This dead horse has been beaten many times: Questions about CSC auxillary fuel tank.

[MabryMillTom]

This dead horse has been beaten many times: Questions about CSC auxillary fuel tank.

I apologise about bringing this up again and the length of this post but I am trying to carefully explain my dilemmas.

I’ve been having a difficult time garnering sufficient information on my 2015 California Sidecar Cobra XL auxiliary fuel tank mounted on my 2009 GL1800 (GLHPM9). I bought this trike several weeks ago. I picked it up at a trike specific shop. While up on a lift, (not a table lift) I and the shop owner walked under the trike and did a thorough inspection. His opinion: one of the cleanest, driest, best undercarriages and related components he has ever seen. He pointed out the “new” driveshaft, attachment point for the trailer hitch AND the auxiliary fuel tank. So I know it’s there! Onward. When I started the 120 mile trip home (occasionally smelling gas) the fuel gauge was “on half full”. When the gauge was almost “on empty” (but the low fuel light had not yet lit up) I stopped and “filled up” (5.5 Gallons went into the tank) . I filled it almost to the top of the fuel tank neck. I did not yet know I should “wait a few minutes” to allow gas to “drain into the aux. tank” via gravity through the hose CSC fitted between the Honda tank and the aux. tank. The odometer read xx305.

And so I finished the trip still smelling gas occasionally. (At this point I am smelling gas occasionally when “half full”, “almost empty” and “completely full”). My next “fill up” was at xx520. The low fuel light came on about 10 miles prior to fill up. I filled almost to the top of the neck (5.9 gallons). Note: The Honda tank alone holds 6.6 gallons. Fuel mileage calculated 36.44 MPG. THIS TIME I WAITED 5 FULL MINUETS FOR THE FUEL LEVEL TO LOWER. It did not lower even a fraction of an inch. I drove 20.5 miles home and put the trike into my garage which has a level floor.

Fast forward 3 full days. The odometer is still 20.5 miles since the 5.9 gallon “fill up”. Trike is still in the garage. It took 11 cups of gas (.668 of a gallon) to fill back up to the top of the Honda gas tank neck. That is about EXACTLY how much gas it burned traveling the 20.5 miles since the fill up. NO GAS “drained down” into the CSC auxiliary tank.

MY QUESTIONS:

1. Why, when the Honda fuel gauge reads “empty” and the fuel light comes on, will the Honda tank and CSC auxiliary tank only accept about 5.9 to 6 gallons instead of about 9 gallons? Honda tank: 6.6 gallons, CSC auxiliary tank: 3.6 gallons. Fuel DOES NOT “drain by gravity” into the CSC tank.

2. Does this mean the CSC tank is “permanently” full and has gas in it since the Obama administration?

3. What can I check/investigate/repair to resolve this?

4. Why do I occasionally smell gas on a trip no matter what state of fill the gas tank (tanks??) is in?

Many thanks for any help. Tom

 

[Jack Klarich]

Tom, have you looked at this thread?

Maybe it can help you, when you scroll thru the thread you will see a diagram of how the tanks work

https://www.triketalk.com/forum/threads/60090-Fuel-Gauge-on-CSC-with-Auxiliary-Fuel-Tank

 

[MabryMillTom]

In these trying times of "Customer NO Service" I got an awesome response from the good and professional folks at California Sidecar. I sent them the following email:

(the email I sent California Sidecar is a copy/paste of my above post)

In under 30 minutes my phone rang. I answered and it was Will from California Sidecar telling me he had read my email and was calling to explain exactly how the CSC auxillary tank works with the Honda factory tank. He said he appreciated the thoroughness of my account and knew right away, when he read one fact I had written, that my CSC and Honda tanks were working perfectly. I had told him the low fuel light came on and I filled up with 5.9 gallons within 10 miles of the light comming on.

He told me that was an absolute tip off the system was working because: When the low fuel light comes on there is 1.5 gallons + remaining in the tank. I basically had put 6 gallons in (5.9 actually). Since the Honda 6.6 gallon tank cannot hold 7.5 gallons the CSC tank took the rest of the fuel. NOTE: When the low fuel light comes on the Honda tank has 1.5+ gallons in it AND the CSC aux. tank ALSO has 1.5+ gallons in it. When you put 6 gallons in the Honda tank you then, for all practical purposes, have 9 + gallons on board.

Problem (that was in my head) was solved/explained by Will at California Sidecar. And the occasional gas smell is most likely coming from the vent tube since there were no leaks detected when the trike was up on the lift and no signs of leaks on my garage floor. My thanks goes out to Will for responding to my question so quickly and answering it so professionally!!!!!!!! And Will also sent me the CSC link that graphically and in text explains how the system works. I am attaching it below:

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/19...Aux Fuel Tank Schematic.JPG?ver=1666197945514