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Buellerxt
| | Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2013 - 09:31 pm: | 
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Dr. Greg Quote: I've followed your plight, and hearing that your wife is on the way to rescue you...boy, that sounds familiar!
My '06 Uly stranded me on four straight rides, and Mrs. Greg had to rescue me every single time. That got very tiresome.
So she expresses her condolences to Mrs. xt. Unquote
I followed your four 'experiences' as well, Greg. Thankfully, though my wife helped with tie-downs, she didn't have to help 'lift' the Uly as I remember your wife doing on a rescue south of Albuquerque.  I have a great wife, as you do, obviously. My wife told me, "I wish I had gotten on the road as soon as it happened. The next time I will". I had held her off until I ran out of other options yesterday morning. |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2013 - 09:43 pm: |
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Skifastbadly Quote: When I got stranded in Missoula, which incidentally may have the best looking female bartenders I've ever seen.... wait, what was I going to say?
Oh yeah...the Uly seems to be particularly vulnerable to hot weather. I was experiencing all kinds of weird fueling problems on that trip when it got hot in the afternoon, like upper 90s. They shop ended up replacing both the ECM and the fuel pump, which I suppose means they're not very good at diagnosis. One cause may have been that extreme heat makes the seat softer and allows it to sag onto the ECM. I also noticed that when I stopped the gas would be boiling in the frame, causing it to come out the overflow vent even if the tank was half empty.Unquote
Well, I checked the ecm, which I have marked with chalk to point out problems, and all was good. I actually thought about you though, shortly after it happened, as I was getting off the bike! The bike was running GREAT and all of a sudden I was coasting! I though, ah, I must have thrown a belt, and the comfort of Ski's CliffsNotes instructions, and a spare belt in my bag felt good. The belt was good though! |
Ulyjoe60
| | Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 09:45 am: |
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going on road trip myself , strugis/denver/amarillo then back home to sf bay area.06 with 45k mi. last time i got stranded broken throttle shaft. so far ive replaced fuel pump, wheel bearing, ecm, front isolator. 2wks 3.5 -4k miles . got concerns about what will fail next. |
Uly_man
| | Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 02:55 pm: |
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"I also noticed that when I stopped the gas would be boiling in the frame, causing it to come out the overflow vent even if the tank was half empty". Its not "boiling" but vapour from the gas. The "dripping" from the vent pipe is the vapour that has condensed back to a fluid. It is normal and not a problem. In fact its a good thing. If you ever open the gas cap and get pressure or a vacuum check that the vent is clear.
Petrol boils at 203 F. |
Ftd
| | Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 06:57 pm: |
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Petrol boils at 203 F.
No
I am retiring soon but I am still a chemist (I think). Gasoline is composed of many (hundreds) of different chemicals. These range from small to large from straight chain to highly branched from high vapor pressure to low vapor pressure.
So if one puts gasoline in a distillation apparatus and heats the liquid it will boil at the temp. where the smallest/highest vapor pressure chemical boils until that chemical has been distilled off and then the temp. will rise to the b.p. of the next chemical and so on.
Thus a complex multicomponent liquid does not have a single boiling point.
Makes sense??
Frank |
Milo_h
| | Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 11:31 pm: |
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That's why there is stoichiometry |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Monday, May 20, 2013 - 02:33 pm: |
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I started another thread on this breakdown over on the Quick Board, dealing more with the problems of touring on a Buell, if interested.
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/406 2/712801.html?1369074612 |
Red450
| | Posted on Monday, May 20, 2013 - 03:11 pm: |
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Buellerxt, any clue what caused your breakdown? |
Uly_man
| | Posted on Monday, May 20, 2013 - 05:29 pm: |
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Thank you for your input, Frank.
It seems to me that the best thing to do is go old school? Which is "FWFIOFYS". |
Whisperstealth
| | Posted on Monday, May 20, 2013 - 05:51 pm: |
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???? |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Monday, May 20, 2013 - 06:38 pm: |
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Red450,
No, no clue at all. I got a tip from here on Badweb while in Laredo and disconnected my Bike Angle Switch but it didn't help. I checked everything I could but found nothing. My dealer has it now and I trust them. The Buell tech is out but hopefully I'll know something by mid week. |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 09:42 pm: |
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Joy is back in Mudville, fellow Buellers!!!
Hootowl, the very nice and very knowledgeable Hootowl, a great BadWeb member/contributor, was kind enough to drive 45 miles and trouble shoot my bike, over the phone with me first and then in person. I had checked all of the fuses but once Hootowl put a multimeter to them, something I'll do in the future, the culprit was found. My fuel pump fuse didn't blow but it had a small mechanical failure. I couldn't see it with my poor near vision but the multimeter found it. Changed the fuse and beautiful engine music lit up my garage! : ) Those tiny little fuses can SHUT you down! I've never had one do it before, nor has Hootowl, but it can happen.
Hootowl will post a picture of the fuse and his thoughts when he gets time. Thanks to all for the help and thoughts. |
Fltwistygirl
| | Posted on Friday, May 24, 2013 - 10:05 am: |
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Hooray! 
I have never had to replace that fuse either, so will keep tuned to this post.
You all continue to amaze me with your knowledge and willingness to help. Good on ya Hootowl. B. |
Uly_man
| | Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 02:02 pm: |
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Sounds good. Just a thought though.
A fuse could fail because of a mechanical problem like vibration but it is not very common.
A fuse is fitted to protect the wiring from a dead short in the wiring and/or an overload from the device. A dead short in the wiring (or device) would show as a clean break and an overload would show as a melted look to the wire of the fuse.
Most of the time if a fuse goes it will go again if there is a fault. The pump fuse has been known to go before and some have found "chaffed" wires inside the pump. I am not saying it is either of these but I would check the wiring to the pump anyway and carry some spare fuses.
On a side note you can buy a version of these fuses that have a "easy to see if gone" device on them. Its sort of green is good red is bad type of thing. |
Wesman
| | Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2013 - 09:30 am: |
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Had a fuse fail the first day on my brand new Uly ..... that was discouraging.....no probs since  |
Dtaylor
| | Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2013 - 02:34 pm: |
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Similar experience as Wesman -- I was three days into ownership of my new-to-me 2008 XB12X. 15 minutes after the fuel light came on, the bike spluttered and died. Pushed it the last block to the gas station, filled it up, and expected it to run. It didn't.
I was 45 minutes from home and worried sick imagining all the problems that it might be, and I was wondering what sort of lemon I had bought. Fortunately, the blown fuse was readily apparent, so I replaced it, fired it up and canceled my rescue ride.
That nearly killed the joy of owning a new toy.
Second time -- a year later on a hot, hot day passing through Pittsburgh, PA in fast & heavy traffic. Lucked out doubly so -- I got safely to the shoulder and coasted to a stop in the shade of a bridge. From my previous experience, I knew exactly what to look for and was back on the road in 10 minutes.
I keep a baggie of spare 10A fuses under the seat (in addition to the existing spare). I'm tempted to go to a 15A fuse, but nervous of melting wires if something does short out.
The warm day/low fuel fuse blowing issue is well documented and it really should have been a recall repair, given the safety implications.
(Message edited by dtaylor on May 26, 2013) |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2013 - 10:33 pm: |
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Thanks, Dtaylor, your history is helpful. I'll carry a Baggie as well! . What do you mean by 'we'll documented'? Have there been a significant number of bikes with blown fuel pump fuses but no fuel pump issue? What would cause that one fuse to fail? Thanks. |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 12:00 am: |
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Wow, I searched and found that Many Buellers have had the fuel pump fuse blowing issue and that the cause is almost always chaffed wires on the fuel pumps. Da&n. I thought my issue was behind me but I wouldn't trust the bike on a trip. I'm out of town and have been since replacing the fuse, so I haven't had a chance to ride the bike. I'll do that on Tuesday. |
Dtaylor
| | Posted on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 08:57 am: |
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Mine blew first at 9000km and the second time a year later at 20,000km. Both were low fuel conditions.
I suspect in my case it is not chafed wires, but the hot bike/low fuel causes the pump to work harder than it should. Perhaps a bit of fuse fatigue as well, with vibration and current cycling.
I've decided that the risk is manageable at this point, and have been on several 4000km + trips since, with no issue. I install a fresh fuse and make sure I have a bunch of spares before trips, and have had good luck so far.
If the problem occurs again, I will pull the pump for a look-see, and very well might follow Ray's lead:
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/694050.html?1348303934 |
Portero72
| | Posted on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 01:52 pm: |
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Buellerxt-
I suspect your issue is not worn out wiring. That seems to have been an issue on 06-07 Ulys. My 09 had the same issue as yours-hot day, low fuel, blown fuse. One time in 55k miles, and has not happened since |
Froggy
| | Posted on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 04:07 pm: |
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The wire chaffing and blow fuses issues are totally unrelated. Some 06 XBs have the wire chaffing issue, while the blowing fuse issue only occurs on some 09 XBs, and only on hot days with low fuel levels. Your 08 is not part of the group with the defective fuel pumps that constantly blow fuses. |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 05:04 pm: |
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Okay guys, I'll carry fuses and see what happens. I really appreciate your posts/info., Dtaylor, Portero, and Froggy. A couple of questions:
- Did Buell change the fuel pumps for the 2008's and after? Better protected wiring? Is my fuel pump like Ray's 2009 pump, with the protective sheathing, shown in the link Dtaylor posted?
- How low is 'low' fuel? This happened to my bike 90 miles after filling up so I had at least 2 gallons in the tank! Certainly not low fuel. Earlier in the day however, I was on reserve once and put in 3.8 gallons. That still leaves .6 gals. in the tank. Is 0.6 gals too low? Do you think that could have started the problem and the 104 degree heat finished it? Again, my fuse was not blown in the typical way, i.e. blacked out. It looked good but had a tiny break on the top, detected with a multimeter. Thanks.
(Message edited by buellerxt on May 27, 2013)
(Message edited by buellerxt on May 27, 2013) |
Hootowl
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 09:58 am: |
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Here's a picture of the fuse.
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?tpc=4062&post=2328021#POST2328021 |
Froggy
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 06:40 pm: |
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Buellerxt, honestly I doubt you really have an issue with your bike, from the picture of the fuse, it appears to be a fluke, possibly a defective fuse that rattled to death from the vibrations.
Half a tank is nowhere near low fuel, the people with the fuse blowing issue are running with the light on with there being a ridiculously hot ambient temperature. While your 104°F would fall into the ridiculously hot category, I do not believe this to be your issue. I would keep a few spare fuses under the seat just in case (in addition to the spares the bike came with), but I doubt you will need them.
Regarding the pump, Buell changed the pump several times over the years, mostly it was just vendors getting changed. Whatever pump they used on some 06s would have the wiring harness rub on a sharp edges till it frays and fails, while I do not believe anyone has figured out the cause of the handful of 09 fuel pumps that may draw too much current and blow the fuse. |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 09:40 pm: |
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Thanks, Froggy. I appreciate your taking the time to respond and share your knowledge. I agree with you after researching the issue and discussing it with Hootowl. I originally felt it was simply a low percentage mechanical fuse failure, then got concerned reading about other fuel pump fuse failures, and am now back to where I started! Thanks. |
Uly_man
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - 05:14 am: |
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This break is in the WRONG place and is a defective fuse and possibly caused by stress at the mounting point. More likely though it is just bad quality. At one time you could trust the quality of something that needs to be right but these days it can be a bit of a lotto.
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Xbimmer
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - 02:05 pm: |
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Dtaylor thanks for that link!
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/694050.html?1348303934
Another automotive solution for substitution of rapidly escalating prices of factory parts. Excellent. Now about that CHT sensor... |
Skinnyboy
| | Posted on Friday, July 19, 2013 - 10:11 pm: |
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Had the hot weather/blown fuel pump fuse issue with my 09x yesterday. About 1 gal. left, 95 degrees, luckily at a stoplight 200 ft from work. Would appreciate any advice regarding best option for aftermarket replacements for the fuel pump as I would not like this to happen under more dangerous circumstances. Liked the replacement Rays did in the link but I searched that specific pump and it appears to be old stock. Thanks. |
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