you did something WRONG causing the failure - and if that doesn't fly (2) say it never ever happened in Europe, it must be something in the USA that's causing it. I have never heard them say "Woops, we screwed up.." - but mebbe they did - once.
BMW Triumphant
Ed Kilner #176066
What is it that breaks? Is the strip itself replaced?
I don't have a strip, but see a lot of threads.
well it happened again second fuel strip in three weeks! i have a call to bmw motorad to see what they have to say if anything.... sure seems they could have come up with a upgrade by now!
Don't feel bad gunny, I am on my sixth fuel strip. They have no plans to remedy this situation! (2008RT)
Jack
BMW Triumphant
Ed Kilner #176066
Fine wires are delicate. Excessive vibration or flexing might be a problem. Improper installation might pinch or stretch? If some dealers have more replacement failures than other dealers, I'd wonder about installer procedures.
I suppose even shipping stress may hurt them? Must be something else...
I suppose even shipping stress may hurt them? Must be something else...
deilenberger
A bozo on the bus
Actually - having taken a few apart and measured things, what appears to fail is the junction between the connector plug wiring (regular wires with insulation) and the foil (evaporated) film on the actual strip. It's typically the center wires which IIRC are for the heating element on the strip.
The failure happens in the junction, but unfortunately, the junction is in a cast epoxy block that has to be crushed to get to the wires, making it difficult to determine if damage was done by the crushing, or something else. I imagine BMW has the same problem with diagnosing the actual failure mode.
If this was 20 years ago, and I was looking for the answer I would have asked some people I knew at Bellcore who did equipment failure diagnostics for the phone companies.. I know they would have found the cause (and probably would be able to suggest a fix..) but I don't know of any independent labs that might provide this sort of diagnotics - especially for free.
The failure happens in the junction, but unfortunately, the junction is in a cast epoxy block that has to be crushed to get to the wires, making it difficult to determine if damage was done by the crushing, or something else. I imagine BMW has the same problem with diagnosing the actual failure mode.
If this was 20 years ago, and I was looking for the answer I would have asked some people I knew at Bellcore who did equipment failure diagnostics for the phone companies.. I know they would have found the cause (and probably would be able to suggest a fix..) but I don't know of any independent labs that might provide this sort of diagnotics - especially for free.
deilenberger
A bozo on the bus
There are no "fine wires" in the device. It consists of a clear plastic strip with vacuum evaporated metal patterns on both sides of it, that terminates in an epoxy block where the patterns are connected to standard wires that go to a junction plug. The plastic strip is held quite securely inside a plastic housing, and in looking at a number of failed ones - there was no physical damage to the strip.Fine wires are delicate. Excessive vibration or flexing might be a problem. Improper installation might pinch or stretch? If some dealers have more replacement failures than other dealers, I'd wonder about installer procedures.
I suppose even shipping stress may hurt them? Must be something else...
deilenberger
A bozo on the bus
Actually - it probably does. Given the propensity of almost every BMW rider I know of (including myself) to try to squeeze just a bit more fuel into the tank on fill-up, I suspect the junction (which is where the failure occurs) is often submerged in the fuel. If the junction allowed fuel to penetrate and get to the connections, then I can see an instance where alcohol in fuel carries some amount of water into the junction, causing corrosion of the electrical junction. And I do know many epoxy compounds do not hold up to long term immersion in methanol (aka methyl-alcohol, a slightly different type of alcohol then the ethyl-alcohol aka ethanol added to our gasoline.)
Only problem with that theory - people who use alcohol free fuel have also reported failures.
C
C1H2I0R0HORT
Guest
question
My ignorance, what is the fuel strip, where is it located and what is its function?
My ignorance, what is the fuel strip, where is it located and what is its function?
