Hitchcocks Forum

The low fuel light on my 2013 B5 has just started staying on regardless of the actual fuel level and even when full. I've wiggled and WD40'd the relevant connectors with no change. If I disconnect the tank sender's wire from the loom the light goes out. Measuring the resistance of the sender itself shows 10.8 ohms. I can't quite see the sender inside the tank but can feel it with a long plastic rod, although I can't see what I need to do with it to lift the float, or whatever is needed to simulate a higher level of fuel in the tank. I can't seem to find a picture of the sender anywhere - does anyone know what it looks like so I can have a chance of wiggling it free from whatever it's stuck on? (or at least see a resistance change as I move it). Thanks for any help or advice.

If you search for royal enfield fuel sender on ebay, quite a few should come up.



That said, if it's like every other fuel level sender I've seen. 1) It will constantly lie to you no matter what you do and 2) If you take the tank off, you ought to be able to drain the fuel, turn the tank upside down and remove the whole sender unit by undoing 4 screws. You can then have a good look in the tank with a torch and test the sender by plugging it in with it outside the tank and moving it up and down. You can also have a good look at the float to check it's still attached and shake to to check it's not punctured and half full of fuel.

Doh..... Why didn't I think of that? I've found a picture on eBay already; it's the all plastic screw in type with a small plastic float that slides up and down on a plastic rod. At least I now know what I'm trying wiggle free. If all else fails I'll have to drain and unscrew it, but hopefully it's just stuck on a bit of crud. Thanks for the idea!

Hi Guys-----------First, a confession}----- I'm an old Luddite !!.....Second, an observation}---- When you removed the fuel cap so that you might see and feel for that sender, did you not happen to also see the level of the fuel ??............Just saying, that's all.

There is a known problem with these low fuel warning floats - ethanol dissolves them. You couldn’t make it up...... Several threads over the years on the American RE forum. I don’t suppose the Indians add ethanol to their petrol, so it isn’t an issue there. One of the advantages of doing the carb conversion is that I now have a fuel
tap with a reserve. Ironically my low fuel warning light still works...

Thanks for the replies. The resistance reading, and hence the light staying on, stays the same regardless of fuel level (I've had it brim full) or me wiggling the unseen float about with stick. For the time being I've just left it disconnected until I need to take the tank off, or drain it, when I'll remove the sender and have a look. In my ownership I've always used 97RON or higher fuel so there's no ethanol content, but obviously I can't say what previous owners did. Plus, of course, ethanol is increasingly being added to higher octane fuels as well now, so that may be pointless anyway. When I do eventually take the sender out I'll post a picture if it looks as though it's been attacked by the fuel.

There's just a chance that you are already using an E5 fuel ( 5% Ethanol ) and not realised it.............. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_et ... l_mixtures ......... I've had water form in the bottom of my Enfield fuel tank on at least one definite occasions and probably two others to a lesser extent....

I believe they changed the float material around 2015 ago to stop the float from being melted by the added extras mixed in modern fuels.

Now the fuel sender unit lasts slightly longer until it fails naturally rather than prematurely when the float dissolves.

If you search "sender unit" there are a number of previous posts on this subject.Personally if you are reading correct voltages and are happy with the connector at 20 quid or less I would replace it.

97 RON allows up to 5% ethanol.