| Author | Message | ||
     Fltwistygirl |
So Mr. Twisty rode the x into work today. Temp was hi 20's and he was about 30 miles into his 40 mile commute when it hiccuped upon acceleration. Loss of power after stopping at a stop light. It did it one more time before he arrived at work. Nothing on the way home. When he described it to me it sounded like symptoms of the ecm going south except we have already replaced and relocated both ecms and heat was not a factor. This random stuff makes my eye twitch. Bad gas? Tps reset needed? What say y'all oh wise peeps of da badweb? T I A. B. | ||
| Nillaice |
so it was like 'vromm, vroom hiccup, vroom, vroom'? http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/726418.html?1384527024 | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
so it was like 'vromm, vroom hiccup, vroom, vroom'? Kind of like that but the "vroom vroom" thread reminds me of how the XT was behaving when the ecm was starting to give up the ghost. We've already been down the cracked ECM path with both Ulys. I'm no mechanic, but am betting this is something else, hopefully a simple fix. But as mentioned in the other thread, they don't fix themselves. If there is anything good about the timing of this, it is that there is snow in the forecast, meaning riding season seems to be winding down for the next few weeks. Hopefully, he will have some time this week to check connections and look for any issues with the wiring. Incidentally, the bike ran like a top for him on this morning's commute. | ||
| Zane |
Fltwistygirl, Does it run better at higher RPM. When my ECM died, it ran better above 2600 - 2800 RPM. Below 2600, my XT acted much the same way. It was the ECM. | ||
| Ramman4x4 |
My first thought was a faulty bank angle sensor (BAS) but it appears a BAS will completely kill the engine requiring a key switch cycle to restart. | ||
| Etennuly |
Most things that can be a problem are magnified when cold. Cold makes things contract and condense moisture. He sure is riding far enough for the heated parts of the bike should "dry out", but there are a lot of parts that stay cold or even get colder, like everything in the area of the instrument cluster/ign switch/ bar switches etc. Any of that stuff could be suspect. The cold/heat cycles with vibration is what can also loosen torque tightened stuff like he battery cables. It is free to do, takes a minute or so, so I would check them first. Remember if they can be moved at all with serious force from the fingers/hands, they are too loose. The tiniest bit of water in the gas, from gas station tanks or condensation from the bike, can be magnified by turning into ice as it passes through the injectors. This can cause a momentary stumble as tiny ice crystals can block injectors from squirting. Cold damp weather can also cause icing in the intake. Try a half can of SeaFoam in a full tank of premium fuel. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Thanks all for the input. "Does it run better at higher RPM." The first hiccup happened under acceleration so at higher rpms. BTW my XT hated low rpms when the ecm was croaking too. "My first thought was a faulty bank angle sensor (BAS)" IIRC the problems with the BAS was generally with the older Ulys, but anything is possible. If I know Greg, as soon as he felt something amiss on "his" baby, he would have looked for a CEL, and checked for a code as soon as he parked the bike. "Most things that can be a problem are magnified when cold." Yep, and this "cold/real winter....like it snows here" weather riding stuff with fuel injected bikes is still relatively new to us. Our Ulys loved the cooler temps in FL, and always ran great. As preventative maintenance, we ran some Lucas we had on hand through all our vehicles (bikes and trucks) last week after the trucks got their oil changes. We usually use seafoam, having been fans ever since it was recommended and resolved some issues with our K75. After he checks connections/wires, a dose of seafoam may be in order for the Buells. We always use premium in the bikes. | ||
| Ftd |
As an aside this is how to make your own SeaFoam. I have used this for a couple of yrs in my truck/car/boat/bikes with results identical to the store bought product. YMMV http://hildstrom.com/projects/seafoam/ | ||
| Uly_man |
"My first thought was a faulty bank angle sensor (BAS) but it appears a BAS will completely kill the engine requiring a key switch cycle to restart". Incorrect in regards that they can go wrong and NOT show up as a CEL. I know as it happened on my 10 bike. I showed up in the logged run. "IIRC the problems with the BAS was generally with the older Ulys, but anything is possible". My 10 bikes BAS went wrong. Switch it "off" with ECM-SPY or other to test if it is breaking down. "This random stuff makes my eye twitch". Yes it is a pain in the A. Sounds like an electrical issue with a wire or conn block. Check the wire sub loom that runs over the rear cylinder head and main frame. The wires can rub through and short to Earth. Mine did. Good luck. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Thanks, Ftd, for the seafoam recipe. For the record, he had no issues on his commute home yesterday. At this point, he will check connections, etc. when he has a chance, but unless some other symptoms surface, we will write this off to that tank of gas. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Well after four or more round trips no issues so we are leaning towards the bad tankful of gas theory. Time will tell. Thirty to eighty mph wind gusts followed by a predicted 8-24 inches of snow...not the best riding conditions for the Buells. Seems the bikes may sit a spell while the skis are dusted off! (Message edited by fltwistygirl on December 03, 2013) (Message edited by fltwistygirl on December 03, 2013) |
