Fuel strip to float conversion for 07RT

AntonLargiader said:

That clamp is wrong. You can see that. Just because someone says it's a replacement for the Clic-R doesn't mean it actually is. If the hose is loose, fuel can leak into the hose inside the tank and then out wherever the hose leads. That's not BMW suggesting the 500 clamp as the replacement; it's just someone at MAX.

I thought the Proebeemer project was abandoned. It's good to see it active again. There was a thread on UKGSer about it where the issues were described; from memory the ability to install a float depends on whether or not the bike has ZFE-high or ZFE-low. The models with ZFE-low were made with both styles of sensor, and can be recoded somehow, The models with ZFE-high only had the fuel strip and don't have the programming for the float. Or something like that. The Proebeemer device makes the float look like the strip to the ZFE, right?

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Anton,

Would you have any problem installing that type of clamp if it was the proper size?

The Proebeemer.nl web site offers this explanation for this RT conversion kit:

The electrical feature of this float is different than that of the original BMW floats so that I have an interface Float Control 2 Created from a microcontroller with self-written (embedded) software to read the signal of the float and eventually, via the ZFE, send the signal to the display.

Filler tube grommet/bushing

Where can I find a replacement for this grommet/bushing which sits in the bottom of the fuel filler tube on my 07RT? I found it in the bottom of my fuel tank. It is cracked and must have gotten pushed in by a fuel nozzle sometime. Parts fiche doesn't list it and MaxBMW said you have to buy the filler tube assy to get it. Sure. Couldn't find one at the Boneyard either and searching for the stamped numbers got me nowhere.

mikegalbicka said:

Where can I find a replacement for this grommet/bushing which sits in the bottom of the fuel filler tube on my 07RT? I found it in the bottom of my fuel tank. It is cracked and must have gotten pushed in by a fuel nozzle sometime. Parts fiche doesn't list it and MaxBMW said you have to buy the filler tube assy to get it. Sure. Couldn't find one at the Boneyard either and searching for the stamped numbers got me nowhere.

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Why is it even needed???

PGlaves said:

Why is it even needed???

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That is a good question. Can anyone answer it?

It is/was a splash guard to help keep you from sloshing fuel when trying to completely fill tank. I found it easier to eyeball level without it. The newer bikes has it molded into the now red colored neck.

My 05RT must of had it in bottom of tank as well as I didn’t remove it.

I removed mine after about the third time I bought gas. Unless I gave the pump handle only a half-squeeze, the restriction increased the speed of the air exiting the filler tube enough that it blew gas back out onto my hand and the tank. I think I finally trash-canned it during a garage cleanout a couple years later. I don't know of any reason to have it in place.

Thanks all. Will toss it and forget about it.

Fuel strip questions

I proceeded to work on and finally complete this float conversion but no joy yet. Hoping someone can help me sort out these questions to see if I can finally get this thing working.

When I started I had a working fuel strip that was properly calibrated. According to the maker of this float conversion kit I would not have to calibrate again if I did not power on the bike until everything was hooked up properly. Unfortunately the project dragged on for months and I neglected to put a big warning sign on the ignition and you guessed it - went brain dead while installing the relay and flicked on the ignition quickly once to test the operation of it before the float/fuel pump connections were in place. Tough being an old fart sometimes. This of course threw a code for bad fuel strip since it could no longer be detected. Well since the fuel pump with float was already installed I decided try a way to calibrate my good fuel strip again without pulling the fuel pump.

I looked through my photos and determined the wire harness and fuel strip attach in this orientation on the fuel pump.



The left plug goes in the top of the fuel pump and the right plug is the fuel strip that goes in the bottom. I then bought the parts and fashioned an adapter that would let me plug the strip in outside the tank bypassing the fuel pump.



I got a used GS-911 WiFi at a good price ($250) and used it to clear all codes. Then I hooked up the fuel strip with my adapter.



I ran the calibration and it finished successfully and I thought all was well. After hooking the fuel pump with float and controller back up though the display stayed as it was before I started the project. I am able to verify the float is rising properly by reading the change in resistance as I add gas so the problem is either the float controller part of this kit or fuel strip calibration.

I hooked the good fuel strip back up as above and did output tests on it and read real time values outside the tank with the GS-911 and it did not look right though.

It stays like this and values never change over 5 minutes which ain't right:

Fuel strip heater current 3.45;Fuel strip heater voltage 0.09;Fuel sense voltage 0;Film sensor heating 0

This seems to indicate a problem with the fuel strip now but if that was the case I would expect the calibration to fail which it didn't.

The assumption I made when I built the adapter was the pins were passing straight through the fuel pump. Perhaps they don't. A continuity test would reveal this. Perhaps someone has a fuel pump on the bench and could let me know. My adapter passes pin 1 to 1, 2 to 2, 3 to 3 and 4 to 4. Based on the orientation of the plugs and how they lock in and the assumption of straight pass through that is how it looked to be to me.

If the circuit in the fuel pump isn't straight through then perhaps I need to reverse a plug in my adapter to pass pin 1 to 4, 2 to 3, 3 to 2 and 4 to 1. That might explain why there is no heating action currently. Pins 1 and 4 control that circuit and pins 2 and 3 are fuel strip resistance. If the calibration only checks 2 and 3 and not 1 and 4 that might make some sense.

I am tempted to cut the adapter wires and reverse a plug and try but thought I would reach out first and see if anyone can help confirm how the pins pass through the fuel pump.

What say ye learned wrenches?

The guy you should talk to is Dirt Rider on the BMW Sport Touring Forum. He'd have answers for you. When it comes to Hexheads and camheads, he knows more than anyone I know of.

ponch1 said:

The guy you should talk to is Dirt Rider on the BMW Sport Touring Forum. He'd have answers for you. When it comes to Hexheads and camheads, he knows more than anyone I know of.

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Thanks, I was going to as well.

I went back to my fuel strip and tested continuity to confirm traces weren’t damaged since I removed it from the bike which seemed very unlikely to me. Guess again. Pins 1 and 4, heater circuit, have continuity. Pins 2 and 3, fuel level resistance circuit, do not. How does that happen just sitting on the bench? Or did running the calibration actually damage it? And why does the calibration continue to succeed if this trace is broken? The questions continue and the answers elusive as ever. May try to zap the strip next to see if it will heal long enough to get a reliable calibration.

I found the resistance figures for a good fuel strip and went back and tested mine against those figures and found the strip reads good. Seems my continuity reading on pins 2 and 3 wasn't registering but it does show the proper resistance. I flipped the plug to reverse the pins and the calibration failed so that seems to indicate the first orientation is correct. My only thought left is bypassing the fuel pump is interfering with the proper calibration perhaps because the heater isn't working correctly without the circuit passing through the pump. I will pull the pump again and hook the strip to the bottom of it and see if that helps.

Proper readings for a good fuel strip

1-4 = 35.8 ohms reported in thread below - mine reads 35.6
2-3 = 2475 ohms reported in thread below - mine reads 2790 but continuity does not register on my meter

Best explanation of fuel strip woes and fixes I have found anywhere so far. Includes how they work, how to zap them for temporary fix without replacing, how to get rid of blinking warning and set to always full without replacing. It is long but well worth the read.

https://advrider.com/f/threads/1200gs-the-faulty-fuel-strip-thread.758453/page-3#post-18095884

Finally got back to this project. I pulled the fuel pump again and hooked my good fuel strip back to the bottom of it in place of the float then ran a calibration successfully with a GS-911. I dropped the bottom of the fuel strip into a gallon container of gas on the ground and I turned the ignition on (did not start the bike) and after 30 seconds the flashing warning stopped and the empty fuel gauge read 1/4 tank which looked right for the level of gas on the foil sensor in the container I was using. This seemed to indicate the calibration was fine and the foil sensor and gauge was working. I turned the ignition off. I disconnected the foil sensor and reconnected the float and the FC2 and just left the fuel pump sitting on top of the gasket without seating it or installing the locking ring or fuel lines and vent tube. I turned the ignition on (did not start the bike) and after 30 seconds the flashing warning came back and the fuel level dropped to about 1/8 tank. That seemed reasonable considering the fuel pump was not seated which would drop the float another inch in the tank. This seemed to indicate the FC2 controller reported the fuel level to the gauge from the float. Before I lock down the fuel pump again I was wondering if it is OK to hook up the fuel lines and vent hose and start the bike with the pump just resting on the gasket (not pushed down to seat it with the locking ring installed and torqued?) I would like to add some gas to the tank and see if the level rises and the miles left calculates as it should while running on the center stand in second gear.

Note: fuel strip = foil sensor (same thing in different languages)

mikegalbicka said:

Note: fuel strip = foil sensor (same thing in different languages)

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Oh! I thought you meant FAIL censor.

PGlaves said:

Oh! I thought you meant FAIL censor.

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That would be funny if it wasn’t so true. How about answering my question too?

mikegalbicka said:

That would be funny if it wasn’t so true. How about answering my question too?

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Sorry, I missed the question while trying to be funny. Yes, as long as the pump pickup is still submerged it does not need to be fully seated and buttoned up to do what you want to do.

PGlaves said:

Sorry, I missed the question while trying to be funny. Yes, as long as the pump pickup is still submerged it does not need to be fully seated and buttoned up to do what you want to do.

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Gracias comediante.

Just move away from the bike when you light your celebratory cigar


I'm excited to see the full write up!

drneo66 said:

Just move away from the bike when you light your celebratory cigar


I'm excited to see the full write up!

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I will be excited also but so far no joy. I have been unable to get his kit working with my bike. The language barrier and time difference with NL has proven to be a hindrance. I have given him details of my progress and reported to him it fails to work and all he says is you have to have a properly calibrated fuel strip first for it to work. I have calibrated mine twice now and confirmed it works after the calibration but after switching back to his unit with float it does not work as it should. I am currently trying to get him to confirm the wiring between his harness and the bike to make sure it is correct because I have a suspicion some of his wires may be reversed but he doesn't think so. If that is not the case I think I have eliminated all the other possibilities so not sure where I will go from there. I can only find one other person who has done this conversion on an RT (in the NL unfortunately) who helped him test it so maybe I will see if he can help.

I made this video for the maker of the conversion kit to show him what I have been trying to express in my emails to see if he could help me figure out why his kit isn’t working for me. It shows my working fuel strip and explains the conversion, use of the GS-911, swap back to float and failure to update fuel gauge if you are interested.

https://youtu.be/CqO6X8gR6ZI