I decided to add a 220ohm resistor to my 2001 Kawasaki Concours C-10 so that the fuel sending unit would be more accurate. There are many fuel gauge related messages on the two most popular Concours owner's bulletin boards - forum.cog-online.org and www.zggtr.org.
A good person named Jim said he would send people a resistor if they couldn't find one to buy. With his encouragement, I decided to try this project myself. Go read those messages about what Kawasaki did what they did when they made the fuel gauge in the first place.
Background
Materials you will need:
- one package of 220ohm resistors [Bought at Radio Shack for $1.26 in July 2011]
- one yellow ZipTie approx. 3 inches in length
- or, electrical tape instead of the ZipTie
"Chunk" of 2x4 wood to prop up gas tank
Procedure
- Remove the bolts to secure your gas tank
- Prop up the gas tank with wood chunk enough to reach the gas tank sending unit wires.
- Disconnect the tank wire plugs from each other.
- Hold the 'female' plug so you can see the back of the plug.
- Note the gaps in the metal terminals holding the wires into the plug. You will be inserting one leg of the resistor into whatever gaps you can find in each terminal.
- Bend the legs of the resistor into a "U" shape.
- Insert one leg into a gap of a terminal until it is held fast. Repeat for other leg of resistor.
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Inspect your work for fit and function.
- This picture shows how far I placed the legs of the resistor into the plug.
- Secure the resistor in place by enclosing the legs with a ZipTie.
- Close the ZipTie carefully so as not to pull the legs loose.
- Cut the extra ZipTie off for a neat look.
- Plug the fuel wire connectors together.
- Carefully remove the block of wood and lower the tank. Secure the tank bolts back in place.
Test your work by going on a ride. You should now see the gas gauge move more slowly toward E as you empty the tank.
Congratulations, you are done!
Matt
Got my resistor, going to 'install' it this week.
ReplyDeleteNice write-up! You might want to squirt a dab of RTV on each side where the resistor plugs into the connector in order to safely immobilize that connection. This is common practice in places where I've worked in the electronics industry.
ReplyDeleteGonna post the pic of my install to the blog at www.burcma.blogspot.com in just a minute and link back to this page. Great write-up and spot-on mod. Glad I could share the extra resisters with fellow C10 owners on the forum!
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this clear, concise, easy-to-understand modification. The text and photos made it very easy; plus, my wires were poking out from under the tank so I didn't have to remove it.
I'm looking forward to enjoying the improved gas gauge accuracy.
Best Regards,
Larry
(Volare1953)
Hi,
ReplyDeleteGood write up, but I have a question. I don't see anywhere 'which way' to install the resistor. There must be a + side and a - side, so does direction not matter?
All I did was bend the resistor into the metal grooves inside the female connector.👍
DeleteAll I did was bend the resistor into the metal grooves inside the female connector.👍
DeleteAnd as you may have already found out, there is no polarity to this Resistor to manage. The orientation of the Resistor goes any way that fits.
DeleteWorked a charm on my 92 gtr 1000 5 min job I just lifted seat pulled the cable out from under done the mod.Guage is accurate now ☺👍
ReplyDeleteThanks for the posting. It was easy and layed out well. I will fix mine this weekend. I heard about this fix a long time ago, but could not find it. Thanks from VT.
ReplyDelete