| Author | Message | ||
     Boondocker |
So I've posted this over on the ADV board and folks keep giving me advice like: "Well this guy over on the Badweatherbikers board did this or that." So I thought I'd post it up here. I was camping with the family down in the Keys for 5 days and decided to let my cousin ride the Buell down to hang with us for a bit. So he heads on down... about a 7 hour ride give or take. The bike runs fine but if he goes over 80 a check engine light pops on and it runs like crap. He slows down below 80 and it runs great. He adapts and makes it down to the Keys just fine. On the way back a couple of days later he runs into really bad Miami stop and go traffic for about 2 hours. The check engine light pops on so he pulls off the highway and shuts the bike off. He leaves it set for about a half hour and tries to start it. Battery is dead (I just bought the recommended Harley battery for it about a week ago). He pushes it off the main highway and down the ramp, finds a hotel (it's late at night)... then hoofs it over to a parts store, buys a battery charger, brings the battery into his hotel room and charges it all night. The next morning the battery is fine. He hooks it up and rides the 4 hours back to my house with no problem (under 80mph). About a half hour before getting there he notices the speedo needle drops to zero for a while then bounces back up. He checks the battery when he gets home and it is fully charged and starts the bike just fine. Forward about a month and the Harley shop finding a fault in a connector that was causing a voltage drop. The bike runs better than ever but I'm only riding around town so it's still untested for a high speed long haul. Well... took the bike out last weekend when it was good and hot out to see if the bike was going to work on a long trip. Took it out on I-95 and ran at about 80-85 for about 45 minutes and the red warning light started flashing at the same time the motor went into a "skip-spark" mode. Exactly what had happened before... I slow down to 70 and everything clears up... yada yada yada. I took it back to the Harley shop and explained it to the mechanic... he keeps it for a couple of days, went out and rode it for about an hour at 70, couldn't replicate the problem so declared the bike fixed. He said I was riding it beyond it's capability and causing it to over heat and that there was nothing he could do about it. What the heck? I could ride all day long at 80 on my 79 KZ1000! I took my 1973 BMW R90 up to North Carolina and hung in the fast lane all the way up there... is this for real? Super disappointed if it is. Enlighten me. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Paging Etennuly...  | ||
| Boondocker |
Sorry, forgot to mention that it is a 2006 Buell Ulysses. Here's the full ADVrider thread: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/06-ulysses-r unning-well-but.1212027/ | ||
| Hughlysses |
I believe Vern's (Etennuly's) issue was more severe than this. I.E.- it would go into skip spark even quicker. Hopefully he'll chime in shortly. It seems it takes a fairly extended run to cause the issue on your bike. Does your bike have the "comfort kit" which includes a larger right side scoop?  If not, that may be all it takes to fix it. If this isn't an electrical/electronic fault, the larger right side scoop would probably direct enough additional air over the rear cylinder head to keep it cool even during extended high speed running. | ||
| El_guapo |
LoL í Live in AZ, I commute every day in my 06 on i40 at 80-90 mph for AT LEAST 40 mi. In 115 degree weather. It's not a lot of fun, but my 06 has yet to do this.... | ||
| Ratbuell |
My 06 has also never gone into skip mode...and I'm not kind to the bike. Need Vern to chime in here since he's had his do it...and chased it and fixed it. In the meantime, check all the basics - oil level (since, besides airflow, it IS your cooling system), oil brand/weight, fuel level when it happens (is your pump overheating in a near-empty tank, causing low flow, causing a lean condition?). Do you have a voltmeter on the bike? What does it read when you ride, and when this happens? I assume the "connector" the dealer found was the 77 connector; that will help your charging system and keep you from losing batteries, but if your voltage regulator is going wonky that could trigger the CEL. Speedo drop could be as simple as metal filings on the magnetic speedo pickup at the output shaft. Not uncommon; pull it, clean it, and see if it happens again. AFAIK the ECM does not reference vehicle speed for anything on an '06, so that sensor literally feeds only the gauge (which, in turn, will feed your odometer and trip odometer)...but won't affect running condition. The Keys....I'm jealous. Did you stay at Boyd's? Love that place, been going there since college. Need to get back down, been too long since I made the trip. | ||
| Teeps |
My '06 will behave in the same manner as the OP describes. With regard to "Skip Spark" mode. Adding an auxiliary ground path for the fan. Controlled by a separate switch (handle bar mounted), for the most part, cured my bike. As for the other problems; check for broken wires where the main harness transitions from the frame to the "front module" (headlight bucket), and also check the ground on the steering neck. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/742562.html?1404930258 and another take on the front ground problem. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/465647.html?1244296850 | ||
| Froggy |
I guess that's what happens when you are used to riding Harleys all the time! The is capable of running at 100mph all day, or at least as long as you are willing to tolerate the wind and lower fuel economy.  Regarding your check engine light, see if you can pull the codes, but it sounds like it may be an issue regarding either the fan or head temp sensor. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?142838/722928 | ||
| Boondocker |
Keep it coming, I'm reading all of this stuff and will be following up on it. I will be out camping and fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon this weekend but will dive into it next week. I really appreciate the help! I want to love this bike and it's so close. | ||
| Scottykrein |
Has the ECM been relocated? Once the seat gets hot enough to allow it to sag, it can put pressure on the ECM and cause erratic behavior that could be confused for skip-spark mode. I had similar issues that only got worse, and I corrected them once I found the cracks and replaced/ relocated it. | ||
| Etennuly |
Looks like they are calling my name!! Vern here. I publicly battled this problem here for over two years. First "flashy light/run skip" is a normal "safe mode" for over temperature. It will not activate a code. I went through many many "thought we had it fixed" periods. There are so many things I tried. I fixed it coming back from home coming 2010, on a 95f Interstate in Indiana. Riding with Wolfridgerider cruising at 85 mph he got pissed having to slow to 70 so that I could stay with him. I pulled into a gas station and bypassed the ECM control of the fan. I hard wired it on all of the time. No problem the rest of the trip. When I got home I rigged a proper switch. The red light stays on, but I got used to it as fair consolation for speed. | ||
| Boondocker |
So, do you flip the fan switch to on and leave it running then shut it off when you shut the bike off? | ||
| Hughlysses |
Claude- I'm pretty sure that's how Vern operates it. Fire up the bike, ride for a minute, then flip on the switch. Flip it off a couple of minutes after you stop and shut the bike off. | ||
| Etennuly |
Yep! Stone age simple. Engine on, warm up a few minutes, fan on, leave it on. Shut engine off, shut fan off. Since it is on all of the time the engine is running, there is little need to leave in on after shut down..... unless you have been doing evil things!  The red light on is not a big deal, it will still note a problem by flashing if needed. And if there is a catastrophic problem the other red light will let you know! | ||
| Etennuly |
If the temperature is below 60F, there is little need to turn the fan on at all unless you encounter stop and go traffic. I do have the comfort kit right side scoop and all of it's fittings. If you forget to turn the fan on it is no big deal, it will go into "flashy light/run skip" like it was going to do anyways!  I don't know the cause, many of the Uly's never had the problem. The list of what I changed, tested, tried, and did is long. Many times after a repair it was fine with no sign of it returning.....for a few days, hours, or miles. It was really annoying to all of us who have been through it. My '06 Uly had 19 different and separate wiring "problems" that I fixed in the first several years. HD said that none of them existed because they only became an issue on a trip or when hot. I laughed when I read your HD guy said you were abusing the bike by riding over 70 mph.....they told me exactly the same thing! Wait until the front rotor pulses so bad that it is near impossible to use riding slow. The HD guy rode it in the parking lot where he nearly dropped it when he applied the front brake! He went in the shop, conferred with another tech, checked the computer to come out to tell me that is normal for this kind of front brake!  Dumb asses all! | ||
| Boondocker |
Alright. Let me digest all this. I'll take a look at some of the other things that might be wrong then I'll have to try the switch thing. Sounds promising... I've learned not to hold my breath about this stuff though. Thanks a bunch and have a great weekend! | ||
| Etennuly |
I forgot to mention, my 64,00 mile Uly is starting to do it again. With 30,000+ miles on this fan running all of the time, I have noticed it is no longer running on it's fast speed. So it is new fan time. The break point for causing it to go into "flashy light/run skip" seems to be above 75F with a speed of over 70 mph. Long up hill riding can make it worse. As a note on oil: I ran the factory HD recommended HD nonsyn oil by temperature chart in the book to a T for the first 25,000 miles. Never a heat issue. Mid summer 2008 I switched to Mobil 1 V Twin 20-50 to go on a vacation 1,500 mile trip. I got to the first long up hill on the Interstate and it started. So I ran 50 miles back home switched the oil back to HD stuff to no avail. It was on from then until mid 2010 when in a fit of rage I cut into the fan wires. Since then I run nonsynthetic Rotella 15-40 diesel oil and I add a pint of Lucas or STP in summer months. HD got so proud of their Havoline oil that at $12+ a quart they can eat my shorts! | ||
| Hugie03flhr |
My 09 had very similar problems when I run it hard. I'll get about 5-8 miles of flying down the highway at 85-90mph and the check light will come on. The bike still runs good until I slow down. The code came back to an O2 sensor . So I replaced that, new plugs and these ground cables to the coil everyone is talking about seems to clear up the high speed engine performce. I'll be doing the coil ground today and report back but the O2 and plugs cleared up the check light and bad idle after a hard run. | ||
| Claybobber |
One of two changes fixed the exact problem for me; 1) changing from 15/50 to 20/50 V Twin mobil 1 or 2)changing plug wires. I believe new cables cured the problem,(they were in bad shape) but excessive blow by was also evident under load at higher operating temps using the 15/50. Which reminds me i need to do the catch can mod. | ||
| Boondocker |
... short story. The Harley mechanic put in my race ECM and dialed it in. I went out and rode all afternoon this afternoon culminating in a a 1/2 hour 90mph run down I-95. Turned on to to 46 and rode for about 20 minutes at 65. Two miles from home it shuts off like someone hit a light switch. All lights and dash work. Cranks over but won't start. It's sitting in the back of my son's truck in my driveway. Face palm...  | ||
| Steveford |
No codes? Getting spark? | ||
| Boondocker |
No idea... its still sitting in the back of the truck and I'm sitting inside in the air conditioning contemplating my next move. Anyone want to buy a Uly??? Blah! | ||
| Sagehawk |
After ya both cooled off, possible it could restart? | ||
| Boondocker |
I'm hoping... I'm going out to unload now. I'll report back after I get it in the garage. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Check for spark. No spark? Check crank sensor. I'm guessing bad crank sensor. | ||
| Boondocker |
I pushed it in the garage... no energy to get to a spark plug wire. Swapped out the Race EMC for the old EMC just to see if it would pop. Nothing. I'll get back at it this week. Crank sensor makes sense. Side note: Am I second guessing myself or do all three idiot lights stay on when you switch on the ignition after turning on the key? The middle V-twin light just stays on for a second now. Tired. Can't remember... meh. | ||
| Ratbuell |
The engine light should only be on while the fuel system primes, then it goes out. I call it the "wait to start" light. | ||
| Boondocker |
Thanks... I figured I was second guessing myself. I'm not giving up on this. Just wish it had an honest carburetor and a set of points that I could fiddle with. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Well, at least you got the skip spark issue cured. The manual has a pretty good step-by-step for checking the sensor. Mine went out last year during Friday afternoon rush hour traffic in 90+ degree F weatheron I-26. I was pinned up against the center divider with cars rushing past at 60 MPH for 30 minutes until it cooled down enough to run again. I made it home, but the next day it wouldn't fire at all and I figured out it was a bad crank sensor. (Message edited by Hughlysses on June 25, 2017) | ||
| Boondocker |
Well... after sleeping on it I'm feeling a little more rational. Thought I'd post a couple of pics. Here's earlier that day when I took a little detour on to the beach at New Smyrna before heading back toward home.  |
