| Author | Message | ||
     Mikethetanker5 |
My 2008 Ulysses started running rough. Bad idle, spitting and popping at low speed. A Harley Dealer reluctantly looked at it and reflashed the ECM for $200 and it ran fine. I recently replaced the battery and it's running rough again. I read the posts and bought a $37 cable for tunerpro with the intent of flashing my own ecm for free but I can't figure out how to hook it up to my ECM. I have two connectors (grey and black) and neither look like the cable I bought off eBay. Where do I plug in my cable to get started? I feel retarded. | ||
| Mikethetanker5 |
I'll attach a photo of the cable.  | ||
| Nallac |
You are trying to plug your cable into the plug under the left hand side seat rail and not the actual ECU aren't you?. | ||
| Gringo |
mike, we know what you mean about love hate but stick with it, uly has more character than a model t ford and is more lovable than a puppy. accept that its a good design and look for problems that simply occur from use, spark plugs are i big factor and they are easy to foul, once fouled, change em. the ecm is famous for problems, mostly because of pressure and cracks on the connectors, not because of programming. the battery change should not have changed anything, BUT, thats next to the ecm, so if there is a problem with that you could have made it mad, take it out and check it with a magnifying glass. look at badweb for relocation ideas cause the factory location is a big problem. stick with it, its worth it once you get to know the bike. | ||
| Ratbuell |
There is a four pin plug inder your left thigh as you sit on the bike. That's the data port. You may have to pull the seat, or you may be able to fish it out the opening in the tail section. | ||
| Buewulf |
Mike, The end of the connector in your picture plugs into a connector port on the left-hand side of the bike under the seat near where the subframe meets the frame. You may be able to see it without taking the seat off, but it may be tucked in somewhere, too. That is the hookup to the ECM. The other end of your cable should be a USB connector that plugs into your computer. If you haven't already, you will need to install a driver on your computer that recognizes the cable. Then you should be in business. | ||
| Mikethetanker5 |
I'll change the plugs but it seems like it's something electronic. I inspected the ECM (next to the battery, two connectors side by side, not the plug under the left side seat rail) and it looks fine. No cracks or marks from the seat rubbing it. | ||
| Buewulf |
Dumb question, but did you reset the TPS? What did the HD dealer "flash" it with? Unless they installed some sort of tuned fuel map from another bike, all you ended up with was likely the same fuel maps you had before with the AF value and TPS reset. | ||
| Mikethetanker5 |
I did reset the TPS, no change made to the way it runs. I don't know what the HD dealer did to re "flash" the ECM so I'm going to try the spark plug change. I did finally find the cable hidden under more cables. | ||
| Reepicheep |
The dealer probably didn't reflash the ECM, they probably just reset the TPS offset. Which you can do with that cable. Reflashing is reprogramming the whole fuel map, and is NOT something you want to do lightly. | ||
| Buewulf |
The dealer probably didn't reflash the ECM I agree. I am not even sure they would do that. And Reepicheep is right. Unless you have some experience logging data and interpreting the results, remapping can become expensive, like melted pistons expensive. I have heard the fueling on the 08+ bikes is rather poor from the factory, but since it did run fine at some point, I don't think the map values are your issue. Just my opinion. However, if you have access to some maps that others have done with similar mods to yours, it is no big deal to overwrite yours with a copy of another map. Just make sure you save a copy of your original so you can go back to stock if things seems to get worse. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Remapping on the 08's probably does make sense, I have heard it is quirky stock. But the way to go about it is to phone EBR and order their pre-mapped race ECM tuned for the stock exhaust (or a drummer if you want that). You should be able to sell the stock ECM for at least $100, or keep it to put it back to stock if the enviro-tyrants get more control. My 07 has pretty good mapping, but you have the better crank and oiling system, so you definately win. | ||
| Hughlysses |
There were several updates to the ECM program on the 08's after they came out. Fuel economy in particular was lousy compared to the 07's (<40 MPG compared to ~50 MPG) and from what I remember reading here there were at least 2 updates. In addition, dealers were doing another update as of mid/late 2009 which included the revised fan control logic. The dealer might very well have plugged in his ECM, checked to see if it had the latest flash, and then updated him to the latest one. It almost sounds like it was something incidental to the ECM re-flash (assuming they did one) that temporarily cured the bike. What about a bad O2 sensor or leaky exhaust gasket? Maybe the dealer reset the AFV after the re-flash, the bike was OK for a while until it "re-learned" the erroneous readings from a bad O2 reading and now it runs crappy again.  | ||
| Griffmeister |
Easy enough to tell if you have the latest program, take the bike out for at least ten miles then shut it off. If the fan doesn't keep running then you have the latest program. The dealer can also read the program ID when they plug-in anyhow. I have the latest update just prior to the new fan logic, that's the most noticeable part of the new load and I decided to keep the previous load. I think everyone else has a point, recent issues with running probably means something has a physical problem and not an ECU mapping problem. Just remember, if you're going to change or otherwise try to fix something just do one thing at a time to help see what has an effect and what doesn't. | ||
| Jsg4dfan |
I've got a love/hate relationship with my 08 XT as well. I'll spare the details at the moment, only to end with this - if anyone near San Antonio is in the market for an XT, shoot me a PM. ESPECIALLY if you have a 650 VStrom you'd like to trade. Hurry up before I fall back in love... | ||
| Mikethetanker5 |
I changed the plugs out and ran it in the garage for a few minutes just to make sure I got it all back together right. No difference noticed yet but I'll take it out for a spin and see. | ||
| Uly_man |
"My 2008 Ulysses started running rough. Bad idle, spitting and popping at low speed." Please try to remember that these bikes will run right from stock. And RIGHT is in "as designed". If it then goes bad you have a problem IE ECM, wiring, sensor, etc. | ||
| Arcticktm |
Something to keep in mind: You already got hosed by HD for $200 for either a TPS reset or re-flash (both sound like an overcharge to me). For something like $250 (looks like they are up to $305 now) you can get an EBR Race ECM with the proper cal for your engine and any mods you have. I do not recall seeing any post of someone who was not satisfied with their EBR ECM purchase. Andy - should have known better than to throw a challenge like that out there! I certainly like mine (though it was to fix a failing ECM, not resolve any fueling issues). Speaking of HD rip-offs, can't you do a TPS reset on an '08 on your own, w/o any computer connection? I had to buy the software/cable to do my '06 but it has paid for itself and then some by now. (Message edited by arcticktm on September 28, 2012) | ||
| Andymnelson |
Well now you have, I took mine out and re-installed my P&A Race ECM. My bike ran awful with the EBR ECM... | ||
| Conchop |
Clean your grounding wires. Reset your TPS Run Amsoil 20/50 in the motor - 60 in the tranny Screw in a set of NGK irridium plugs Re route your breather - Run a bit of sea foam through for a few fill ups - PS - the best 93 plus octane or 104 race gas... Shell or Chevron Take 2 aspirin Do an Italian tune up last. | ||
| Mikethetanker5 |
I reset the TPS (easy to do on an '08, no laptop needed), changed the plugs out and now I'll run the gas through on a nice long ride in the rain. I'll try sea foam and some fresh, high octane gas and see how it goes. I did take it in for it's first check up way back in '09 and I believe the HD dealer in Antelope Valley, CA (the only HD dealer I've ever liked) upgraded the ECM program because I did get better mileage than the first 1,000 miles and the fan ran differently. I'll try the fuel thing and see if there's any change before messing with the ECM or getting a new one from EBR. | ||
| Mikethetanker5 |
I gave up and bought a new ECM from EBR. My Uly runs like a champ. |
