trouble with fuel gauges and or transfer flow TRAX UFS system

[VW_Lupo_TD]

i will make this quick - the kodiak came with the 98 gallon fuel tank from transfer flow.

before it was outfitted with that from MONROE it already had two tanks,
on in the front of the bed, one in the rear (25 gal and 15 gal respectively).

Today i filled up for the first time (with 3 small botlles of Stanadyne Performance Formula,
so i filled the rear tank first with 11 gal, the front with 15 gal and then put 18 gals in the transfer flow tank in the bed.

the TRAX UFS says MN 26 AX 25 TTL 51 STATUS OK, which makes no sense.
according to the instructions (which are completely worthless) it says that the the fuel gauge in the dash
is now supposed to read the value of all tanks (in my case 140 gals) 15 secs after starting the truck.
before that it will just read the OE tank (or in my case tanks) and that the TRAX gauge
"will ALWAYS display the values from the Transfer Flow auxilary tank and the OEM tank that is being refuled by the transfer flow tank."

does that make any sense to anyone ???

in my book it would be logical is MN is the OE front tank, AX the OE rear tank and TTL would be all 3 combined.... ????

it also says "when your OEM fuel selecting switch is on the OEM tank to which the transfer flow tank is connected , the OEM fuel gauage will display the combined total of the OEM tank and the tft. when you switch the OEM fuel selecting switch to the other OEM tank, the OEM fuel gauge will read that tank only. The TRAC LCD will still read the gallons in the main tank and the tft auxilary tank."

what the heck is my OEM fuel selecting switch and where is it ???

sorry but that manual is written totally retarded and those fuel gauges make no sense whatsoever.....

any experiences, input, ways of fixing this ???

 

[WarWagon]

Transferflow will only read 2 floats at a time that I know of.
The Main Tank, MN, is the vehicle tank that the transferflow can pump fuel into. The AX is the 98 gal auxiliary tank from transferflow.
How it handles 2 vehicle tanks I am not sure unless the vehicle combines them somehow. It could, I just haven't seen it myself. I guess that AUX is always the transferflow tank. MN, Main could be the vehicle main tank that the fuel gets pumped into from the Transferflow tank and likely the biggest OEM tank.

How does the vehicle normally handle it's 2 OEM tanks? Selector switch?

I guess if you switch to the 15 Gal OEM tank that the readings on the Transferflow computer will not change.

Manuals are worthless. Transferflow will provide in depth documentation is you contact them and ask for it. No, it isn't on their website. Ignorance prevents phone calls is their thinking. However they are very helpful on the phone.

This said I can explain how it works with a 34 gal main tank and a 50 gal aux tank. The following is left out of the manual or what is there is worthless.

First and this was plain stupid IMO on their part but required for Fords. Ford diesels have a programmed miss when the fuel level gets low to protect the injection system. ('Hey dummy you are about to run out of fuel' feeling as the engine cuts out. Stupid Ford design is to ruin an expensive injection system if you run out/low on fuel.) Ford reads this our from the dash gauge info. So the 2008 tank setup I got works differentially to in regards to the OEM dash fuel gauge. (Lets say 'old school'.) The fuel gauge would read the main tank for 15 seconds and then read total fuel. So you would watch 1/3 tank reading at ignition on and then 15 seconds later the gauge would drop and the low fuel light would come on because "total fuel" level was displayed on the gauge. 1/3 of 34 gal and then it reads total of 84 gal that is lower than 1/3 as the aux tank is empty when that main is at 1/3.

After 2008, when exactly I do not know, they started reading the main tank only on the fuel gauge. For Fords that would enter the miss part of the program with plenty of fuel and customer confusion. They decided that the fuel guage reading the main tank only was less confusing to customers. All re-programmed computers have this set now - ask me how I know...

The above two items can be changed in the setup menu - and you need their guide to do so. It takes 2 changes to make the above switch back to 'Old School' readings. That is the good news.

You don't really use the fuel gauge anymore. Rather you use the number of gal left and keep 7 in reserve. Because at 7 gal the accuracy is in question of 0 to 7 gal left. This with known economy, MPG, helps you plan fuel stops. Like 18 unloaded and 8 towing MPG's. I prefer the gauge to read total fuel left as the main tank is a moving target. (Esp because their display is hard to read while driving.)

Now for the secret level.
Key off press both buttons. Turn key on with buttons held. Release when you see letters on the display.
I usually use the flowtest to pump anything left in the aux tank into the main tank past the 0 gal reading when I am pushing it before walking to get to the cheap fuel station.
Other settings are there that you should not mess with. At least not without the documentation to do so.

So far I love the system and the gal readout helps me with the fuel planning more than an inaccurate 1/2 tank reading...

The system tends to average the readings of gallons left. So get some fuel slosh going on and the readings will become lower. Read the gal before you turn off the key after travel. The readings will be higher when you turn the truck back on and then quickly drop back down as you travel due to fuel slosh. This is why we always left 7 in the tank.

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

aaaaaah - thanks man - very helpful info !
i will call them asap and request the documentation.
my first "load" will have to wait until later or tomorrow since i will not be loading and unloading 1800 shutters while it is snowing outside...

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

oh - and i have a TRAX I -> no buttons !

 

[WarWagon]

The above is for a Trax II. UFS Express is the only other system I see on their site. How old is this setup?

I would suggest you check and see how much slack you have in the wiring and then move it to the top of the dash or other easy to see while driving location. Makes it way more useful to know your fuel level in Gal on the road then taking your eyes off the road for a long time to read it down there.

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

The above is for a Trax II. UFS Express is the only other system I see on their site. How old is this setup?

I would suggest you check and see how much slack you have in the wiring and then move it to the top of the dash or other easy to see while driving location. Makes it way more useful to know your fuel level in Gal on the road then taking your eyes off the road for a long time to read it down there.

it was put on by monroe in 2003/4 when the truck was built.

 

[TFI-Tech-Support]

In your first thread you mentioned you filled up all three fuel tanks? If you filled up the 98 gallon X/B and it is only displaying 25 gallons suggest's that the sending unit in the 98 gallon tank may be installed incorrectly. To verify this, remove the cover on top of the tank. It is held down with double sided tape. On the top plate of the auxiliary sending unit there is an arrow stamp on it. This arrow points in the direction that the float swings. This arrow should be pointing towards the passenger side of your truck. If you have questions, or would like me to send you some info on your Trax-UFS give me a call or email me.

Brad Fridrich
Technical Support
Transfer Flow Inc.
800-442-0056 x-34
[email protected]

 

[ak diesel driver]

that's what I call customer support!!

 

[RI Chevy Silveradoman]

In your first thread you mentioned you filled up all three fuel tanks? If you filled up the 98 gallon X/B and it is only displaying 25 gallons suggest's that the sending unit in the 98 gallon tank may be installed incorrectly. To verify this, remove the cover on top of the tank. It is held down with double sided tape. On the top plate of the auxiliary sending unit there is an arrow stamp on it. This arrow points in the direction that the float swings. This arrow should be pointing towards the passenger side of your truck. If you have questions, or would like me to send you some info on your Trax-UFS give me a call or email me.

Brad Fridrich
Technical Support
Transfer Flow Inc.
800-442-0056 x-34
[email protected]

Welcome to our forum Brad! Nice to see you here. :thumbsup:

:welcome2:

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

Brad,
since i am as astonished as the others about your companies level of customer support i will keep this discussion on the forum unless you instruct me otherwise.
I did NOT fill up all three tanks -> i only put in either 18 or 28 gal in the transfer flow tank and i think i have it figured out:

Humor me for one second.
Is there a way that the TRAX UFS gauge can display the following
MAIN - OE front tank
AUX - OE rear tank
TOTAL - all 3 combined.

since that is what messed me up (read my other post about having to get towed on my way home picking it up)
as i assumed this is the only logical way your gauge displays content of the tanks.

Let me know if it is necessary to send you my gauge to reprogram it, we can swap it with one you have or if i have to update to a UFS II or anything like that ?

As far as i can tell your system works as designed, so not fault at all from your side, other than the instruction manual not being very clear on when
and how the rear auxiliary tank is read - if i understand correctly it is only displayed during the first 15 seconds after starting the truck on the OE fuel gauge ??

i will also send you an email address where you can send all the trax UFS info as well at your earliest convenience.

I appreciate you registering here and replying to my post and hope there is way to change them readouts as it would make your
product PERFECT in my eyes - and us engineers always have something to bitch about ;-)

nick

In your first thread you mentioned you filled up all three fuel tanks? If you filled up the 98 gallon X/B and it is only displaying 25 gallons suggest's that the sending unit in the 98 gallon tank may be installed incorrectly. To verify this, remove the cover on top of the tank. It is held down with double sided tape. On the top plate of the auxiliary sending unit there is an arrow stamp on it. This arrow points in the direction that the float swings. This arrow should be pointing towards the passenger side of your truck. If you have questions, or would like me to send you some info on your Trax-UFS give me a call or email me.

Brad Fridrich
Technical Support
Transfer Flow Inc.
800-442-0056 x-34
[email protected]

 

[TFI-Tech-Support]

Hi Nick,

It's no problem keeping your questions on the forum, it may help other customer's if they have the same questions.
Regarding monitoring your aft OEM fuel tank. Unfortunately the Trax-UFS isn't able to monitor the aft OEM fuel tank. It only monitors the TFI auxiliary tank and the tank that it is transferring fuel into, the main tank. Your application is the most confusing for customer's to understand the OEM fuel gauge is actualy monitoring and what is being monitored on the Trax display.
The OEM fuel tanks transfer like the Trax-UFS. The aft tank transfers into the front midship tank and the fuel gauge on the dash would be displaying the total of both OEM fuel tanks. For the fuel gauge to read full you would have to fill both OEM fuel tanks. If you just filled one tank up, the fuel gauge would read 1/2. Now with the Trax-UFS attached to the front tank you have to fill both the main and TFI aux for the fuel gauge to read 1/2 and filling the aft tank will get the fuel gauge reading full. Please bare with me if this sounds confusing. I have had many phone calls while trying to writing this.

The Trax-II system works the same way as the Trax-UFS system does.
It is attached to the tank is is transferring into so which is the main tank on the display. There are some menus in the Trax-II which you can make some adjustments in the way it transfers. The menus help with troubleshooting problems. The Trax-II is no longer controlling the OEM fuel gauge like the Trax-UFS. Your fuel gauge will read the OEM fuel tanks and you would have to look at the Trax-II display to see how much fuel is in the aux tank.
I received your email. I will send you what I have for the Trax-UFS and info of the other menus in the Trax-II.

Brad

 

[WarWagon]

Yes, their support is impressive and the quality of their product is simply second to none.

Perhaps a drawing of the tanks and what the gal readouts mean would be helpful in the manual.

Another gotcha some system have is if the main tank is low and you only add fuel to the AUX tank you can run out of fuel in the main tank. Short trips and delays before the pump come on are part of the issue or could cause this fuel level situation. I recall there is a safety program of some sort that will not transfer fuel from the AUX tank when the main tank is low. A rattler siphon in the tool box is a nice backup device to have. On the Trax II the flow test is a way around this. In the 200K+ miles on my tank I have not had a transfer pump failure, but, in case it does happen the siphon is good to have on hand.

I still love the Trax II and AUX tank esp after understanding how they work exactly. It has already paid for itself in fuel savings as I cross into CA and back out without having to pay high CA fuel prices... Back in the day it was into and out of Canada with RV delivery that really made it worth it.

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

ok, it must be 120 F outside and i am sweating like i have not ever sweat in my life ;-)
(ok that is not a bad thing - might loose a few pounds)

and here is what the tank assembly under the cover looks like.
i already emailed these to brad and will call him in a few, but i strongly suspect that this is NOT correct
since the arrow is not pointing exactly to the passengerside and i am off by about 1 bolt hole.

 

[btfarm]

Brad implied that the float swings that way which looks to me like there would be room for it in the direction it's mounted. But... I would rotate it 60* (1 bolt hole) and see where that gets you.

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

just got off the phone with Brad who was nice enough to call me back even though he is, like me,
busier than a one legged man in an azz kicking contest ;-)

you are correct that sending unit needs 60 degrees of rotation.
it has a pretty sturdy gasket, and is also covered with Permatex #2a, but since i JUST filled up all tanks this morning prepping for a run to KC
i think i might wait until i get back......

 

[btfarm]

Send BudTx a PM Nick and maybe you can catch each other for a coffee. He's in KC

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

that would be nice, but i doubt there will be time. i have to get back and then fly / drive to SC - next project on isle of palms ....

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

rotated sending unit and in tank assembly 60 deg.
immediately showed 50 gals in in trax display.

i will post pics later. whoever messed that up owes me money.
plus a man should not stink like diesel on his birthday ;-)

and the holes in that tank were messed up pretty bad - when i get time i will redo that with something
clean like nutserts or something....

 

[NVW]

Happy Birthday, glad you got it working.

 

[btfarm]

So you gave yourself a present and got your gauge to read... Quit bitchin'!


J/K Nick. Have a happy one!:thumbsup: