The old fashioned way is to just open the petrol cap & look inside,that's what i've been doing on the 98 until i look for a loose wire or replace it.
Yes, I have been doing that but yesterday I checked everything and shorting the sensor switched on the dash warning light . I found it satisfied my OCD to the point l want it to work properly.
My understanding is that they work or don't work,i'm in for a replacement part bill for £130ish with me installing it as & when in the new year.
Is that a new one from Ducati? If it's only £130 l'm not going to try building my own from cheaper parts.
I wouldn't bother replacing it. They are notoriously unreliable on Ducatis and often either don't work at all or the low fuel light stays on all the time. I've had both these faults on different bikes. Replaced a fuel sensor on a 750SS at great expense and it packed up within a few hundred miles, so now I just make sure the trip is zeroed at each fill up. A tank lasts about 120-140 miles before the fuel light comes on (or not, in my case!) so make sure you refuel by about 120 miles on the trip and you're fine.
replaced mine on my 750ie a few years ago bit the bullet and bought a new sensor from ducati around the £130 mark as the old one was dodgy and leaking through the internals didnt think it was worth messing trying to fix as dealing with fuel ...... but still trust the trip meter on range more
The fuel warning light was on permanently on my 900 ss - seems the sender wires on the older versions (mine is 93) are prone to being bent over when securing tank back down. Wires eventually break/ short internally. I just disconnected mine and will now rely on resetting trip when I refuel!
Guess mine doesn’t work which is why I’m blissfully ignorant of this particular problem. On longer rides I simply use the trip to remind me when more juice is required.
Good point, it could well be a break in the wiring causing the problem, and definitely worth checking wiring for continuity, but on both my bikes (one is a '93, the other '97) the wiring was fine but the sensor unit itself was faulty. Seems a very common problem. A replacement sensor failed in less than 300 miles.
might be of some use? suggests plastic versions may need a little mod. Brad The Bike Boy: Playing with a Ducati fuel level sender
I'm not sure how the plastic switch shown in the link works but I assume the float is holding the switch contacts apart when the fuel level is high and allows them to close when the level drops. The sensor I have now is the first one he shows and I think it has a thermistor on the top. The fuel keeps the thermistor cool and the warning light stays off. As the fuel drops and the thermistor is exposed, the temperature increases and the resistance drops to the point that the dash light comes on. New thermistors are available on Ebay for £20
That would be my view too. The great advantage cp a car (as XH558 adds) is that you can just look in and see the level ...
I don't know if the sensor on my SS was an old type or new type, but whatever it didn't work anyway, so I used the trip meter.....you can't see the warning light in the sun anyway. The sensors nearly always jam up, it only takes a bit of tank crap to do it. Why not just ignore the warning light (take the bulb out).....and fit a petcock with a reserve position, it can be done with a little thought.
