fuel strip help... maybe

an aircraft mechanic i know has a 2008 gs 1200. he went through several fuel strips. he says he figured that if, when gassing up he faced the fuel nozzle aft (away from the strip in the tank) it might help.
in any case, he hasn't had to have any strips replaced since. (2 1/2 years)

haven't had the problem in 6k mi with my '10 r12r but what the heck? reversing the nozzle can't hurt.

just passing this along for what its worth.

Hmm. I think it's highly unlikely that has anything to do with it.

I went through four fuel strips before one started hanging in there. The 5th one is good. The first lasted 32,000, then the replacements lasted 4,000, 2,200 and 940 miles respectively.

This last one has lasted 40,000 plus miles over a year and a half.

I thought keeping the tank full after every ride might be the answer. I used to always fill up prior to riding and the bike would sit with low fuel between rides drying the strip.

So much for this theory. I will be getting #7 installed on Wednesday. This one lasted just over two years. #2 quit before I left the dealer parking lot after install. When getting them installed make sure it is calibrated by the dealer after install as per BMW instructions. 2008 RT

Its time for BMW to pony up on this one. I have four BMW's and this will be my last until this is recalled and solved.

My 2009 F650GS (twin) will be getting the third cracked tank next week. I wonder when this will end if ever.

Jack

The idea of directing the fuel stream away from the strip has been proposed a number of times, problem is - it hasn't helped. The strip itself isn't what fails.. what fails is the junction between the strip and the wire connection to it. This is molded into a lump of epoxy at the top of the strip assembly (which is a rigid plastic holder for the fuel strip.) A number of us have taken measurements of defective fuel strips - and they measure the same as a new one on one side of the lump (the strip side) and open circuit, or high-resistance on the other side.

My only thought has been to not give in to the urge to get as much fuel as possible into the tank, in the hope that the lump is then located above the fuel level (at least when stationary) so fuel won't wick (by capillary action) into the junction. So - with this latest strip, I only fill to the bottom of the orange neck in the tank.. Has that helped? No idea - only have about 5,000 miles on strip #4..

I use synthetic oil, run 40 PSI in my front tire and check my oil level following the procedure in the owner's manual. No fuel strip failures to date. Think I'm on to something.

luckily I haven't had a fuel strip problem.

Reading the fuel strip posts here has given me the impression that it's a quality control problem with the fuel strip.

There seems to be multiple fuel strip failures on individual bikes and others with no problems.

So I tend to think it's bad batches of fuel strips coming out of the factory.

But maybe not, just a guess. Who knows

sloride said:

So I tend to think it's bad batches of fuel strips coming out of the factory.

But maybe not, just a guess. Who knows

Click to expand...

I think that's also highly unlikely. This has been a problem since BMW went to the fuel strips in 2005. They simply gave up on fixing the fuel strip problem and went back to floats - generally leaving thousands of R1200 owners from 2005 until the 2010 GS was introduced - stuck with continued and potential fuel sensor failures.

BMW needs to step up to the plate and own this problem by offering an unlimited warranty on any bike with a fuel level sensor.

SteveAikens said:

I think that's also highly unlikely. This has been a problem since BMW went to the fuel strips in 2005. They simply gave up on fixing the fuel strip problem and went back to floats - generally leaving thousands of R1200 owners from 2005 until the 2010 GS was introduced - stuck with continued and potential fuel sensor failures.

BMW needs to step up to the plate and own this problem by offering an unlimited warranty on any bike with a fuel level sensor.

Click to expand...

Wow that would be great - an unlimited warranty!

Actually what BMW has done on the car side is offer an extended interval (usually something like 6 years/100k miles) warranty just on the specific failure prone item (in some cases this included engines..) I'd imagine if some group of people got a class-action lawsuit going this might well be the outcome (and it usually includes reimbursing anyone who paid for a failed item out of warranty.)

BTW - I can't recall seeing/hearing of many fuel-strip failures on the '05-06 model years. Mebbe less bikes were sold since the intro originally only had the GS, then RT then ST.. but it might almost seem as if something changed starting with the '07 model year bikes. Be interesting to run a survey on it.. (mebbe I'll do that..)

Obviously, just on the fuel sensor strip. Even a reasonable extension of warranty would help. The problem isn't so much the failure - it's the high cost of the dealer required services.

I have an 08 535i that is prone to HPFP and turbo failures. They did indeed extend the warranty on those components.

Fuel strip poll: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?t=64037

BTW - Steve, just pulling your leg.. it's been how many decades and you didn't spot it?

I knew Don...Pulling back a bit....HA.

from the adventure rider forum

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=758453

"I just read the magazine and the response from MCN. They consulted Al Madril at BMW Fresno. Probably a nice guy but it's not really the same as a response from BMW corporate. Al basically says that "California gas, with its maze of chemicals, does a bit worse than other states, but 'the problem' is not as widespread as the internet forums would report." He goes on to say "Using a gas additive containing 'Techron,' such as BMW's fuel system treatment, appears to help the situation a bit."

Then he mentions that "We get periodic progress reports from the BMW mothership on this subject, and you should know that it is a big deal and it is being addressed."

fuel strips, final drives...

what comes in third?

f14rio said:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=758453

"I just read the magazine and the response from MCN. They consulted Al Madril at BMW Fresno. Probably a nice guy but it's not really the same as a response from BMW corporate. Al basically says that "California gas, with its maze of chemicals, does a bit worse than other states, but 'the problem' is not as widespread as the internet forums would report." He goes on to say "Using a gas additive containing 'Techron,' such as BMW's fuel system treatment, appears to help the situation a bit."

Then he mentions that "We get periodic progress reports from the BMW mothership on this subject, and you should know that it is a big deal and it is being addressed."

Click to expand...

It's interesting to see the transfer of tech info from the car side to the bike side, especially when it's wrong. Techron is a fuel system cleaner. BMW recommended using it on some of their cars (like my M-Coupe) when the electro-mechanical fuel level sensor screwed up.. it was an old fashion rheostat type float device. Problem was deposits on the fine wire portion of the rheostat, that Techron sometimes cleaned off. The final fix was a redesigned fuel sensor that didn't corrode.

There is nothing in the fuel strip design that should be affected in a positive or negative manner by Techron. I have seen quite a few defective fuel strips. I've disassembled them looking for a clue. The strips are invariably spotless and look brand new. The failure is in the junction between the plastic-film resistive elements and the wiring going to the plug that connects it. This junction is very nicely encased in epoxy, so well that I have yet to succeed in opening it up to see if anything obvious is going wrong. I can't imagine that Techron would have any effect on it at all.

I'm sure Al is a nice guy, but it sounds like dealer-babble to me. Dealer-babble is when someone is compelled to come up with an answer.. any answer.. and whatever the current rumor floating around suffices. Guess he hasn't seen the fuel strip poll here.. it seems to be a rather prevalent issue on quite a few bikes - right now I'd guess of the responses we've gotten it looks like > 50% have experienced some failure on 2007-2010 bikes. It's bad enough that BMW regressed to a float design.

I like MCN, but I often see bad or wrong tech printed as fact.. I used to write them about it, but never had a letter published and never got any reply, so I stopped.

deilenberger said:

...the fuel strip poll here.. it seems to be a rather prevalent issue on quite a few bikes - right now I'd guess of the responses we've gotten it looks like > 50% have experienced some failure on 2007-2010 bikes.

Click to expand...

That's >50% of those who responded to the poll. This is exactly the same discussion we've had on final drive failures, and HES ring failures, and probably some others. Enthusiast forum reports exaggerate prevalence.

It's bad enough that BMW regressed to a float design.

Click to expand...

True: it is enough of a headache that BMW did something, at least on the better-selling bikes that used fuel strips. We in R12R land are apparently the ugly stepsisters.

Has anyone actually totaled production or sales numbers of fuel strip equipped bikes to determine what proportion of actual fuel strip equipped bikes has failed? BMW knows, of course, and never talks.

SteveAikens said:

I think that's also highly unlikely. This has been a problem since BMW went to the fuel strips in 2005. They simply gave up on fixing the fuel strip problem and went back to floats - generally leaving thousands of R1200 owners from 2005 until the 2010 GS was introduced - stuck with continued and potential fuel sensor failures.

BMW needs to step up to the plate and own this problem by offering an unlimited warranty on any bike with a fuel level sensor.

Click to expand...

Amen Bother!

Jack

SteveAikens said:

I think that's also highly unlikely. This has been a problem since BMW went to the fuel strips in 2005. They simply gave up on fixing the fuel strip problem and went back to floats - generally leaving thousands of R1200 owners from 2005 until the 2010 GS was introduced - stuck with continued and potential fuel sensor failures.

BMW needs to step up to the plate and own this problem by offering an unlimited warranty on any bike with a fuel level sensor.

Click to expand...

Forgot to add, after dealer installed #7 on Wednesday he mentioned BMW would probably not pick up any more?????

Jack

deilenberger said:

The idea of directing the fuel stream away from the strip has been proposed a number of times, problem is - it hasn't helped. The strip itself isn't what fails.. what fails is the junction between the strip and the wire connection to it. This is molded into a lump of epoxy at the top of the strip assembly (which is a rigid plastic holder for the fuel strip.) A number of us have taken measurements of defective fuel strips - and they measure the same as a new one on one side of the lump (the strip side) and open circuit, or high-resistance on the other side.

My only thought has been to not give in to the urge to get as much fuel as possible into the tank, in the hope that the lump is then located above the fuel level (at least when stationary) so fuel won't wick (by capillary action) into the junction. So - with this latest strip, I only fill to the bottom of the orange neck in the tank.. Has that helped? No idea - only have about 5,000 miles on strip #4..

Click to expand...

This post makes the most sense to me. I have never filled my tanks above the orange neck in the tank which I believe is the BMW requirement.

The Forum Poll was a great idea. It is amazing how some bikes never have a problem but others have multiple failures. Obviously an area BMW needs to beef up on regardless of the causation factors (or go back to a good old float system).

Serious BMW!

If anybody thinks BMW has serious intentions of a fix, they're dreaming! Over 5 years of this failure and NO conclusion in sight to the fuel strip thing? Anything seem out of whack here? It takes a few months at best to solve real issues, as I see it and folks willing to make decisions. BMW has none of these folk, or appears so. I've lost total interest in buying another 20000$ bike by BMW, as in my current GSA1200. One of the BEST bikes on the planet, ridability, but lacking engineers able to get r done at BMW, regarding items like FDs and gas issues! They slice their own throat, marketing stinks for owners riding their products. All that said, my dealer, "CS" out of ModestoCA has done nothing but treat me swell over the years and I wish them well. They are not likely to stay in business from my dollars, however, in new bike sales. I intend to keep my '07GSA1200 for years yet and wait the storm out, because nothing has me convinced a newer BMW will be any better and I like my GSA, even with my rants. Randy. PS; My Airhead and KLR are my therapy, when I get off the GSA, a nice alternative(s).