| Author | Message | ||
     Kevinaye |
The good news it the parts are here!!! The bad/good news is its not the fuel pump/filter. Just changed that and it is still running the same as before. At least thats one thing off the list. I have a used ECM form Al that I will try next, along with a TPS reset. I also have Intake seals to change. | ||
| Andymnelson |
Carb cleaner is an awful way to check for intake leaks- use starting fluid (carefully), and look for an rpm increase to indicate a leak... | ||
| Andymnelson |
"Similar to how sometimes a brain tumor won't rear its head till it is way too late." Also similar to when HD buys your favorite motorcycle company.....well, now it's too late.  | ||
| Etennuly |
This whole line of problems and near fixes sounds so familiar. I went through all of these same symptoms and repairs thinking I had it fixed about a hundred times. It was driving me nuts.  After doing all of the things you are and have done, including putting in a known good ECM, I did the last repair that I have done that made the bike run flawlessly since. My manual fan control switch. The fan is controlled by the ECM through it's ground. The fan is a pretty sizable load on a single ground through the ECM. I cut the wire to the fan from the ECM, ran an extension wire from the fan side of the ECM/fan wire to a toggle switch on the bars. Since the fan is hot all of the time and looking for a ground to operate, I ran the other side of the switch to a good ground. I turn the fan on manually shortly after starting the bike and leave it on the whole time I am riding. I turn it of when I shut the engine off. It works great. It did not occur to me that it cured all of the foul symptoms that my Uly had been having until I re-read this thread. I went through fix after fix, problem after problem, symptom after symptom for two years!  My '06 Uly has run two years over 10,000 miles with none of these problems at all since wiring the fan to a toggle switch. Thinking back on it, many of the problems I had, which were totally fixed, it ran fine for a short time, to have it come back time after time, until I switched the fan. My unprovable theory now is that the ground load through the ECM for starting and running the fan motor(which had been replaced) was too much for it to continue to control the other programs that it had to run. Not unlike a momentary circuit overload. | ||
| Kevinaye |
Has anybody replaced the intake seals without rotating the engine? Do I need any special tools?? I cant get the front isolator bolt to move. WD 40'd it and will let it sit. Having a really hard time locating a decent mechanic that speaks english. If I have to rotate the engine. I'd want to be in a shop in case I need tools or any assistance. Changed the ECM, and no improvement. I have rest the TPS again. I really hope I am doing this correctly. I am following the directions with the bike at temp. how finicky is the process? I realise now carb cleaner is not the way to go now. But when I did use it it stalled the engine, it did not increase the rpms. Andy your unproven theory on the fan....If I just disconnect the fan,or pull the fuse. Would that not give me the same result? At least for diagnosing the issue. | ||
| Bikelit |
You can change the intake seals without rotating the motor. The center screw for the intake brace can be reached from underneath with a 1/4" swivel and torx socket. The fuel line is a bit tricky (relieve pressure first). Getting the intake in and out takes some twisting and turning. The rest is pretty straight forward. It takes around 2 or 3 hours the first time, and about an hour once you've done it. As for the carb cleaner, no matter what you use, any change in RPM is not a good sign. Just don't over spray and get it sucked into the throttle body. | ||
| Etennuly |
Yes, I to did my intake seals to try to fix the problems. I did not rotate the engine. I did cut down a wrench to shorten it enough to be able to turn it on the left side bolt. The fan. Pulling the fuse to test it, that should work, but I don't know if there is anything else on that fuse that you would need for running the engine. It will stop any load passing through the ECM when the fan should be kicking on, hi or low. Cheap test, what the heck. | ||
| Uly_man |
Kev. I know FOR A FACT that damp and water effects the coil and leads on a 06 bike. Try this. Remove the air box cover, air box and base plate. Get the engine running and then spray water on the leads. If the engine starts to run bad then that could be your problem. Why this? Well on damp mornings (from over night) I had running issues until the engine got hot IE burning off moisture. I also had a problem sometimes from splashed water off the road in heavy rain. | ||
| Metra6924 |
Have you checked the engine temperature sensor? I had similar problems with my '08 and that turned out to be the problem. | ||
| Kevinaye |
Thanks for the suggestion Ulyman, but the symptoms didn't start during wet weather and where I am in Peru is a desert. They don't even have drains in the streets here! Metra, I noticed recently that the fan doesn't come on where I would have expected, when riding in traffic, but it does come on when I turn off the ignition. So the HTS was suspect. However, it does measure the temp in ECM spy with no issues. I did order one in case. It will be the next thing to gone in if replacing the intake seals doesn't work. | ||
| Etennuly |
I did the ETS also. Not a fix for mine, and my fan showed normal on ECM Spy. Do you have a flashing red light and have the engine hit run/skip(protect mode) when above 55 mph at above 70 degrees F with no codes? | ||
| Uly_man |
"I noticed recently that the fan doesn't come on where I would have expected, when riding in traffic, but it does come on when I turn off the ignition." Well the fan should run in traffic on a 06 bike in those sort of temps and the "ignition off" over run is normal, correct and will go from high to low speed even in cold weather. Kev I have been looking over your posts/pics. That plug should not look like that. The electrode looks like it has burt away and that white stuff should not be there either. Even with a little beer in the glass the fuel should be clean enough. I have never seen it so dirty before. Those are not OEM HT leads. Why were they changed out? This is not a perfect answer but thinking on it (long way away and not being able to put a hand on the bike) and given what you have said about it being ok for 100k or 5k I am not sure its an electrical problem. It seems to me to be more of a "fuel train" issue. Over time heat causes a "varnish" to deposit its self on the injectors and the solenoid shaft, which can cause bad running problems and a lot of heat makes it worse. You may even have a partial fuel line blockage, a bad solenoid coil or even a break in the (which I have had on other things before) LT wire to the coil. It could still be a million things though. If it is of any help I have a full, but untested top end you could try if you need it. Its the throttle body, fuel rail, butterfly, TPS and injectors. | ||
| Kevinaye |
Success!!!!!! For approximately 240km.......I am now getting a bit frustrated. I had the intake seals replaced. My Uly ran waaay better. Still "popped" a couple of times but I figured at that point maybe a TPS reset would do the trick. I rode for a bit maybe not as warmed up as it should be, but did the reset and all seemed ok. Ok enough to pack my bags and get in the road.......finally. I figured if it started acting up I would pull a u turn and head back to the shop. Well, everything was fantastic until my first fill, 240 kms down the road. Now the same symptoms are starting again. Not nearly as bad as before but thats how it started last time.My issue is, if I keep going and it gets worse, I could be screwed. I am 300km from Lima where I had the work done. I have done a TPS reset as soon as I stopped while it was still at temp. I noticed the AFV value was at 120% (which it has not done before) so that has been reset too. It does seem to be running better. But I will probably head back towards Lima for a bit tomorrow to see how it is running. Before I try to cross the desert. My thoughts are, maybe the seals were not put in properly..the guys that did the work are really good but were still doing it for the first time. I have already had to reconnect my GPS wires and another couple of minor details. I'll pull the airbox and see whats going on in there. i will try to test for an intake leak again. ULY MAN, I switched to magnecore wires. I put a small teart in one trying get them off to look at the plugs. I have now replaced it with an OEM wire. The plugs are new. I have also put in a new fuel pump assembly. If it had not been running so well today I would have had the injectors looked at. But I was cruising at 130-140km no issues, everything felt excellent. New front isolator, head bearings, front wheel bearings. It was all going so well....  | ||
| Etennuly |
What exactly were the symptoms this time? | ||
| Kevinaye |
It's just starting to hesitate a little when accelerating. It's not bad, but this is how it started last time. It will probably get me back to Lima . But if I only make 300km in the other direction . It would not be good. | ||
| Uly_man |
No its still not right is it. A "right" running 06 Uly should not "pop", hesitate or have any flat spots at all in any gear/throttle position. I know because mine did not. It run perfect once I fixed it. Any air leaks on the inlet seals on a FI engine MUST be 100% or it WILL screw up the fueling. Get them checked again to be sure and check the injector seals as well as this can also cause air leaks. It was ok until you filled up? Have you changed the old fuel filter? | ||
| Uly_man |
 You "back flushed" this filter but that does not make it "clean". Its not how it works. These filters are very, very fine and are not designed to be cleaned. The amount of dirt in this picture would indicate that you have picked up a huge amount of fuel contamination. It might not be the problem but its a thought. | ||
| Kevinaye |
Finally........looks like the problem is solved!!!!! It ran well until it got hot. Then things went downhill. I switched out the engine temp sensor. And everything appears to be good! I just rode 680km in 12 hours from NASCA to Cusco. It's all windy mountain roads fluctuating from 7500ft to around 14,000ft mudslides, rockslides, river crossings and 1 mob of angry, stick,waiving striking miners with a road block .They let me by after at bit of a tense moment. My Uly ran with no issues all day, until I stopped to check out a hotel. It started then died. I started it again and it was fine. Lots of altitude changes today......maybe he ECM got confused UlyMan I realise that back flushing a filter doesn' clean it. I was just trying to figure out the issue. I have a new pump assembly installed and a back up filter I case I get more fuel issues. So it looks like I had blown intake seals and a faulty engine temp sensor. I like to think the fuel pump helped too coz well.......it wasn't cheep Thanks for all the responses. I think after today's ride it is safe to say its good. BTW turf moor. I would add a couple of extra strong magnets to your list of things to bring. I have used them a couple of times. Most recently to retrieve the engine temp sensor socket from the head. | ||
| Desert_bird |
Happy to hear your back on the road, Kevin. What a fiasco. Good on you for keeping with it. Not that you had much of a choice! Coincidentally, I just took to the road again after a long hiatus in north Brazil and a slew of problems with my Uly, including dead starter, grounded stator, blown VR and a side stand that vibrated its way out. Two days back on the road and all seems well. Last night pulled into a hotel after 12 rainy hours in the saddle and the bike just keeled over. Side stand bolts loosened out again the heads sheared off. Check your side stand bolts regularly! The Uly's CAN be temperamental at the worst times. Maybe see you in Good Airs? DB | ||
| Kevinaye |
Hey DB, good your are on the road, sorry hear about the bolts. I had the same thing happen just as I was leavin for a camping trip a couple of years ago. They are a real pain in the ass to replace. Or at least I coyldn't get the new bolts in without taking off the exhaust. At least you wont have to wait for parts!! Did you upgrade the bolts before you left? I am not sure when I will be in BA. But yes, that would be excellent to hook up. I am heading for Bolivia in a couple of days. Not looking forward to the gas issues down there. | ||
| Turf_moor |
Thanks for the advice, Kevineye. And I am REALLY pleased you are back on the road. Ride safe. | ||
| Turf_moor |
Could you tell me what mileage/kms you had on the Uly before you set off? And what did you do to the bike pre-trip? Getting nervous about doing Japan on mine. | ||
| Uly_man |
Sounds good Kev. After a 680km run I would think its the best you can do. "My Uly ran with no issues all day, until I stopped to check out a hotel. It started then died. I started it again and it was fine." I would not worry to much on this Kev as I had it once or twice on my 06 bike. The 06 bikes do run VERY hot and I think it may be just be a fuel/vapour think at the wrong part of the stroke when starting. "I like to think the fuel pump helped too coz well.......it wasn't cheep" I am sure it was not? Its good practice to change out the filter with a pump and if you have one with you I would do it. I am not TELLING anyone what to do but if you do a trip like this, on anything then I would advise you KNOW your bike "inside out". Good luck Guys. | ||
| Kevinaye |
Hey Turf Moor, I had 33,000ish Kms when I started the trip. I had a new stator installed. Almost a new VR too(long story) But I have a spare with me. I chaged to a 2010 wheel WhenI stopped in Palm springs. New tires (PR3's). If I could find Conti Trail attacks I would pick up a set of them to try out. New pads, new fluid, new clutch cable. Oil filters. I don't know how easy they are to get but it is one less headache when I want to change oil. K and N filter. I started with one spare belt. but I have now got 2. I figured my spare had over 30,000kms so I would not be happy if I had to use it. I installed the palmer light kit and highway pegs. Both are excellent. The Rox risers make a big difference too. After the issues I have had with my sensors I would pack spares along. (I started having issues again and have now installed a new O2 sensor) They are small and light.Bring fork seals!! I have the 2007 manual on my laptop and kindle. If you want a copy let me know. Uly Man is right about knowing as much about your bike as possible. But I have met many people on the road that can't even change their brake pads. That most important thing is to get on the road!!!! As you know, the members on this forum are fantastic when you have an issue. I don't think I would have taken the Uly if this forum did not exist. Cheers. | ||
| Etennuly |
Glad to hear you are moving again. I had a similar situation with my fuel pickup screen and filter. I did not order them when I ordered the "O" rings for it a month or so before I got in there. Sure enough the filter and screen had to be back ordered at the time I needed them, so it was back in with the original ones. The fuel that came out of the filter and screen was black just like in the pictures above. It is still going strong at over 57,000 miles with them only having been rinsed out with fresh gas. Best of luck, may your travels continue to go well. | ||
| Turf_moor |
Thanks for that info, Kevineye. I will set of with new wheel bearings, headrace bearings, swingarm bearings & maybe a new stator. Perhaps a few new sensors as well. I have 18000 miles (29000 km) but when I set off it'll be more like 25000 miles (40000 km.) By that time probably a new battery. Are you still in Peru and is Ushaia your destination? | ||
| Turf_moor |
I have found that Repsol 20/50 mineral oil (widely available down here in Portugal and Spain) runs cooler than HD 20/50. What are you running? And good luck. You are proving to be inspirational to me. | ||
| Uly_man |
Kev I did not know you had replaced as many parts as you have. "I had a similar situation with my fuel pickup screen and filter." This looks like another issue to look out for on the Uly. I have never had a blocked pre-pump screen or fuel filter on anything in the past. I have just replaced a pump on a 120,000 mile 25 year old BMW car and the tank and screen were like it had just come out of the factory. On the other hand it would, and does take only one bad re-fill to block a filter. Its going to cost a few bucks but taking a few sensors and things seems like a good idea on a long trip. Good to see all is well again. Have a good trip. | ||
| Kevinaye |
The saga continues......... I have now installed a new O2 sensor. Which seems to have some the trick. Amazing ride today Cusco to copacobana, Bolivia. 600km of fantastic riding. It should have been 550 but I missed a turn. However..........about 20km from the border. After having to bribe some police officers regarding insurance. I noticed my dash light were dim. Shit.......the battery is. It charging !!!! No option but to get to the border. So I park on a hill and take care of the the leaving Peru paper work. So now the battery is flat and my only option is to bump start the bike. It starts no problem and I ride a couple of hundred yards to the Bolivian immigration. As soon as I pull up the official point at my back wheel.......my belt has snapped and is hangin out of the belt guard. I have to finish Bolivian customs. I think they have an issue importing a bike that doesnt run. So while I am replacing he belt I have 4 Bolivian soldiers standing around me. They did come in handy with it torches as it was getting dark as I started the job(of course) at least it wasnt raining Had to bribe the police. Flat battery. And a broken belt. 2 days after spending all day trying to take care of an O2 sensor and leaky intakes. Fortunately all that was wrong with the battery was, the neg terminal had rattled loose. Big relief! So turf moor, add at least 2 extra. Belts to you list and volt meter/gauge thingy. | ||
| Etennuly |
Wow! The saga continues! |
