| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
Hey folks- I just spoke with Vern (Etennuly) and he's about to abort a good trip on his Uly. Below is the situation as described: Between 55-85 mph, the bike goes into run/skip mode, with "a red light" flashing in the dash. (He didn't say exactly which red light, come to think of it.) If he abruptly rolls off the throttle for about 10 seconds, the bike will resume running normally. Then after a few more miles the run skip returns. Vern sez that the bike is far from overheating, so the run/skip doesn't make sense. What would be a quick fix? Seems the head temperature sensor wouldn't revert to normal from fault after just 10 seconds of off- throttle, and I can't think of anything in the intake path that would cause this. His exhaust servo is working right- Vern was wondering if the oil pump might be causing trouble, triggering the oil pressure switch intermittently. If anyone has some input, speak up- hopefully the proper tweak would get the bike to act right. Vern will be back at his house about an hour from this post- maybe by then we can help a brother out. Thanks in advance, y'ouns!!! | ||
| Spiderman |
Head temp sensor. The bike runs in closed loop at idle (rolled all the way forward) and WOT In between is open, which may be why he is experiencing it at thos listed speeds. Low oil preassure would not cause running like described you would hear ticking first, then grenading. Have him replace the HTS along with the O2 sensor for good measure. You can get a 02 sensor from Autozone for under 10 bucks. Bosch 12014 has the correct Weatherpack connector. As for the HTC that, as far as I know, Is a Buell part. | ||
| 86129squids |
Thanks Spidey! Just got off the phone again with him, and he had thought of another possibility- Vern changed his oil: Used a top shelf Fram oil filter and changed to Mobil V-Twin oil. (He had been running 60 weight oil with a stock Buell filter.) Interstate 75 thru Lake City North is uphill, where he was having the trouble- after he headed back home (downhill) he had no trouble at all. Could the Fram filter be that restrictive? Could the Buell motor just be more happy with the old recipe oil and filter change? He's in the process of changing back to stock filter and 60 weight as I write this. Let's hope this does the trick... | ||
| Darthane |
It may not be the sensor itself, but the wire running to it. IIRC, the HTS considers lower resistance to be a higher temperature, so a short to ground makes it think the engine is extremely hot. It's possible that engine vibrations at those listed speeds are causing an intermittent that goes away at different RPMs. Something to think about before actually replacing the sensor - it's pretty easy to visually inspect, and if you can't find anything, well, you're already most of the way to taking it out and replacing it anyway! | ||
| Spiderman |
Remove oil from the equation, unless he heard loud ticking. Or the Oil light is in fact the light that is blinking. The oil switch on the Buell is not acurate enough to report exact PSI to the ecu. If fact it doesn't report any info at all. It is a analog swith that goes up to the Oil light to let the operator know if the is zero PSI. Now was he coasting down the hill IE off the throttle? | ||
| Thumper74 |
Was it raining or exceptionally high humidity? Mine does what sounds like the same exact thing when it's wet outside. I've traced it to a bad ignition wire. | ||
| Glitch |
I'm with Darthane on this one. I know I had some problems wrt wiring, a short to ground can cause havoc. Check the wire going to the heat sensor, I'd be willing to bet there's a chafed wire along there somewhere. | ||
| Darthane |
WRT what Thumper pointed out - I have heard of people having similar issues on Ulys with plug wires that were not properly seated, allowing moisture in which then corrodes the contacts (or is simply loose enough to cause intermittent firings). Another quick and easy thing to check once you have the lower airbox off. | ||
| 86129squids |
Yet Another Update: Vern's back on the road with 60 weight and a new stock filter. Said he's ran the pizz out of it to the point of the first episode last time, and it's running fine. Heading to a park just below Indianapolis to fix his wife's Denali which shat a wheel bearing. Could a change in oiling or a more restrictive filter have caused it? Good that he's rolling again anyway... | ||
| Glitch |
Could a change in oiling or a more restrictive filter have caused it? If it is fixed, I'd bet he got hold of a bad filter. | ||
| Microchop |
I thought ALL fram filters were "bad." | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Mine did the skip spark thing like that only at 60MPH+ when my stator/vr took a crap. Skip spark, flashing engine light, the whole works. | ||
| Easy_rider |
If Vern needs help/tools/tow, he should call me at 317-809-1808. I'm not on the regular help line since I'm not always very available. Right now is a good window, though. Please pass the word. | ||
| Glitch |
Vern, print out the RAN for sure! | ||
| Etennuly |
Well I'm back!  My initial concerns for the change in oil were that it was the only thing that I did change in the past week or so. My concern there was if the oil flow was restricted it may not move fast enough through the engine and cooler to cool it. Make the oil too hot and it should set off the sensor. Put it back to my old standard and made it about twenty miles further when it started its game again. Stopped and called Brad again, thanks for being there Brad! Before firing up the bike again, I figured I'd take the seat off and see if there was anything that I could think of. Wiggle test came to mind. I unplugged and moved every wire I could reach including unplugging and replugging each fuse and relay. Wahoo! it is fixed. Head up the slab 80-85 mph through the tank of gas. Stop to fill up and back on the road. Hit 70 mph and the little red flashy comes back and shortly after into run-skip. So I ran at 65 mph, below the problem threshold, until I get bored. Pulled the seat at the next gas stop and twist the ECM wires at the plugs so that they cannot contact any wires that they have been against for the past two years and 29,000 miles. Wahoo! back on the slab, back to 85 mph and running great! Got to the reunion just after everyone was packing up and as the lights were being turned off(perfect timing  ). Got up in the am and put the wheel bearing hub assembly in my Denali. Transfered the tools and such to the Denali, sent the family along in it. Took the wife for a three day ride home through some beautiful Southern Indiana and Western Kentucky back roads. Toured Mammoth Cave and several smaller attraction type things. Arrived home after finishing our tour down through North Central Tennessee back roads on a bike that ran flawlessly for all but for the beginning of the trip. 965 miles, I still love it. I will have someone post some pictures of it. I did a little paint work on my Uly in preparation for the Homecoming trip I didn't get to make.(I'm still not trained on how to make my computer post pictures) It is really strange that most of the people that I have to explain the Uly to ,since the paint work, are Road King/Ultra, and Gold Wing riders, even guys with trikes! It is a weird transition for sure, but it has happened many times thus far. Oh, and painting the wheels is over rated. Sure they look nice, but now they require regular cleaning! And the Michelin Road Pilot II......how ever many thumbs you got, put them up. A truly awesome confidence inspiring tire wet, dry, fast, slow, empty, loaded. It works!  Thanks for being here BadWeB!  | ||
| Darthane |
Pulled the seat at the next gas stop and twist the ECM wires at the plugs so that they cannot contact any wires that they have been against for the past two years and 29,000 miles. Is that al you did, or did you do some inspection and repair that you just didn't note? I don't want to rain on your parade, but there was/is a problem there, and simply moving them isn't enough to fix the root cause. | ||
| Etennuly |
Is that al you did, or did you do some inspection and repair that you just didn't note? That was it! At the first stop I removed and reinstalled all of the fuses, relays, and plugs that I could. The second stop for the same, I just moved the ECM wires around, from the plugs to the harness tape. I lifted up on the wiring harness both times too, where it lays across the edge of the plastic shock cover/heat shield on the left side. It settled itself back down there. More investigation will take place as soon as time allows. I feel confident the problem is in a chafed or broken wire in that area. It ran over 750 miles without doing it again.} | ||
| Reepicheep |
My XB9SX had that problem when I mis-routed the ECM bundle relative to the battery terminal after pulling the ECM. I eventually found the micro-nick, but it was dang near invisible. I just slapped a piece of split loom cable armor around it, cable tied it in place, and routed it right. I think I did put a piece of electrical tape around the nick just on principal, but it was redundant. | ||
| Etennuly |
Problem reoccurred after about a week. I figured the wires settled back into where they had been. Still 65 mph, red flashy light, then run-skip. Problem located and repaired. The blue/orange wire, ECM to #2 coil, had been rubbing on the metal battery mount. It had the tiniest bit of silver wire exposed and was dead shorting to the bare anodized battery mount. Taped it and relocated the immediate wire bundle so it was in a different position. One cylinder misfiring only under load, up hill, with red flashing light simulated the "overheat run/skip" to a "T". It runs great all the way up now! |
