| Author | Message | ||
     Closetbueller |
We are on our way home from a week or riding and the bike started acting up today. While going down the interstate the bike started to "hiccup" after a few of these I noticed that the check engine light was coming on at the same time as the missing, the speedo needle would sweep and I lost power to the outlet up front. The bike is an 09 X. I just left the dealership in Macon, GA where they spent the afternoon trying unsuccessfully to diagnose/repair the problem. I need to get back to FL by Monday morning so any suggestions are appreciated. Will I hurt the bike operating it in this state? If so I will spend my day tomorrow riding home on the other bike, getting the vehicle and trailer, driving back and trailering home. Thanks | ||
| Jphish |
I cant believe the Macon dlr sent you back on the road without getting it sorted out ?!!? Where do they aquire their 'service' philosophy & techs these days? Anyway - could be ground issue or... Is it going into skip spark mode or just "cutting out" ? Any excessive heat ? The ECM should have told the dealer of any 'fault codes' and at least eliminated some of the possibilities. Where's Froggy when ya need 'em ? Hard to say EXACTLY from here - but I'd check grounds first. Good luck from 2500 mi away. If you were a bit closer, I'd hook up my trailer. j | ||
| Rwcfrank |
Check the ecm under the seat to be sure the seat is not pressing the connector | ||
| Itileman |
Mine did that to me once a couple years ago and it was the ground wire on the battery that was a bit loose. | ||
| Closetbueller |
No codes stored on ECM, checked grounds, all tight. I have gone thru other threads and took apart the right side housing and checked the engine cut off switch, tightened the head grounds. The dealer found a rubbed thru wire for the exhaust valve actuator and updated the ECM flash for me. They thought it may be related to the BAS, or the speed sensor that works in conjunction with the BAS, but had no parts on hand, couldn't contact Harley until Monday. I need to be home and back to work on Monday, so it was my choice to have them put it back together and let me go on my way. The folks at the dealership were very helpful and i feel went out of their way to try and help us out, showing up unannounced on a Saturday afternoon asking if some one might be available to take a look at our issue. It probably helped that the dealership owner rode a Uly, though. I rode it around a bit after doing my "fixes" and as of yet have had no issues. | ||
| Sperz1 |
Mine did the same thing and turned out being a bad idle air control valve. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
We got a idle air control valve? | ||
| Xb_xp |
I agree to check the ecm connection. the seat could be pressing on it. | ||
| Sharkguy |
Closetbueller, sorry to hear about your problems. I have an 09 also and the only problem I have had is the fuel pump popped a fuse a while back on a warm day in traffic. Let us know if you get it sorted out and what caused it. I would be happy to help if you need it. | ||
| Froggy |
Gauges swčeping plus your accessories turning off means you lost power. Clean those grounds. Also, did you check the one under the flyscreen? | ||
| Wesman |
Bad gas? | ||
| Froggy |
Bad gas wouldn't cause an electrical issue. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Sounds like it was fixed. | ||
| Jphish |
If you've had no 'issues' since doing your "fixes" - sounds like it may have been a ground - and now fixed ? The only problem I ever had on my Uly (other than 20,000 mi ago early pawl spring problem) was the electrical / ground connections. Need to be tight & clean. No matter how much you tighten them - Even the battery connections should be checked every month. | ||
| Closetbueller |
Well, just made it home. I believe it is related to seat pressure on the ECM. After I had my passenger switch bikes I was able to move my weight onto the passenger part of the seat and ride along with no issues. Sit in the operators position and the bike would cut out and backfire. The issue became more prounced and frequent the warmer the bike got, my assumption would be that the seat pan softens as the bike warms up, allowing more pressure to hit the ECM. Going to look up the ECM relocation and have at it. Thanks for all your insight. | ||
| Towpro |
If this is the case, the problem is not the seat hitting on the ECM. The problem is the board in the ECM is cracked, or a solder joint is cracked on the board near the connector. This problem was CAUSED by the seat hitting on the ECM. Might be time for that new EB ECM you always wanted. | ||
| Nose2wind |
I have a similar problem with my 09. Mine is generating a check engine light IAC error. I had it fixed friday and came home no issues. Went for a ride Sunday and after about 1 hr the check engine light back on and rough idle. I also get the on off backfire etc. The power is definetly cutting out and back on not just a backfire. This time it is much worse and I barely made it to the Harley shop. We will see what gives next week. It does seem to work ok for awhile after it cools but returns fairly soon. We are talking dangerous to ride, multiple back to back cut outs etc. | ||
| Buellhusker |
Nose2wind Have the service guy hook up a fuel pressure gauge and ride so it will be warm to very warm. I had the same problem & discovered it was the fuel pump loosing pressure after everything was warm. | ||
| Nose2wind |
Thanks for the fuelpump lead... Another point I forgot to mention is that when I was stopped to let thinks cool down I decided to disconect the stepper motor (a bit of shade tree Mechanics) and see what effect that would have. The idle became very low which make sense but the cut out did not stop. We may be able to conclude that the stepper is not at fault but the ECM is sending a bad signal to the stepper? I can troubleshoot the seat ECM by riding waiting for a reoccurance and stand on the pegs (or move back on the seat) and see if it stops. I also could make a block (stop) to place under the seat that would prevent the seat pan from contacting the connectors. | ||
| Rwcfrank |
put a piece of Play-doh on the ecm and replace the seat to check clearance after bouncing up and down on seat | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
"put a piece of Play-doh on the ecm and replace the seat to check clearance after bouncing up and down on seat" What a cool, no-nonsense idea! Wonder if they teach that at MMI? So, after sweatin' our butts off teaching today, we trailered the sick little darlin' to our local dealer and told our tale o' trouble to the tech. Closetbueller played show n tell, explaining his theory that the ECM/seat rubbing was the cause. The tech said if it is the ECM, we are looking at a delay of 8 - 10 biz days, provided it is not on backorder. We are now in hurry up and wait mode. I am still on the fence over whether I want to take the X or the XT with me for my journey north this summer. The outcome of this will make my decision, methinks. Fingers crossed...I don't do "downtime" well...sigh. | ||
| Bttrthnwrk |
I recently had problems develop with my race ECM from Buell. Check engine light came on, but returned a code that I couldn't find in the manual (assuming I read the code right, of course). This would crop up ONLY when the bike got good and hot. I replaced it with my original ECM, and it was fine for a week or so, then it started acting up, too. Gotta be the seat and the mounting place (stock mount). After thinking about it for awhile, it occurred to me that I had played with the battery pan both with the installation of the comfort kit and when I replaced the battery earlier this year. The new battery wasn't from Harley, but was an "exact replacement" for about the same price but was "more powerful". "Exact replacement". Yeah, right. I finally wrestled it into place after prying, banging, and generally munging the battery pan for about a half hour. Oops. I wonder if I maybe bent the little battery pan tab that the ECM mounts to during all that? I don't have any play doh or anything comparable except plumber's putty, and that would make an unholy mess in there, so I got creative and used a bar of soap from the shower, wiping it on the bottom of the seat over where the ECM normally sits, and tried the "bounce up and down" test. Sure enough, the soap from the seat wound up on the top of the frontmost connector. I bent the battery pan tab (that the ECM bolts to) down a little to the left, so that the ECM connectors would angle down, away from contact with the seat and tried the "bounce up and down" test again. No soap this time (to coin a phrase). Took it on a nice test run up through Globe, Florence, Casa Grande, and back down to Tucson (about 250 miles) today. No problems this time. Outside temps in the high 80s when I got to Casa Grande (about 60 miles from home, and closing). We'll see if this remains okay, or needs further work. I'd keep my fingers crossed, but it's pretty hard to ride that way. Warning - if you choose to do it this way, be careful about which soap you use for the test. If the wrong scented soap gets into the foam up inside the seat, then the seat and your butt will smell quite "nice" for awhile. Especially as heat from the bike starts working on the seat foam. DAMHIK. | ||
| Rwcfrank |
I wonder how many people were frustrated with their Uly's over the years with all of the mysterious electrical gremlins only to find out the seat was smacking the ecm? I check this site at least onve a week and usually a lot more and I have yet to be surprised or let down by my Uly, knock on wood. (Message edited by rwcfrank on May 22, 2011) | ||
| Buellerxt |
Does anyone know if the clearances between the various seats and the bike are the same? I would suspect they are but I don't know. I would also suspect, or more correctly, HOPE, that the seat pan on the tall seat doesn't move as much as the others do because the seat itself is more padded and absorbs more movement. Any seat pan movement analyses done out there?  I check my ecm occasionally and I haven't seen any rubbing. I'm about 200 pounds and ride solo on a tall seat. (Message edited by buellerxt on May 22, 2011) (Message edited by buellerxt on May 22, 2011) | ||
| Cpeg |
You can use plumbers putty, or just about any putty like material. Put it in a couple ziploc baggies and lay that on the ECM. | ||
| Froggy |
All OEM Buell seats use the same pan. | ||
| Nose2wind |
Think of all the money this issue has cost HD and they still haven't addressed the problem. This will be #3 for me | ||
| Cpeg |
Think of all the money this issue has cost HD and they still haven't addressed the problem. This will be #3 for me Harley did address the problem, they addressed all the problems, they moved Buell out of their house. (Message edited by cpeg on May 22, 2011) | ||
| Froggy |
Not as much as you think. The problem isn't common.
They did, the seat spacer block came out a few years ago and pretty much eliminated the problem. Even without the spacer block on mine, I had no issue in the 17,000 miles I had my first Uly, and still didn't have the issue on my current one which is up to 45,000. If you are continuing to have this issue, you are best off relocating the ECM. | ||
| Nose2wind |
What spacer block? |
