I posted in a few other forums as well.....

In my quest to find a solution to the contamination build-up on our Arctic Cat fuel senders it was suggested to me to give the product STAR TRONa look at:



I've tried just about all the BIG name brands -STAYBIL / SEAFOAM / TECHRON and all have failed misserably in terms of keeping corrosion/build-up on the sensitive sender leads...or FIXING them. Thus this "corrosion/gunk/scum" throws off the OHM metering and our gauges go nuts. (unless they were bad to begin with...but who knows?)

SO i went to the website: Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment - HOME


Read the info. Then I fired off an email explaining what my/our problem is:

"Does Star Tron help in the prevention of sulfur build-up/contamination on fuel sender leads? Due to the apparent poor quality & high sulfur content of our REG gasoline (non E10) up here in the Northern USA, a lot of us Arctic Cat ATV'rs are finding it is primarily responsible for gumming up our fuel sending units thus giving false readings. I've tried various other fuel "additives" to combat this issue w/limited results. To date, pulling my sending unit apart and phyically cleaning brownish build-up on the contact leads w/alcohol is the only viable "short-term" solution. Any insight whould be appreciated! Thankya! Brad"

STAR TRON's reply:

"Brad:

This is probably an ethanol problem. Although ND has less restrictions, most refineries have to comply to national EPA regulations for sulfur because they ship gas to other markets. I doubt your gas has much sulfur in it. And ethanol always seems to turn up in some amounts, as its shipped only in tankers, and those tankers cross-contaminate fuel loads. Here's the simple test. Pour about five or six ounces of gasoline from the container you feed your ATV with into a small glass jar. Something the size of drinking glass is fine. Carefully pour in about a one ounce of water. It will go straight to the bottom. You have to have enough water to get a clear line on a level table, then mark it with a pen. Now, cap it and shake it hard for 15 seconds, then let it sit for a minute. If the water level comes back to the original line, its free of ethanol. However, since water and ethanol bond together, if there is any significant amount of ethanol in the gas, it will increase the bottom layer above the line. We do this with a 100 ml graduated cylinder, which is like a giant test tube, so we can see as little as 1% ethanol. You can't get that accurate in a jar, but by 2%, you should be able to see a rise in the line. The more gas you use, in the skinnier the jar, the more effective this test is.

Ethanol and water tend to oxidize electrical contacts when they sit, and this can cause gauges to malfunction. We have had very good success in eliminating this problem. Also, gums tends to form faster in gas with ethanol and water, and eliminating this problem is Startron's top selling feature in the snow mobile, marine, and lawn and garden markets.

Double dose your tank, and you should be able to get the fuel gauge to begin reading accurately again in less than an hour, or at least keep it from fouling again after a cleaning.

Technical Services"


I performed the test suggested.........and guess what...........after letting everything sit for about 10 min to settle.......the water was slightly ABOVE the line I drew on the glass jar. So much for buying NON-ETHANOL enriched gas.

So I ran out to our local WALMART (it's in the Sporting Goods BOAT/MARINE section) and picked up the 8oz bottle ($9) and dumped in 1.5oz.

The gauge has been working FINE for the past wk, and I've managed to get in close to 10miles since I first added it.

Let's see if it will CONTINUE to work?

Just figured I'd pass along my little "experiment" and see how things pan out over the next few wks/months. I'll let everyone know how things turn out.

 

Cupz,

Good info I will have to try that little test. I have suspected water and or ethanol for some time. But All my friend here (he works at a refinery) is that they do not add ethanol but they do add some stuff (trade secret) to meet EPA requirements.

Then again maybe the fuel companies and the EPA are conspiring with the parts companies to stimulate the economy!.....

You need to ride a little more too, I just put 350+ miles on my wheeler over the weekend.

Swampy