86 VFR 700 fuel sensor

So, I started going through my 86 last week. It's been sitting for a while so it's due to be torn down and completely gone though. The tank had some rust inside which I expected. I used EvapoRust and did a 5 day soak. Tank looks great now. The fuel sensor didn't fare as well though. I'm going to give it another soak in EvapoRust by itself but I'm not sure it will help. Looking around online, I don't see any decent used sensors available. Anyone have any tips on getting this one back into shape or have a line on a good used one?

 

The sensor (its called a thermistor) is likely to be the same as many other bikes including those that use a fuel gauge. I believe it senses the change in temperature when the fuel level drops below and it is exposed to air, and changes resistance in response.

 

Another short soak in EvapoRust followed by some scrubbing. Looks pretty good now. I'm hopeful it still functions.

 

Check the resistance across the connector terminals as is (dry) and then immersed in fuel. If you see a difference then it should be working.

 

Thanks Terry. I'll be back on it again tomorrow so I'll try that.

 

It looks great to me, FWIW!

Those things are very scarce these days!

I use that ER for most of my work with fuel tanks. Kinda expensive but the key is to retain and use it over and over so it spreads out the cost over several tanks.

I did some work on a Blue '87 I picked up earlier this year and when I got her running the fuel light came on and it was very exciting to know this bike's sender was still working!

In fact when I first noticed a red idiot light - I thought it was the OIL light - until I looked more closely. Scared me a bit!

 

ER for the win! The stuff works fantastic on fuel tanks. I was able to retain about 2.5 of the 3 gallons I used. The fuel tank in my portable generator has some rust so I'll be using it in that soon.

The fuel level sender seems to be unobtanium so I'm glad I was able to save it.

Next up...cleaning and rebuilding the carbs.