Author |
Message |
Dride
| Posted on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 01:59 pm: |
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When I start my '06 Uly, it always pauses for about 2 seconds after I press and hold the start button, then it sounds like the battery is going to be dead, and BAM, it starts right up. Is this normal? With other bikes, when I hit the start button, they have fired right up. It used to make me nervous when I first got the bike, and now even though I am used to it I am curious if it is normal. I appreciate any assistance. |
Gamdh
| Posted on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 02:11 pm: |
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It is not normal but pretty common. Mine did it until I cleaned up my grounds per Tech Tip 339. In general, you should check your battery cables and all ground points. |
Ironhead1977
| Posted on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 02:17 pm: |
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Mine did the same thing until I installed the new fan duct and cleaned all the ground surfaces while I was in there. It spins the engine perfectly now. |
Nipsey
| Posted on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 05:02 pm: |
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Mine too - but between star washers on the battery ground and eliminating the 77 connector, it starts up immediately |
Pso
| Posted on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 07:50 pm: |
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I had developed same issue, new battery helped. When I do comfort kit I am doing star washers and ground cleanup. |
Hooper
| Posted on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 09:45 am: |
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Here are some links from the past...they include the tip about placing a couple washers on the battery bolts, which may help. I have yet to try the "groundwork", but I think I'd better...she's back to hesitating recently, and especially in winter. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/479930.html?1248184928 http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/461894.html?1242954485 http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/466136.html?1244729909 |
Lars1974
| Posted on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 10:06 am: |
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mine still does that... so i may have a look at the fixes mentioned...but i cant today as my Uly has gone to a local specialist for its 10k service... |
Dride
| Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 11:15 pm: |
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How do I get the fuse box out. It looks simple enough, but I can't get that bugger out of the way to adjust the battery wire to the frame. This Buell experience is a lot like owning a vw back in the day, when things don't work right, I take it personally. It's like this bike has a soul. Any assistance is appreciated. |
Mnrider
| Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 11:21 pm: |
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There's two little release tabs on the side off the fuse box,release those and you can lift it strait up. |
Electraglider_1997
| Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 08:31 am: |
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The release tabs you need to manipulate are the ones toward your belly as you stand on the left side of your bike facing inward and not the ones on the left and right of the fuse box. Those just pull the cap off the fuse box. |
Lars1974
| Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 01:38 pm: |
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can i just ask: as i stated my Uly does this too...and i wondering if this is something "bad" which needs sorting out or can i just carry on as usual... can someone please clarify? thx Lars |
Tginnh
| Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 07:25 pm: |
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I cleaned the grounds and mine still does it. Oh well. It starts and has only stranded me on one occasion when I left the tail light on. |
Dride
| Posted on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 11:37 pm: |
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I cleaned all the grounds, and I noticed the battery already had the star washers. Next step is to check to battery juice. I have a May 06 build date, and still the original battery. Now, it's almost a worse pause before firing up. |
Xbeau12s
| Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 12:29 am: |
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my 04 xb12s did that when it was cold all the time. It was the battery. |
Blake
| Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 06:29 am: |
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Lars, I think it's an indication of possible poor grounding that is easily remedied. But if the bike does start and run okay, you know the old adage, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'd say that if your battery is three years old or more to go ahead and replace it then you can ensure that the electrical connections are all good and clean and tight as well. If your battery is still in good shape, then if the bike has always behaved similarly, no worries. But if the issue is something new and getting worse, well, I'd try to resolve it. Wouldn't you? |
Larryjohn
| Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 08:18 am: |
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My Uly was doing this also for about the past 3 or 4 months getting progressively worse. Over the duration of a few weeks I checked a bunch of things before it finally died completely last week. Before it completely died I cleaned the grounds, used star washers on the grounds and battery terminals and that did nothing. I then decided to check my battery, but my cheap multimeter is broke so I decided I could use the meter on my battery charger, which showed the battery was good. I then tried using the “starter” setting on my battery charger which did nothing (it is only 50 amps so that might be why). I even put my battery on my battery tender and it showed it was fully charged. Granted none of these are as good as a true voltage check, but I took all this to mean the battery was good. I started looking for ground problems or other wiring problems, but found nothing. So I decided that maybe there was a problem with the battery even if it seems okay on the surface. I decided to jump start the bike. First I had the jumper cables right on the battery posts on the bike and nothing happened. Then I moved the negative jumper cable to the metal battery box on the bike and the thing turned right over and fired with no hesitation. That was enough for me, I replaced the battery and all is good. No hesitation whatsoever now. |
Gamdh
| Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 08:29 am: |
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My hesitation was always there and got worse in the cold weather. Last year after replacing the stator/VR and then battery.. the hesitation was better but stil there. Fixing (cleaning etc) the grounds remedied the problem on my bike. |
Dride
| Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 - 12:32 am: |
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Put the trickle on it overnight, after cleaning all of the grounds, and now WHAMO, it fires right up! It is soooo nice. I do have the original battery from 2006, and the old man who rides the Road King tells me he has to get a new battery every other year. What's a reasonable life on an HD battery? I did some local pricing just in case, and they sure aren't cheap. I thought $116 was a bit spendy, but sounds like the norm. |
Dride
| Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 - 12:35 am: |
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Thanks Mike for the PDF. With those pics, even an accountant could do the job! |
Gamdh
| Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 - 08:32 am: |
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Dride.. no problem. By the way. I replaced my battery with one of these http://www.bigcrank.com/buell-xb12x-ulysses-1200cc -battery/ETX-14.html I got it for $64 with free shipping (not sure if they still offer free shiping) This battery is made by a US manufacturer and is sold under several logos as Auto Parts stores. |
Electraglider_1997
| Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 - 11:11 am: |
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I've cleaned the grounds and used star washers as recommended by everyone here. I've got the original battery in mine and have been experiencing the hesitation of the starter. Yesterday I did a TPS reset on my bike and by the time I finished my battery was discharged so that all I was getting was clicking when I hit the starter button. So I jumped it to my van and it started right up and I let both the van and bike run jumped together for awhile. Took the bike for a short ride and then put the battery on my charger when I got back. After a couple of hours on the charger I hit the starter button and there was no hesitation and it started the bike like it had a new battery. Long story short, I think the starter hesitation is more battery charge related than ground related, at least in my bike's case. New battery for me next year probably. |
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