Ran outta gas, now she won't schtart!!!

[VoyagerCraiger]

'00 Voyager and I ran outta gas... coasted to Gas Station, loaded her back up and nada... SHE WON'T GRAB! She'll turn over the motor bright and strong but I'm not getting fuel.

Since I ran outta gas I'm wondering if a gremlin got into my FuelPump/FuelFilter and clogged the line... but I'm not for sure on that. She was running like a top before... absolutely zero issues (strong 'runner' in fact).

Thought to order/install new FuelPump/Filter (45K miles on Bike) since they're pretty cheap (and the Bike is old). What cha'll think??? Am I barking up the right tree since this sudden & new issue came up??? Or is there something else that Voyager is 'notorious' for should one ran completely outta gas?

Again, no fuel (or 'flooded carbs' smell) when operating throttle. So she's fuel-starved and I'm wondering how running outta fuel would cause that.

THANKS!!!

[cushman eagle]

You may have drawn some dirt into the system as you got the last of the gas
As you change the filter and pump,see if the outlet of the tank is plugged with dirt
Let us know what you find

[Highway Rider]

Just curious have you removed a float bowl drain plug to see if it does have gas in them. Just wondering?

[VoyagerCraiger]

Just curious have you removed a float bowl drain plug to see if it does have gas in them. Just wondering?

NO!!! AND THAT WAS 'ON THE LIST' while stuck at CircleK and I forgot to do it. I am 90% sure there's no fuel in there as it was depleted on the highway (Fast-Lane, crossed all the way over and coasted into CircleK... SOOOOO LUCKY). Since she now won't start and I smell no fuel it's a fuel starvation issue methinks. You know how it is when she won't start and then after a few minutes one can smell fuel all over the place? That's not happenin'.

I am indeed going to 'go for it' and just replace the FuelFilter ($8)/FuelPump ($21) for kicks. I can then also check the last pipe/tube/channel out of the FuelTank to see if it's gunked up. 23YO sickle is bound to have some rust in the tank... or at least debris.

I'll report back here when I add the new items and try again.

Thanks for the input folks!

[VoyagerCraiger]

Yup! Fuel Filter and/or Fuel Pump were the culprits of not letting my Bike re-start after running outta gas on the Freeway.

When I changed to Iridiums you know how one of the Spark Plugs is ALWAYS sooooOOOOO much harder to get at than the others... THAT ONE I finally removed and had to fix the Wire/BootCap to be properly connected again (tuggin'/pullin'/yankin'). Then I had an 'S' shaped extension to bend around everything to get the slightly seized/rusted odd plug out. Ohhhhhhh she appreciates ALL 4 PLUGS BEIN' NEW NOW I KNOOOOWWWW!!!
Anyway, pulled Fuel Filter/Pump bracket from Left Side after disconnecting hoses on Right Side [so Remove Side PanelsX2 each side, Remove Left Side Clutch Cover (Metal), Disconnect Wires/NegativeCable from Right Side, Water OverFlow Tank from Left Side and 2 Right Side bolts holding Pump/Filter Bracket and "Bob's Your Uncle"!]

For follow up to this Post I blew into each Unit to get some residual Fuel Spray onto a white dinner plate (OBVIOUSLY not married)... I lost some Fuel in the Garage but what came out on the Plate mimics what came out in my catch pan...
Filter - reddish Fuel w some brown sediment and
Pump - darker Fuel w black sediment that was even more present in catch pan.

So after about what 20 Clicks from the Fuel Pump to fill those 4 Carbs, a little choke, she started right up and purred. Still putting her back together and'll TestRide her next coupla days. No matter, she'll run correctly now.

Ain't it F'n WEIRD that upon running dry of Fuel, coasting into the Pump, filling right back up and at re-start I get NOTHIN' but a dead battery after a few tries. So sure, I'm thinking original Filter and Pump of course, so nice to get that changed out!!! I had her all apart a few months ago and for a few months (just cleaning her up and ongoing Punch List) and it was nagging at me, "Craig, you knoooooow... you should AT LEAST change out that Fuel Filter Brooooo". DANG!!!
WELL IT'S DONE NOW 'VOYAGER CHECK LIST'!!!

P.S. Careful on removing the Rubber Ring Pump Holder as it can tear if the Rubber is old enough. Mine schtarted to tear but I saw it right away and worked around it before it got bad.

And Thanks for those that input feedback; much appreciated!!!

[Timbox]

Glad that you got her back working again. So glad you didn't have to break into them carbs and get some of that out of the jets....Lucky some would say.

I am sure the XII is very happy with the new plugs, pump and filter. She will run for many yrs to come.

[VoyagerCraiger]

So I'z thinking about things related to this Post and something's nagging at me... the mileage on the Trip Odo was not where it usually is when I run the Gas Tank low. Didn't give much thought to it at the time, and it don't matter none now, BUT!!!

In the interest of Science... I woooooonder if the Fuel Pump just failed right there on the Highway (fast lane of course). I MIGHT NOTTA RUN OUTTA GAS!!! That only helps in the 'Pride' column, BUT IT HELPS! The TripOdo mileage was 135 and I can ALWAYS get 150+ out of a tank-a-gas. I am one of those mess with the fuel filler neck guys on his motorcycles (read: fill 'er ALL THE WAY UP TO THE LIP). So it's VERY unlikely I didn't fill the tank completely on last fill up before TripOdo reset though I suppose I coooooould have (UNLIKELY).

The reason I share all this is because the more I thought about it, the more I was impressed w the fuel outta the hose from the Bike fuel tank... clear as a bell! So sure, don't do the maintenance on our Bikes and stuff goes all to hell, even if a rusty tank fouling a fuel filter and then a fuel pump would make sense, it turns out that maybe just the plain old accumulation of stuff in the OEM filter/pump over 45K miles and oh, say, TWENTY THREE YEARS will cause a fuel pump failure!!! Over time enough stuff gets in there and perhaps causes a Fuel Pump failure while underway???

We'll never know I reckon... BUT SHE'S FIXED UP AND I'M A HAPPY CAMPER (though ridin' in PHX 110 degree heat is a bear!).

[GrandpaDenny]

Hey Craiger, where 'bouts in the Valley are you?

[Rhbrandy]

150 miles isnt much on a tank. i get 220-230 before light comes on.

[VoyagerCraiger]

150 miles isnt much on a tank. i get 220-230 before light comes on.

THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT!!!
BUT!
Specs sheets say...
6.1gal capacity, and
35-ish mpg, sometimes less, never more,
215 on odo before empty.
Again, thought I tracked a 157 (as highest I was 'willing' to chance it) once, too.
All this (calculations, 'specially since I usually track odo v fuel gauge) is happenin' at 80mph on a coupla Freeway Fast Lanes in PHX/MESA (the 60, the 101, I-10).

All that tells me something is up, YO!!!

For one, it does indeed sound as if my fuel pump (and/or filter) failed me on the skreet and while under power (v me runnin' out of gas).
Second, do I have a fuel consumption problem?
Very lately I've visually checked on top of engine and anywhere a gas line goes (under/over carbs, too) for fuel leaks and've found none.
Of course now I'm WAY too afraid to run up the count on my trip odo in a renewed effort to gain the most up to date data on some of my fuel system. I guess I could toss a coupla small bottles of fuel in the trunk and run her until dry (and I now have the confidence she'll restart since fuel pump/filter are new). I'd get accurate 'Range' (and fuel mileage) to replace errant info I've been operating from.

And you get a light when fuel is low???
Guess I gotta check on that too!!!
Maybe I've never run fuel low enough to actually see/experience the 'low fuel' warning light?!?!

I'm running 9 Bikes and even though I write '!!!IT!!!' all down, sometimes I forget which is which and how far it'll go. All but 2 are to be flipped, meaning yes, some ain't running (but they won't take very much to 'get runnin'). Anyway... I gotta pay better attention to 'all this'!

I've another new task for my Voyager... DANG!!!

[Nails]

35-ish mpg, sometimes less, never more,

Spec sheet?
I get that when my XII is running like crap into a headwind.
I suggest working through this a little slower ... and remember to breathe.

[Highway Rider]

This is just something to check, but is the choke completely disengaged? If it was engaged at all it would increase fuel consumption. Low fuel light should come on with 1 gallon of fuel left. The first fuel gauge I had did so and I had to replace it and the new one does so also. With my bike running at 75 to 80 I will get 36 mpg. But we have some form of wind all the time. I get into to mountains and I can get upwards of 45mpg or better. Also running 55 to 60 mph will get me in the upper 40's.

[Nails]

Mine generally does better than that: in the low 40s at 75 (super-slab touring in the flatlands and all else) and into the 50s at 45-50 (like BRP, Natchez Trace, or PCH). Mileage falls off a lot at 85 and a little in triple-digit temps. I don't have much XII experience in urban areas (commuting or whatever), but my mileage seems to suck anywhere near LA or DC.
I don't monitor gas mileage at home, but I live in the mountains and have tuned the carbs a bit for the altitude (pilot-jet screw, not main-jet brass) -- I might be running a little leaner than you.
My speedo is corrected for speed (so the odo is off), but I correct for that (based on mile markers across I-40) when calculating the gas mileage. (Don't use no stinkin' GPS.) I sometimes get 200 miles without seeing the low fuel light, but routinely/comfortably run 180 miles when touring.
It's cheap and easy to swap-in that Mustang fuel-light sensor (see Dollar For Dollar).

[GrandpaDenny]

only running 80 on the freeways in the Valley? Man, you're gonna get run over!!! LOL. I remember quite well getting passed repeatedly when doing somewhere north of 100 east of the Durango Curve, and then having to put both feet on the brakes coming up the hill and seeing the pack of brake lights near The Stack. Well, dang, that was almost 30 years ago.

Before New Carbs, Gertrude averaged about 35-40mpg. After New Carbs, and Before Air Leaks, about 45. Air leaks dropped her back down to about 38. Now that I seem to have everything good and tight (thanks to a homemade smoke machine), last tank was 46.5, and that included stop-and-go-every-block Philly city driving, 90mph PA Turnpike driving, and even about 20 miles at 120MPH indicated (113 on GPS).

How is she running? I'm sorry I don't remember what, if any, indications you'd given besides the low gas mileage.

Oh and before the new carbs, running a constant 80mph (if she'd get up that fast) she'd get about 26mpg.

[Nails]

only running 80 on the freeways in the Valley?

I don't ride in Phoenix, but I've caged through there plenty. Contrary to various reports, I haven't found anywhere in the USA that I feel a need to ride much past the speed limit, given that I avoid urban areas especially during rush hour. I mean for traveling, if it isn't fun enough to take my time and look around, or at least sufficiently twisty, what's the point?

Now that Deanna has moved up the coast from LA to San Luis Obispo, I don't have much need to ride through Tuscon, either. It seems odd to me, but from Santa Fe, travel times to northern LA aren't all that much different whether via Tuscon (noodling down to I-10 and then through Joshua Tree -- pretty hot so only been a few times), Phoenix (whether Salt Creek Canyon or the Mogollon Rim -- been both several times), or just straight through Flag (I'm so-ooo sick and tired of I-40). I've been back and forth to SLO three times already just this year, all under a time crunch (Deanna's work), so all I-40 (I flew one-way via Santa Barbara though, so shouldn't whine too much).

I wish there were more routes north of I-40, but they all add a couple days to the trip when I usually need to blast. At least now I can get off I-40 in CA -- there are some splendid roads through that jumble of mountains along the San Andreas Fault crossing between LA and Bakersfield. I'm sure to get in another trip across Utah in the spring, but that's 3-4 days to the coast as opposed to 1 on I-40. (That is, I'll choose to travel, taking my time in the beautiful canyon country of southern Utah and then through Tahoe, as opposed to a marathon to the Central Coast. But I'll probably IronButt on the way back.)

Later this month, I'll go to SLO in a Taurus. I'm actually looking at a big loop through Ohio (visit my mom), down to Biloxi, out to SLO (via my house), and then back home in NM. My daughter is finishing her meteorology training and has orders from Keesler AFB to Okinawa (USMC 3rd Intelligence Battalion -- yeah, an oxymoron to this former sailor, too) and I'm schlepping her accumulated crap back to either NM or CA. On my way back (not under a time crunch), I plan to visit a friend in Phoenix. Since I can break that 1000mi I-40 slog into 3 or 4 days, I'm thinking of coming home via Hudson Ranch Road and cutting through Goff if not further north in CA, not getting an attitude on I-40 (just 100mi from Kingman to the Prescott turnoff), cutting through Jerome to Camp Verde (not at the end of a Phoenix weekend in Vegas), not getting an attitude on I-17 (just 85mi to Phoenix), getting to NM via Salt River (been through Payson way too many times), and then back to my beloved I-40 (just 70mi from Grants to ABQ) via Showlow and the Zuni Res. Again, this would be in the cage -- trying to salvage something from this summer. And most of that loop isn't really very fun on a bike anyway.

How is she running? I'm sorry I don't remember what, if any, indications you'd given besides the low gas mileage.

I haven't even started figuring out why my XII died in South Dakota last year. But my shoulder is healing nicely (rotator cuff repair), and I'm enjoying the Yamaha's handlebar therapy (not whooping it up in the dirt quite yet). Basically, I've had to write off this whole summer. But I've got some firewood to chunk in the shop's stove this winter.

[GrandpaDenny]

How is she running? I'm sorry I don't remember what, if any, indications you'd given besides the low gas mileage.

I haven't even started figuring out why my XII died in South Dakota last year. But my shoulder is healing nicely (rotator cuff repair), and I'm enjoying the Yamaha's handlebar therapy (not whooping it up in the dirt quite yet). Basically, I've had to write off this whole summer. But I've got some firewood to chunk in the shop's stove this winter.

Nails, you doofus, I wasn't asking YOU about your gas mileage, but the person who started this thread. It's not all about you, dude Hey on your trip to Ohio, since you're not under a time crunch, how 'bouts maybe we meet somewhere 'tween Ohio and Philly?

Oh man, rotator cuff... yuck. I've torn mine a bunch of times, but it hasn't kept me off the scoot. Haven't needed surgery. Have a tear now that's right on the borderline between needing surgery and not. Did physical therapy for a few months and that did the trick. Have twinges occasionally; it would probably help if I still did the prescribed excercises. Good luck with the shoulder and best wishes for speedy healing. I had my other shoulder operated on about 23 years ago, cleaned up the AC joint and repaired the almost-severed biceps tendon. He did a wonderful job (VA in Orlando, the old clinic, not the new hospital) - I was bowling a month later, and throwing a baseball up in the 90s again about six months later.

[Nails]

Sorry, but definitely a time crunch in Ohio -- gotta be in Biloxi.