| Author | Message | ||
     Toolinround |
Problem: While ridding home from a ride last night my Uly stumbled twice then quit running, all within about 30 seconds. The headlights, taillight, and turn signals work as well as their dash indicators but the rest of the dash is dead. Nothing happens when you push the starter. Checked all fuses and found nothing. The needles did the normal sweep when I inserted the battery fuse but nothing else. No change this morning. Bike: 06 Uly with 29k miles no previous issues to my knowledge. I have owned it for 5 yrs or so. To my knowledge the previous owner had done all the "known fixes." This has been a very trouble free bike for me. I know there have been similar posts in the past but I was hopeful that someone has had the same problem and can point me in the right direction right off the bat. Thanks! | ||
| Etennuly |
First check battery terminals!!! If you can force the wire to come loose with you fingers it is not tight enough. Many of us had to install star type contacting lock washers to keep good contact. For what ever reason they will work loose frequently. Check that and we will move on to the next steps.  | ||
| Toolinround |
Battery terminals tight! | ||
| Reepicheep |
The wire bundle that comes out from under the flyscreen and under the screen is a common place for these kinds of problems, as is the point at which the connectors attach to the ECM under the seat. Particularly if there is seat to connector contact. Those would be my first two places to investigate. | ||
| Arry |
When you put in the battery fuse, the inst. needles sweep. Check. Now, starting with the key off and kill sw. off, turn the key on - do the needles sweep, neut light, oil light? If no, maybe the key sw., If yes, turn on the kill sw. You should hear the fuel pump run (a couple of sec.s), and check engine light (a few sec's) | ||
| Toolinround |
I'm not near the bike now so can't check all the above but here is what I can tell you. With the ignition on and the kill sw on, there were no dash lights except the high beam or the turn signal indicator (when high beam and/or signals switched on), when I pulled the battery fuse and re-installed it the needles did a sweep but that is all. No fuel pump or other idiot lights and nothing at all in the odometer area. | ||
| Tootal |
On the front of the frame behind the headlights there is one screw where three ground wires connect. These wires can break even under the insulation. One of them is probably broke. I took all three and soldered them together to a larger single wire. That single wire was wrapped around a pencil to make a coil. I put an eyelet on the other end and attached to the ground point. This coil helps take up vibration keeping it from breaking. Also, using shrink wrap is a must. Either solder or crimp with dielectric grease, then slide the shrink wrap over the eyelet. Shrink the wrap around the eyelet connector but leave about a 1/2" unshrunk. This works as a shock absorber which keeps the wire from flexing at a hard edge. | ||
| Toolinround |
I looked at the ECM under the seat last night and there was no noticeable wear from the seat on the box or the plug ins. There is a plastic stand off on one of the mounting bolts that the seat rests on. I'll take a picture of it tonight and see if I can upload it. I looked at the exterior of the wiring harness by the steering head and there was very slight wear noticeable. This was looking at the outside without any probing. | ||
| Toolinround |
BTW, the bike shut down on a long straight but we had been in some nice twisting for the previous hour. | ||
| Arry |
When you turn your key on, it's supposed to close two sets of contacts. One set is head light, tail light, turn sig's. The other initiates lots of things, including horn and brake light. If you get lights but no horn or brake light, it could be the second set of contacts, in the key sw. I don't know much about key sw. repairs, but others have posted on this in the past. Definitely could be wiring, as Tootal suggests. | ||
| Toolinround |
Tootal, I'll look into this Wednesday when I have a chance to dig into it. This could well be the issue. Arry, The brake light still works but I didn't try the horn. | ||
| Reepicheep |
There are relays in there that can fail, like Arry said. I don't know which power what in which combinations. Those are a really easy check also. | ||
| Arry |
If your tail light/turn signals, and brake light/horn are working, your key sw is OK.. I was headed down the wrong path. Are you getting a "needle sweep" (tach/speedo), when you turn on the key? Re check your ignition fuse (at the front of the fuse holder, next to the diode). If you had the diode out, when checking fuses, make sure it's pointing the right direction. (Message edited by arry on August 02, 2016) | ||
| Johnshore |
Quick check for the broken wires in the wiring harness. Sweep the fork left/right lock to lock. If anything changes its a good place to start. | ||
| Froggy |
The highbeam indicator being on is a sign of a broken ground connection, follow Tootal's advice, the steering neck ground can cause your symptoms. | ||
| Toolinround |
I wasn't able to check the horn last night. Regarding "needle sweep": turning the ignition on and off does nothing. Turning the wheel right/left as well as moving the wiring harness yields nothing. The only time I see a needle sweep is after I pull the battery fuse and while re-installing it. I pulled the diode out but don't know if I put it in exactly as it was or not. I'll look at it when I get home. Thanks! | ||
| Toolinround |
The high beam indicator is only on when the headlight is on high. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Yes the ground between the frame and the steering neck is broken. My 2008 did this just after the warranty was up. Don't bother trying to find WHERE the ground wire is broken; just put a fat ground wire between the frame and the instrument bracket. | ||
| Toolinround |
I'll try the ground wire tomorrow after work. Hopefully this is the fix!... The local HD dealer (Lone Wolf HD) is having a free MMA fight night tonight so me and a few of the guys that I work with are going. This HD dealer is really managed well! | ||
| Toolinround |
So the horn works when the key is on. There is continuity between the frame and the steel bracket the instrument cluster is attached to as well as the bracket the headlights attach to. Could this be an ecm? Is there a step by step if/then troubleshooting guide for this? I have the factory manual but could not find the appropriate troubleshooting guide. | ||
| Toolinround |
Here are a few pics. The first shows the ecm and the standoff to keep the seat from contacting it. The second shows the wire bundle after I removed the wrap. A very nice splice was done on the red and brown wires some time in the past   | ||
| Arry |
Did you re-check the ignition fuse? There are two hot(+) wires going to the inst pod. The red one stays on all the time. I think you're getting that one, because you get a "sweep" when you pull and re-install the battery fuse. The other one (grey/orange stripe) comes from the ignition fuse. It should come on when you turn on the key, and it should cause a "sweep". If your ignition fuse is OK, you might have a broken wire in the bundle you are unwrapping. That bundle bends back and forth when turning the bars side to side, and can cause a broken wire in that area. The wire breaks inside the insulation, so not obvious just looking at them. If you bend or tug at the individual wires, you might detect a broken wire. The grey/or wire is just a guess. I think there may be two Gr/O wires in that bundle, so check both. Re-check the ig. fuse first. If you have a voltage tester, check for power at the ig. fuse holder, with key on. The two splices (red and brown) are from the factory, and have caused problems for some of us. | ||
| Reepicheep |
BuellerXT (Mike) ended up getting stuck on what is now my Uly when his fuel pump died due to a *cracked* fuse. Not a blown fuse, a cracked one. He showed it to me. Impossible to see the crack unless you really studied it. A meter would have shown it right away though. I'm not saying that is your problem, but when on a snipe hunt like this, we should add to the list of things to do that it is worth 2 minutes going over the fuse box with the bike powered up hitting the fuses in place through the little holes in the top looking for any that have a voltage across them. (Message edited by reepicheep on August 04, 2016) | ||
| Toolinround |
I just checked the ignition fuse with a meter and it was bad, installed the spare and everything works! Looking at the fuse on the side of the road I could not see where it was blown. I should have checked it with a meter as soon as I got it home. Thank you for the help!... This is a great forum. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Sweet! It's usually not that easy, but sometimes it is.  Pack some extra fuses. It may have been a fluke, but it might have blown because there *is* a short somewhere you may still need to track down. | ||
| Toolinround |
Thanks! Today I'm going to get some extras to keep on board. Hopefully it's just a fluke and not a real problem. Going on a nice little ride up to Priest Lake on Saturday. Don't want any more un planned stops on the side of the road.  | ||
| Arry |
I agree with Reepicheep, you may still have a problem. Something caused the fuse to blow. As a side note - I'm not sure if '06 had that plastic standoff, or if it was added. By '07, I believe, those were original equipment. Even with that standoff you can have seat contact issues. A lot of people relocate the ECM or add some sort of additional support. Does your '06 have the original tall seat? Might be less of an issue with the tall seat. | ||
| Toolinround |
I have what I think is the low seat. Where are people relocating the ecm? | ||
| Etennuly |
It does not matter which Buell seat tall, medium, or low all have the same plastic pan. I think fuse supplies are not what they used to be. I recently had one that burned out to have it melt and turn the two main spades into each other nearly causing a fire. I caught it as they were arcing into each other causing a lot of smoke and sparks. I had never seen one do that before. But I have seen the fuse wire broken off a few times now. | ||
| Arry |
Toolin, If you're interested in ECM relocate or additional support, just do a search (top of this page). Lots of different ideas. I just did an additional support, but still had an ECM go bad. Is your fuse still OK? | ||
| Twisteduly |
ANyone have a suggestion for removing the bolt in the standoff? It appears as though someone thought red loctite was a good idea? And now it just spins inside the mount? | ||
| Arry |
After a comfort kit is installed it is hard to reach that nut. If you lay down with your head near the left side of the rear axle, you can look past the back of the preload adjuster, above the shock spring, you can see that nut. I believe you can reach it from the opposite side of the shock, using a socket with a 1/4" drive and extension, with a swivel. not sure of the socket size, 3/8" or 7/16" maybe. | ||
| Motorfish |
The nut is a 7/16". There is a slot in the plastic that holds it, and it usually strips out so the nut spins when you try to loosen it. It`s a nylock nut too just to add to the fun. I used a battery drill with a 3/16" allen socket and a pair of long reach needle nose pliers to hold the nut from spinning. I may a have used a pair of 90 degree long reach needle nose pliers, I can`t remember. When I reassembled, I glued the nut in place with a hot glue gun, and NO lock tite. | ||
| Toolinround |
Installed the new fuse and armed with a box of extra fuses went on a 220 mile ride. About 30 miles of dirt road was included. Bike performed perfectly! No new fuse needed... yet. Thanks again for the help.http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/boar d-image-lister.cgi?popup=1# |
