| Author | Message | ||
     Red450 |
Just got back from my first long ride on my 06 Uly. On the way home, I felt some weird hesitation while running at highway speed. Then, after I exited on to side streets, the idle became erratic and the bike almost stalled. The hesitation got worse and became stumbling upon acceleration. As I turned into my neighborhood, the bike stalled completely. My first step is to replace the spark plugs and I plan on doing the TPS reset. What else should I check while I'm digging in to this issue? | ||
| Firemanjim |
Mileage on bike? Look at AFV and see if it is at 100. Bad gas always possible. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
was it raining? | ||
| Red450 |
67k on the bike, I just got it a few weeks ago. The dealership put 87 octane when I picked up the bike, so I put in 2 oz of octane booster then filled up with 93 once the tank was low. AFV? No rain and the ambient air temp was in the low 60s. The bike had been running great all day. (Message edited by red450 on November 11, 2012) | ||
| Djohnk |
Have you checked where the ECM is? If it isn't relocated I bet that's your problem. On the Uly's if your a big guy and the bike heats up the seat plastic, it presses down on the ECM. This causes the ECM to spaz out. Took me forever to figure out that was what the problem was on my bike. | ||
| Red450 |
I believe my ECM is under the seat, towards the front of the bike. Where is the common relocation spot? I'm not a big guy but I'm pretty sure I have a low or low cut seat, so I could see how it could press down on the ECM. I haven't run the bike yet today but I will do so and report back. } | ||
| Red450 |
Pics of my ECM and a video of the bike trying to idle. I tried wiggling the ECM while it was idling and there was no change.  <br>  <br> <br>  | ||
| Djohnk |
Search for ECM relocation, there's a lot of threads on here about it. Some people choose to beef up the protection. I simply unbolted mine and wedged it in the little space between the battery and the fuse box (if you do that make sure you push it all the way down). Usually the seat pushes down on the end of that gray connector, try gently pushing down on it while its running. Also, while you are pushing on the connector cracks may become visible in the epoxy where the gray connector attaches to the ecm. I couldn't see them on my ECM unless I was in bright sunlight, could be hard to see the cracks otherwise. If that's your problem you might get by just relocating the ECM. If the ECM is not too badly damaged just taking the pressure off of it makes the symptom go away. | ||
| Red450 |
Last night, I had enough time time try and wiggle the connectors on the ECM and I even relocated it between the battery and fuse box as suggested. No change in behavior, it's still idling very low, stumbling and stalling. I'm picking up a set of NGK plugs on the way home. Next step will be draining the fuel. I have a service manual on order, too bad it won't be here until the 15th. =[ | ||
| Tootal |
When you change the plugs check the plug wires. That front one can rub against the frame and start shorting out. Also the front one can rub on the throttle cables. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Red450, Put a multimeter on your battery to check if it's getting a charge while idling. My son's 07' was acting similar to what you described. I checked the idle charge and saw that it wasn't charging at all. Then it would. He's got a rear head leak and the 77 connector was oily so I pulled it apart and used Q-tips to clean it up. No problems since. | ||
| Red450 |
Thanks guys, will do! | ||
| Arry |
"..., it's still idling very low, stumbling and stalling." The 06 and 07 models have an idle speed adjuster. Did you get an owners manual when you got your bike? Page 33 in my 07 owners manual has a little info and specs regular idle at 1050-1150 RPM. Some people tend to lug their engine, running low RPM's might lead to fouling plugs. | ||
| Red450 |
I didn't get a chance to dig into it last night. I do have the owners manual (and a shop manual coming on Thurs). The idle is definitely below 1050rpm. Since I'm still learning my way around this bike, I wouldn't be surprised if I fouled the plugs. The power range is completely different from my previous bike. } | ||
| Firemanjim |
AFV is the Adaptive Fuel Value and it shows how bike is running. Need ECM-Spy to look at your ECM. And with 67K when was the last time the intake seals were changed? | ||
| Red450 |
I pulled the old plugs and put in the NGK Iridiums. The starts now but the idle is still very erratic. I took it out for a ride and there is still a hesitation even while running above 4k. Here are the old plugs:  I purchased the bike a few weeks ago, used w/67k. I'm not sure when/if the intake seals have ever been changed. I put the multimeter on the battery while the bike was running and the range seems normal. It's odd, the bike ran great all day Saturday then on the home it slowly got worse. | ||
| Buewulf |
Check the intake seals, but I bet it is your ECM. That seems to be the right answer 4 out of 5 times on these bikes. | ||
| Buewulf |
Could also be the fuel pump, especially if the previous owner did not preemptively address the wire chafing issue. | ||
| Red450 |
Is there a way to test the ECM? Mine doesn't show any signs of cracking and my bike has the plastic block to keep the seat off the ECM. | ||
| Djohnk |
I just noticed, no one mentioned a TPS reset. I don't know if it will cure your above 4000rpm problem, but you should do that before you adjust the idle. How good are you around computers? You just need a cable (http://xoptiinside.com/buell_cabletuning_store) ... I recommend the wireless bluetooth module he offers, but a cable will do fine also. And to download and install some free software, either Tunerpro or ECMspy. There are plenty of posts around here on how to do the TPS reset using either software. How cool is that? You can even do some tuning on your own after you study up a little on how to do it. Also, the plastic block you mentioned ... it doesn't work so well, mine had that also, but the seat still damaged the ECM. You mentioned your not a big guy, but the P.O. might have been, and already done the damage. I have my old ECM around somewhere. It looks ugly because I have stretchy tape wrapped around it to force the cracks closed, but it still works (I used it like that without a problem for several months until I found a good deal on a used replacement). I can loan it to you via mail it to you if you want to swap it out and see if it makes a difference. Just PM me your mailing address. Mines an '07, I am pretty sure it is the same ECM. I know this probably all seems like a big hassle and overwhelming, but you will eventually figure the problem out on your bike. Once you do you will be happy, and will have more knowledge about your bike when you do. | ||
| Red450 |
Surprisingly, I'm not upset about the mystery issue. I guess I dig the bike that much! (I am however, pissed about the bottom right screw on the airbox plate, the torx head stripped out.) I am comfortable around computers and I contacted a local member who is willing to help me with the TPS reset until I get my own cable. I would gladly try your ECM to help solve the mystery. I'll PM you my info. I appreciate all the help and info you guys are throwing my way! (Message edited by red450 on November 14, 2012) | ||
| Motorbike |
Djohnk is right about the plastic block. It really does not do the job it was designed to do. My 08 XT had the block but the seat still hit the ECM connector. The seat base is plastic and gets very hot when riding. The seat flexes down and hits the connector, especially with a heavy guy like me on top of it. If you do replace the ECM, be sure to relocate it and you will never have this problem again. | ||
| Reepicheep |
My 07 had the plastic block when I got it, and I could never find evidence of the connectors contacting the seat with it in place. But it was a bit close for comfort. Instead of relocating the ECM, I bent the bracket a bit to point the connectors down and away from the contact point, then put a 1/2" piece of foam over the actual ECM proper. My thinking being that the seat contacts through the body of the ECM (which is pretty stout) and can't touch the connector (which appears to be under-supported). Don't know if its the right answer, but so far so good, and less hassle than relocating. | ||
| Red450 |
I installed the loaner ECM from Djohnk and did the TPS reset. Took the bike out and it ran great. The fuel light came on at 146 miles (good/bad mileage?). I felt a slight hesitation while riding at around 55mph. I stopped to fuel up w/92oct and headed back home. On the way home, the hesitation got worse and worse, it almost felt as if the throttle was opening and closing. I don't remember seeing the tach reflect any changes. This is how it acted before the breakdown that started this thread. Any ideas? (FYI: During the downtime, I have swapped plugs as mentioned, done the breather reroute to a catch can, and rerouted the throttle cables due to some binding. ) | ||
| Uly_man |
First thing is if you are going to use a system to check your ECM use TunerpPro. It is free, better and easy to use. You need this and the cable to do the TPS reset correctly on a 06 bike so if you do not have it then it will still be wrong and the idle will be all over the place. This is critical on the 06 bike as is the throttle cable setup. Next, if you have not done it, remove the wheels and check the wheel bearings. Then check over the WHOLE bike for damage/faults and change all the fluids including the brakes. This is a MUST as the bikes done a lot of miles and will need it. DO NOT trust the dealer to have done any of this. It is worth the effort TRUST me. Also remove the battery negative lead from the subframe and CLEAN OFF THE PAINT on the subframe bolt mount face. A known issue that causes problems with the ECM as it give bad numbers back to the ECM like timing issues as I had on my 06 bike. "I am however, pissed about the bottom right screw on the airbox plate, the torx head stripped out." If you are going to work on the bike watch out for the crap thread compound used on these bikes. Also buy a bunch of SOLID core Torx bits as the hollow ones will break off. And do up bolts by hand on basic fittings as the Buell torque settings are way out and can strip the threads or shear the bolts. Which is a right pain in the ass. Changes in engine running will be from bad info to the ECM. This could be from a bad earth, sensor, wiring, TPS setup or ECM damage. The 06 bike WILL RUN GREAT because mine did. The "white wire" on the ECM is said to be for the "sound" thing and causes the 3-4k rpm flat spot that these bikes can have. You can mod it out. They also work best with good fuel and 95 plus is best. 87 is total dog crap. | ||
| Red450 |
I just downloaded TunerPro and will try that tonight. Are you saying ECMspy is not valid for an 06 due to the throttle setup? I know the bike will run great, it ran perfectly until Saturday the 10th. It idled fine and ran strong/smooth all day until the hesitation started. Then it went downhill from there. My bike has the comfort kit but there still seems to be a lot of heat coming off the right side and the seat. An indication of it running too lean? The precursor to a sensor that failed and caused this issue? | ||
| Uly_man |
ECMspy is fine but now u have 2 pay. "I know the bike will run great, it ran perfectly until Saturday the 10th. It idled fine and ran strong/smooth all day until the hesitation started. Then it went downhill from there." This indicates a fault as per my last post. "there still seems to be a lot of heat coming off the right side" No normal for the 06 bikes. They run very hot. | ||
| Red450 |
Thanks Uly_man. I'll dig in and see what I can find. | ||
| Djohnk |
Well, it looks like the ECM is ruled out (although my loaner wasn't a perfect one either). Does it always run good when you first start it cold? I forgot to mention, did you check for trouble codes using ECM spy? There is a place there to check and clear any codes your ECM is throwing. (you can also do it by using a jumper but ECM spy is easier). If its throwing a bunch of codes at once its usually the ECM, I guess a bad ground might also cause that. | ||
| Zac4mac |
The "old" ECM Spy will work on the 06. If you can find it, it was free. Anything 08 and later takes Tuner Pro which came out in 2010 or 2011. Z |
