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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Guzzidad on July 09, 2015, 05:46:34 PM

Title: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: Guzzidad on July 09, 2015, 05:46:34 PM
    I have a low mileage ( 97,000 miles ) 01 Cal EV that I've had for a little over 3 years. Recently the bike stopped running on 2 separate occasions. It did start back up after a few minutes each time but I could hear the  fuel pump working harder than usual. Normally I just hear the pump on start up but now I could hear it whine while riding. So today I disconnected the fuel line and pulled the fuse for the pump. I attached a separate to hose the petcock and directed it into a gas can. Turned on the ignition and guess what? No gas. The tank was full. It was then that I noticed a broken wire to the petcock. Seems the pump had enough power to pull just enough gas through the closed valve to keep the bike running. Got on the phone to Harper's and they're sending me a manual petcock. Glad I checked into this before the fuel pump got damaged.
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: Wayne Orwig on July 09, 2015, 05:51:34 PM
I've seen that a number of times. I've seen where in the cold weather, the pump can sucks enough fuel through the bad petcock. But in the heat, it must vapor lock and there you sit, until it cools off again.
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: Chuck in Indiana on July 09, 2015, 07:07:28 PM
I was in Louisiana when mine broke. Rode it all the way home.  :rolleyes: It got replaced. 1100 miles of hard work did it in.
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: JoeW on July 09, 2015, 07:32:33 PM
MG Cycle sells a manual replacement.
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: arveno on July 09, 2015, 09:47:54 PM
http://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=30&products_id=39
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: T in NC on July 09, 2015, 11:02:04 PM
I changed mine last year. What else is on that circuit? I still have the connector and thought about using it to power some running light (LED).
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: oldbike54 on July 09, 2015, 11:17:23 PM
I changed mine last year. What else is on that circuit? I still have the connector and thought about using it to power some running light (LED).

 The ECU on Jackals , not sure about any other models .

  Dusty
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: lawries on July 09, 2015, 11:52:28 PM
Just replace the fuel pump, cheap insurance
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: yogidozer on July 10, 2015, 05:23:17 AM
MG Cycle sells a manual replacement.
:thumb:
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: Kiwi_Roy on July 10, 2015, 05:58:59 AM
I changed mine last year. What else is on that circuit? I still have the connector and thought about using it to power some running light (LED).

The petcock is connected to the safety circuit just before the ECU, if you were to attach a light there it would turn off or flicker if you had a bad ignition switch, kill switch or side-stand, in other words an excellent diagnostic tool.  :thumb:
If someone is having an intermittent cut out or the bike won't run I often suggest monitoring the petcock with a small lamp tied to the bars, knowing they have steady power there eliminates most of the potential faults.
Don't tell anyone, if you were to loose your key injecting 12 Volts at the petcock will hot wire the bike.

For those that still have a working petcock to prevent the wires breaking where they leave the coil just attach them to the body with a ty-wrap so they don't flex at the weak point. A good petcock measures about 33 Ohms.
Title: Re: Electric Fuel Petcock
Post by: Guzzidad on July 11, 2015, 05:12:35 PM
    So I ordered a manual petcock from Harper's on Thursday and I already got it ( Saturday ) in Florida. That's fast. Easy installation and no more fuel pump whine. Bike runs as good as ever. I'm just glad I recognized there was a problem, found the source of the problem, and Harper's was there to provide the part I needed quickly.