| Author | Message | ||
     Larryboy |
fuel pump started groaning this morning, ran on and on never cycling off during key on engine off. i've been getting an occasional hiccup when going down the road even when the bike is up to temp. maybe the fuel pump is the cause of this? i better put the klr together so i can get to work next week. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
They replaced my fuel pump and bank angle sensor within the first 1,000 miles. Have them check both. | ||
| Larryboy |
i'll mention the bank angle sensor too. thanks. | ||
| Larryboy |
well it's at the dealer. the service writer really likes to argue with me. he says the bank angle sensor can't be bad without a code. went on and on about how the bike would have to backfire if the engine shuts down when riding..he's been working on carbed bikes too long. basically won't listen to what i'm telling him. he typed in what he said on the work order and asked if that's what i said,i said uhm,noooo..that's what you said. why not put my comments down and what i want looked at. my bike was gone when we left,i think they are subbing the buell work out and not telling me. i hope the tech has a cluepon. i can't wait until the warranty is up and i start fixing my bike myself. this is my first bike with a warranty and it sucks. i'll never buy new again. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Larryboy, Find another dealer. If you bought it from them, you are under NO obligation to take it to them for service. The "service writer" sounds dim. Is he the service manager? If not, I always forge a very strong relationship with the service manager. If so, see previous recommendation. My bank angle sensor didn't throw any codes. It was faulty. The symptoms were that it turned off the fuel pump while vertical thinking it was on it's side. The bike wouldn't have any sort of code for a proper functioning BAS. The BAS was functioning properly, shutting off the fuel, but based upon faulty data. My fuel pump was tested and found to be making pressure BELOW spec. It wasn't loud and the bike didn't run poorly. It just wasn't pushing fuel at the level it was supposed to. Have them check the pump for pressure. My belief is that "mechanics" that can only chase trouble codes are poorly educated monkeys with shallow skill sets. They don't understand why things happen they can only repair what they are told to repair. Any moron can unplug and reconnect a voltage regulator. The questions is WHY did it fail. A part can always fail as it could be faulty. If you lose more than one on the same bike, FIND OUT WHY IT IS FAILING! The warranty is not the issue. The service department is. What dealership is this? | ||
| Larryboy |
the dealer that i've been trying to forge a relationship is the sister site to this dealer. their lead tech just had a bad crash last wednesday so i went to the other dealer. i'm out of dealers in my area. i refuse to set foot in one pair of dealers and here i am with this new pair of dealers. i may look into a dealer in stockton,ca that is my next closest dealer..i think? i'm pretty sure the bank angle sensor has been out for a long time. i fell down once and the bike continued to run. i scratched my head at the time thinking it was a fluke? the fuel pump did the same thing when it was cool out this morning. it doesn't do it when the bike is hot. what is the procedure for testing the bank angle sensor? range of ohms? i never tell the dealer that i'm a mechanic by trade,that always makes things worse. i do diagnose the bike before i take it in. the fuel pump is dying and i strongly suspect that the bank angle sensor is bad. edit: my wife asked who i was talking to when i was typing this...i said"some fat bastard",i got smacked.  (Message edited by larryboy on October 21, 2006) | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Sometimes a "smackin'" is a good thing.  I don't know how you test for a bad bank angle sensor. You should be able to pressure test the fuel pump, though. I would ask them how THEY test for a bad bank angle sensor. If you use their logic, a bad fuel pump should be throwing a code. Mine didn't, so I suspect yours isn't either. If a fan goes bad, it must throw a code, right. Mine is dying as many others has. The only check engine light you get is when the bike is hot. If you ride in Antarctica all the time, you can have a dead fan and never throw a code. A dead battery won't throw a code, nor will a severed clutch cable. Ask them how they diagnose problems that do not throw codes. Is this the manager you are working with or someone else? When will the Buell tech be back? My experience is that Buell techs tend to be Buell fans. Non Buell techs tend to despise the brand and therefore don't really want to understand how they work. Just my experience and I'm sure that there are any number of folks here that would dispute my claim. PS. How's Bob the Tomato? (Message edited by ft_bstrd on October 21, 2006) | ||
| Larryboy |
the guy that is hurt isn't really the buell "guru",they are just short handed because he is out right now. the manager there owns buells and i feel like i'm taken better care of there. yep,no codes. i'm dealing with the service writer at the moment. i talked to the manager on the phone and he seemed smart/nice enough? they should be able to hook up to their computer and get the rail pressure pretty easily. i'm pretty confident they will take care of the pump. i'm doubtful that they will take care of the bank angle sensor. bob is as good as a cartoon gets.  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I would have a heart to heart with the manager and let him know that your needs are not being met. The "writer" sounds like he can just barely walk and chew bubble gum. I don't like speaking through a translator, especially a translator that only knows what he heard off a "Learn Portugese in 15 Minutes" tape. See if you can speak directly with the tech. As a mechanic, you KNOW you can explain what you are looking for and what your hunch is. I know exactly squat about what you know. I am just really good at describing symptoms. Given a halfway good tech, they can usually take my lame description of the symptoms and diagnose the problem. If you are describing the symptoms to a service writer who doubts that you know what you are talking about and more than likely doesn't even know what HE is talking about, you are going to be frustrated. Not everything is in the codes. A good tech knows this. A bad service writer doesn't. | ||
| Stevem123 |
Hey Larryboy, Do a search on fuel pumps. I had one with the same symptoms. I found out that the wires internal from the tank/frame flange to the pump and other components are not protected from chaffing. They run through an aluminum channel with sharp edges. They short to ground. One wire (Brown/yellow) will cause the pump to run continuously as it is a switched ground from the ECM. That's what mine did. I also posted a pic of another pump I bought off E-Bay to keep as a spare just to show the potential problem. I forget where I posted it here but I'm sure doing the search will turn it up for you. Copy/print the pic I posted and show the service writer. Call Buell Customer Service and explain the problem. They'll help. BC Steve | ||
| Chris_in_tn |
The bank angle sensor will not throw a code as others have said. That was my problem for several months. My dealer did not believe this could be a problem with it with out it throwing a code. They called Buell tech and it is a known problem at the factory. If your dealer has no knowledge of this, have them call Buell. | ||
| Larryboy |
they called this morning,the tech is going to call buell tomorrow morning. sounds positive since they are willing to call for help. if i understand the bank angle sensor right the bike shouldn't run when on it's side..correct? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
That is the purpose of the BAS, as I know it. Once the angle has exceeded a given point, it is designed to interrupt power to the pump shutting off the fuel flow and killing the engine. Somehow, though, these two components work in strange ways. The symptoms on mine were stalling at full throttle wile completely upright. It's as though you had hit the kill switch while riding. I think Chris's symptoms were the same. They replaced both and I've had no further problems. That is good news that they are calling Buell. (Message edited by ft_bstrd on October 22, 2006) | ||
| Thespive |
Unfortunately mechanics are becoming an extinct species, what we have now are parts replacers. --Sean | ||
| Larryboy |
talked to them again. it took a call to buell to diagnose a bad fuel pump. they wouldn't even look at the BAS,i had to INSIST that they check it. he agreed to have him look at it. i'm still not confident that they will. 5-7 days for a fuel pump..gimme a forking break. this is going on 6 weeks total shop time in the 9 months that i've had this thing. | ||
| Larryboy |
i got it back today with a new fuel pump. broken wire. they basically refused to look at the BAS,it wasn't showing a code and they didn't want to check it. i won't be returning to that shop. does the fsm detail how to test the BAS? | ||
| Chris_in_tn |
There is no "test" per say. Other than the computer giving a code. That is the problem. Mine kept cutting off for no reason. They checked every thing and could find no problems. The computer was not throwing a code. It took a call to Buell to diagnose the problem. It is a known problem by Buell. In defense of some dealers, if they just replace parts with out a computer code, and when the bad part is sent back to Buell, Buell will likely not pay the warranty claim. This is what I have been told, do not know this for sure, but sounds reasonable. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Go back and *get em* with your "Super Suction Ears"! "a little help here?" Sounds like you need a new dealer, or at a minimum a new understanding with your current dealer. | ||
| Larryboy |
so the root cause of poor dealer service is the fear that buell won't honor their diagnosis? you can't run a successful business this way. new dealer for the next problem. that will be #4 in my search for quality service. the nice thing about all these break downs is that my bike gets washed on a regular basis. they sure do a nice job of washing bikes. | ||
| Handyhiker |
Just curious, are most of these problems on a 06 or 07 model? If 06, what is the build date?  | ||
| Lowflyer |
I have concluded that there is no such thing as a "good dealer" when it comes to service. I think you just have to find a dealer in your area that sucks less than the other dealers. Thanks to Buell's brilliant marketing strategy, I get to choose from one sucky dealer. They never have my parts in stock, and every mothereffing time I have taken my bike in for service, they have screwed something up (i.e. over-serviced oil, marred and over-torqued fork caps, missing hardware, under-serviced forks, etc...). I have to basically redo anything they touch to inspect for things they undoubtedly screwed up. END OF RANT.  | ||
| Larryboy |
handyhiker,this is an '06. build date 10/05. it's a klunker. anybody know what the BAS looks like? i havn't even looked for it. i better figure out a bypass before this thing leaves me in the middle of no where. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Lowflyer, I'm sorry that you have only crappy dealers to chose from. I have a good one. There are "good" ones out there. | ||
| Az_rider |
Larryboy, The BAS is rubber mounted with two screws, and is located just under the light colored electrical connector of the ECM. I do not know if you can just unplug it and continue to ride. I think you would get a check engine light at the very least. It is a known issue, no codes are thrown, and if the dealer does not contact Buell tech support, they will probably never figure it out. | ||
| Etennuly |
I just had my BAS replaced for the engine shutting off while riding. I had to convince the service writer that it would probably kill me if it continued shutting down at speed on the interstate in traffic(true story). This is a problem that a few months ago was thought to be caused by installing the '06 low seat. Several people with that seat had the same problem at the same time, I was wondering if anyone else has had the same cure. I haven't heard any more about the seat problem. My bike quit five times over three months always with the low seat, then within the last two weeks it quit two times with the stock seat. Dealer said if it did it for them they could fix it as it showed no codes. I had to explain it to three service writers, how you guys on Bad Web  had the exact issue and cure, to get them to "get it". Thanks guys! I've only done a couple hundred miles with the new BAS...hasn't quit yet..... | ||
| Diablobrian |
I have a brand new BAS I can send to someone in need. I got it from Buell as part of the repair parts for a broken headlight bezel. (they gave me the whole mount assembly) It's only right that I should pass it on to someone else. Contact me and we can work out the details. You pay shipping and it's yours. Larryboy gets dibs, and I only have one so first come...first served if he doesn't want it. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I don't understand why a dealer would be hesitant to call Buell Technical to get a questions answered. If they haven't or won't call Buell Tech, ask them why, or see if they will call my service manager, Steve Shivers, at Bumpus HD in Murfreesboro. Flash is the Buell Tech. If one dealership can't properly diagnose the problem, have them call one that can. Sometimes they believe one of their own before they believe home office. I had the BAS go bad with the stock seat, so it doesn't appear to be the seat. Maybe it's the higher "altitude" of the Uly killing them.  | ||
| Etennuly |
Yeah, they don't like pushing a bike into the service bay that they have to walk beside because they can't reach to push it from the seat!!!!  | ||
| Diablobrian |
It could be heat killing them. They are mounted in front of the gages on the firebolts. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Brian, I think they got a bad batch for the Ulys. They seem to be pretty widespread and once replaced the problem doesn't seem to resurface. If it were heat related, I would suspect that the issue would come back time and again. I think heat management on the Uly is a problem, but I don't understand why it would be worse than other models. We do know that heat is bad for fans, though! I got to enjoy the "death rattle" on mine today. Replacement's at the dealer waiting for the 5,000 service. |
