| Author | Message | ||
     Etennuly |
Let me ask you this.....Are you doing a lot of test riding.....as in fire up the bike ride it around a couple of blocks and come back in to make fixes? Back to the warm up and ride program. These Ulys need to go through the slow idle warm up, and then need to be ridden about ten miles to reach full operating temperatures before diagnosing run issues. An otherwise good running Ulysses will buck and pop at 3000 if it is not fully warmed up. Also when you make any changes through ECM spy or the likes it needs to be run at steady throttle above 3000 for a few miles to "learn" the inputs. Spark plugs should be the first thing to be changed when having run issues. If these bikes wet foul the plugs those plugs can and will run again, however having been fouled they can also be the cause of rough running and the other problems you have described, even if they are properly cleaned and regapped. It has been my experience that once plugs are wet they never recover to run correctly in a high compression engine. | ||
| Djohnk |
Back to the warm up and ride program. These Ulys need to go through the slow idle warm up, and then need to be ridden about ten miles to reach full operating temperatures before diagnosing run issues. ^^^ I was thinking the exact same thing. Two weeks ago I swapped out the intake gaskets for the blue James gaskets and did a TPS reset. I thought I really screwed it up until I took the bike for a long ride. The ECM adjusted and it now its like I have a new bike. | ||
| Djohnk |
Shoot some carb cleaner down the idle air control valve. ^^^ watch out ... carb cleaner down the trottle body while the engine is running is why my intake gaskets started leaking. I personally will never do that again. | ||
| Chisleu |
I ordered a voltage monitor that can plug into the cigarette lighter port. I'm not going to leave it plugged in when the bike is parked. It blew yet another headlight bulb. I voltage tested it at idle and 3krpms and it was very steady. I expect I'm going to see random ass spikes in voltage when riding and I'll need a new VR or stator. Here is the muffler: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s60fe6saxg40xtf/IMG_2014 1021_141354.jpg I changed all of the fuel and spark maps back to stock (race) when I didn't get positive results. I found the fuel maps to respond immediately when changed. I merely had to cycle the ignition and if I had changed the idle VE it would immediately idle richer, etc. It is worse when the bike is cold, but even after it is completely warmed up, it misfires above 3000RPMs or so if I back off the throttle so that the holds 3000rpms. It causes the bike to jerk pretty hard. When this happens in a corner, it is dangerous as shit. There is no way this can be considered the bike's "character", nor is it a result of being a vTwin. I ride a Harley RG most of the time and have no such issues even though harley's EFI is considered pretty low tech. It is head and sholders above the fueling on the buell, but the buell came 5 years earlier, so it is what it is I guess. Love this bike. It corners so much better than my RG. It is much more safe for city driving I think. | ||
| Ratbuell |
That's a factory accessory race muffler. No valve, no packing. | ||
| Chisleu |
I like that this is a mostly OEM bike then. haha. I'm ordering spark plugs and cables today, and when the voltage indicator gets here I'll likely be ordering a MOSFET VR kit w/ connectors and such. Hopefully I can wire it up without too much problem. I found people that did it, and even people that made awesome brackets to mount it, but I didn't find anyone talking about cutting the OEM connectors off and installing the aftermarket ones. When I get some more time, I'll do some more searching, but it is likely a week or two away. Which LED lights have people used? I'm thinking of ordering LEDs after I sort out the blowing bulbs issue and adding some additional LED lights. | ||
| Etennuly |
Did you check the ground wire ends on the steering neck behind the headlights? Those can break and look good, but they can cause a weak ground that can kill bulbs. Do the bulbs flicker as they burn out or go brighter than the sun for a few seconds.(I'd bet it happens in the day time so that you wouldn't know)  I am looking into installing a set of LED off road lights that are used in the four wheelin' world. Haven't got there yet. Too many projects  no spare time for the immediate future. | ||
| Arry |
Where did you find the cig lighter/power port volt meter? I saw one posted here once , but couldn't find it in a search. One bad thing (I have heard) about using the power port for voltage monitoring is that the ECM shuts this power off if the voltage goes below a certain level. | ||
| Chisleu |
I will look at that wire when I get a chance. The one time I had one blow out at night was when I was trying to drive the bike while it was still warming up. I stalled it out and in it's death throws, the light got really bright and died immediately. I thought it might have been from vibration, so I didn't worry too much, but 3 bulbs later, I guess something else is to blame.  I don't know if the VR gauge I got sent will work or not for my purposes. We will see. I just got something for $15 from amazon. INNOVA 3721 Battery and Charging System Monitor Hopefully it is "just" a VR so I can get this shit behind me. Maybe it is running rough / missing because of that VR issue, but I doubt it. I'll bet I have multiple issues. Any recommendations on plugs and wires? (Message edited by chisleu on October 24, 2014) | ||
| Uly_man |
"Any recommendations". Yes buy a Moronda. | ||
| Arry |
Thanks for the info on the Innova. I don't think this is the same one that someone else posted, but the price is right. | ||
| Froggy |
That doesn't matter. It only is on 08+ bikes, but even then the off voltage point is low enough that you are already in trouble. Off the top of my head the outlet cutoff is 11.9V, any monitor worth its salt would show your voltage dropping long before it gets to that point. | ||
| Chisleu |
Uly_man: I was unable to find anything about Moronda. Typo? | ||
| Chisleu |
I ordered the Magnecor KV85 wires from autoplicity (guaranteed in stock, they say.) I also ordered a pair of LED headlights that are suppose to handle 12-24V. Maybe they will stop burning out like these halogens. http://www.ebay.com/itm/121403240575 They are Cree LED 20W/2400Lumens. The lumens are WAY overrated, but the light output should still be a little higher than the stock halogen. I don't care about the light output as much as the durability. Hopefully they work well. I'm going to order some plugs as well. EDIT: Ordered Denso 5309 x2. They are gapped .032 instead of .035, and combined with the smaller iridium tip, it should create a pretty strong spark with less voltage. I kinda hope I have a problem with the spark plugs / wires instead of the VR at this point. (Message edited by chisleu on October 24, 2014) | ||
| Ourdee |
You have burnt out three headlight bulbs? VR | ||
| Chisleu |
Yeah. I was pretty sure it was the problem, but I was hoping it was something else! haha I'm not sure how to wire it up. I hope it comes with directions. I just ordered the FH020AA kit from ebay for $130. | ||
| Chisleu |
I really have no need of my buell luggage and think I would prefer having it off. I think it would be easier to swing my leg over the bike without scratching the seat with my boot. Would there likely be interest if I posted it on eBay? I couldnt find any old auctions. Also, I looked in the manual, but couldn't find the size / length of the stock handlebar bolts. Anyone know? The bike came with the flipped mount riser and longer bolts. | ||
| Arry |
"... eBay?" There's also classifieds here on BadWeB. | ||
| Etennuly |
When you noticed it going really bright you confirmed VR over voltage. You will likely find that the VR seldom causes the running problems that you are experiencing. These bikes are good at handing you multiple "issues" at the same time, often causing symptoms to overlap. Makes diagnosis difficult, but just pick and fix one at a time and you will get through this. | ||
| Chisleu |
Cool. I got the voltage indicator in today and it seems to work pretty well. It clearly isn't waterproof, so no leaving it in all the time. It also kinda has to be installed upside down. Plenty easy to see the color LEDs though. I cranked it up and while it was warming up, it flashed red for a second and I think it was a voltage spike. It didn't do it while I was riding, and I forced it to misfire by letting the RPMS settle at 3000 in 2nd gear and the voltage was steady indicating it likely isn't the same issue. I need to take some time to datalog it, but I haven't been able to. I hope it isn't a TPS issue. I expect it is a fire/fuel issue. I ran some octane booster through to see if the misfires would go away and they didn't. I ran some seafoam through and no joy there either. I'll do the plugs, wires, MOSFET VR, and LED headlights and hopefully something will unfuckulate itself. Also I plan to mount some LED foglamps somewhere and do the both-on highbeam mod. This has been a great resource. I really appreciate everyone who makes this place possible. | ||
| Tootal |
If you do the "both lights on" mod there are two ways to do it. Rewiring the connector will put the low beam on another fuse and the headlight will stay on during starting. If you open up the left handlebar switch unit you can solder a short wire from the bright switch to the low beam and this way your headlight will go out during the starting procedure which obviously helps the starter out. There is a thread showing the details if you do a search. | ||
| Chisleu |
Thanks. Yeah, that sounds great. I am pretty good with solder and circuits. Thanks for the heads up as I was going to modify the pins at the connector. I would prefer not to have the headlight causing any more voltage droop. | ||
| Tootal |
Found the thread: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/329497.html?1200110631 | ||
| Chisleu |
I got the MOSFET VR in today ahead of schedule! From the wiring diagram, it looks like the OEM VR already has a lead from the battery with a 30A fuse and a ground at the key switch. Should I install it with the OEM wires or should I install these wires that came with the VR to the battery with the supplied 30A fuse? Seems like redundancy redundancy. | ||
| Etennuly |
Personally I'd use the wires that came with it. Avoids any interference if some other system failure might happen. Keeps diagnosis/checks/repairs more simple. | ||
| Ourdee |
Wire to the battery with the supplied 30Amp fuse. | ||
| Djohnk |
When I installed the aftermarket mosfet VR on my '07 uly I ran both hot and ground wires directly to the battery, with the fuse in-line by the + side of the battery. No problems bypassing the bike wiring. I used some very heavy gauge wire I found at Lowes. After all the problems with the 77 connector I didn't trust the bike wiring anymore. I also removed all that wiring where the 77 connector used to be. You guys might think this is a Micky Mouse way to mount the VR, but I mounted it using two heavy duty zip ties. I meant to later build a fancy bracket, but never got around to it. | ||
| Chisleu |
I'm pretty sure zipties are what I'm doing as well, unless I can make a bracket with some Lexan and the laser cutter.  I'll do the wiring this afternoon. I guess I have to pull one of the bolts out of the handlebar mount and take the RG to the hardware store and try to get some nice bolts to replace it. I need some stock-length handlebar mounting bolts to replace the ~1" longer bolts that were used to mount w/ the flipped handlebar retainer/riser hack. Thanks for all of the advice! | ||
| Chisleu |
I'm confused. There is no connector at the VR. I'm guessing that I just cut all the wires and insulate the ones I don't need. Oh I hope so cause it's happening. | ||
| Chisleu |
Whelp, I couldn't make the pieces of cable that I was given with the kit work. I installed it with the original wires for now. I took it on a ride and the voltages are incredibly stable compared to the stock VR. Hopefully I don't get any more blown headlights. I plan to get two more crimp terminals and replace the power wires with custom wire runs. The spark plugs are here, and as soon as the LED headlights, and wires are here, I'm going to take it to the shop and have the plugs and wires done while I install the LED headlights. Hopefully that fixes the misfire issue I've had at light throttle. |
