| Author | Message | ||
     Nightbuell |
Been lurking for a year or so. I've had my awesome 06 XB12X for about 1.5 years. I commute on it, perhaps I've put about 8k miles on it. But to the point. This summer it started behaving strangely. So here are some symptoms. 1) Tachometer gauge pings back and forth over 3k rpm. Sometimes the gauge completely shuts off while riding. Check eng. light comes on sometimes and appears the column will restart. As this is periodic, I don't believe the gauge is bad. related to vibration ? Electrical connection somewhere ? 2) Motor has cut out while riding once or twice. Sometimes for just a second or two, but kicks back on while riding. might be related to number 1. 3) Sometimes it won't start directly after 20 min ride. cooling down appears to help 5-10 min. ( stop at a gas station) Appears Temperature related. Horrible situation with number 2. when in the carpool lane. 4) Gas tank sensor seams to be completely wrong. lights up with a full tank. Any guidance is greatly appreciated. I'd be happy to report my results and take images to share my progress. Mike | ||
| Milo_h |
Sounds like bad grounds. (search it in BB&D, lot of info) Check / relocate ECM. (search it in BB&D lots of info) Hope you get it sorted out. Milo | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Welcome to the badweb, Mike. Bunch of straight shooters and some great input from some really bright, and entertaining folks here. I'll chime in on items one and two. Maybe symptoms due to seat pan rubbing on ECM? Pretty common issue on Ulys. We had ECM issues with both of our Ulys and I got a replacement EBR ECM that I could not be happier with. Do you know if the ECM has been relocated? If not, have you checked the ECM and connection for cracks? Ours was a hairline crack, horrible to deal with in the heat of a FL summer and pain in the butt to diagnose. Again, welcome and good luck! (Message edited by fltwistygirl on November 22, 2013) | ||
| Etennuly |
I believe you have two or three problems. One would be the ground wire behind the headlights in the steering neck. The connector can break at the ground screw head. Next there are a couple of three wire splices in the steering neck bundle that can break and loose contact momentarily and randomly. Red wire splice = power to everything on the bars. White wires = right turn signal wires. These splicers can break and will not show it because of their structure. I moved both of the triple splices into the space above the headlights so that they would not have to bend during use. The gas gage problem is usually caused by the wires inside the tank on the fuel pump wearing through to ground. Repairing involves removing the pump , heat shrinking, moving the wires. These things are well documented here somewhere and are fairly easy to fix. The good news.....once properly fixed they are good to go and do not come back. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Could be a crank position sensor in the mix of things going wrong, though in that case the engine should be cutting out when the tach is going wonky. | ||
| Nightbuell |
Excellent. Thanks for the input everyone. Very helpful. All good recommendations. I love owning a Buell. I've been asked by many "what is Buell ?". It's truly a shame they were discontinued. They had a unique product that really appeals a wide foundation of rider needs. Big factors for me, Straight up riding, aggressive performance, low maintenance, good safety and visibility, storage, and excellent cornering. The fan is a bit annoying, and the idle rattle can disturb at first glance, but that exhaust grumble is hard to give up. Worst case, bike breaks, it's almost easier to completely replace than repair. Very affordable purchase. It's almost a secret. ECM. I don't recall removing the seat it recently, so I doubt I've caused anything, I'll check that out. Ok, I see. The Fuel light issue is related to wiring to the fuel pump and the ground. I expected it would be a bad sensor. I'll do a search on this topic here and see what instructions come up. @ Reep It's not a common condition that the engine cuts out. But the needle pegging back and forth is at this point. I've noticed the start up light coming on a few times and that seems to have an impact on the ignition or perhaps the ecm since everything in the console resets while riding. The resetting will happen off and on. It is very inconsistent and it doesn't normally shut off the engine. But is alarming. I'll keep the crank sensor in mind. Milo, Thx. I will review the bad ground symptoms and see if they look familiar. This would be great if it's that simple. As far as Item number 3, Not starting immediately after a ride, I'm speculating it's the Neutral switch from what I've read here. Here is what's happening, the bike will turn on, but the light doesn't come on when turning the key. After waiting, something "clicks" and I know I can turn the key and the start up light will come on. Anyone with that symptom and solution would be appreciated. Mike | ||
| Nightbuell |
I found a thread on electrical issues you mentioned. Sounds like a good start. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/3842/695594.html?1356626652 And here is a pic of my baby.  | ||
| Arry |
Nightbuel, The seat pan (underside) can push down on the ECM connectors, even if the seat hasn't been taken off/on. Most of us relocate the ECM or add bracing to keep the seat off the ECM. Search on - ECM relocate. I've had some intermittent running issues, that might sound familiar to you, check the thread heading -Spontaneous death (and resurrection) about half way down the current threads listings. I've gotten some good ideas suggested. My bike hasn't acted up lately, so I haven't "fixed it" yet. Still ride'n! | ||
| Nightbuell |
Well, the bike has been sitting for a few years now and I've decided to put some time into it. I do have it running again after some regular maintenance, but the issue exists. basically still unridable. I've replaced the "ignition sensor" and there were some tight wires going to the console, which lead to a number of broken wires. Those have all been repaired. Which is good. So after all that, the Bike still cuts out after just after warmup. I'm looking at the manual - https://www.manualslib.com/manual/973918/Buell-P3. html?page=384#manual I see a few other sensors like a Bank angle sensor and throttle position sensor. They are likely my next targets before I move to the ECM. I have no reason to think the ECM is the problem - It runs super for the first 10 min prior to engine reaching operating temperature. But the conditions seem to be around the way the bike operates after warmup. It feels like it's temperature related. For a while the bike would have to wait to cool down before it would be able to start back up. When I replaced the Ignition sensor it only takes 10 secs or something before ignition goes back to using the plugs. I would have power to turn the engine over but it wouldn't start. I could try to restart while mid roll or at stop signs, but Happened 4 times in a row within 5 min. This has the potential to be quite dangerous. I'm lead to believe this issue is no longer in the console for sure since the wires are repaired and not having "light shutoff issues". So, to summarize, Im going to try these other sensors before going toward the ECM/ECU what ever its called. But something of note, I did notice when I bounced on my seat, I saw the tac move a bit, but the impact didnt change anything in the way the ignition was firing. Mike | ||
| Mtz117 |
Take the seat off with it idling in the driveway. Give the ECM a smack with the handle of a screwdriver. Hit it a few times and if it makes any difference at all, replace the ECM. I had similar issues, and replacing the ECM completely fixed it. |
