| Author | Message | ||
     Vicfirebolt |
and bike stops running and appears too be getting no power nothing. This lasts for a few minutes then for no obvious reason I have power I ride off with no issues. I have notice d allot of flicker in the headlight unit and the dash pulses a bit. I have had my clock reset for no reason a couple of times. What does this sound like too the knowledgeable peoples of badweb. | ||
| Jlnance |
Loose or chafed wires. Check the battery connections first. | ||
| Vicfirebolt |
went threw and made sure all my fuses were tight in place and seemed good my battery shows no signs of a bad connection of any kind so I am unsure what too do too prevent this or know if I have solved it LOL what a pain. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Make sure your battery cables are flat up against the terminals and you torque the bolts to about 20 ft-lbs. If your connection is in any way compromised you will have many, many electrical gremlins of all different kinds. Trust me on this, 5 years of riding an XBR has taught me a few basic things. | ||
| Rsh |
20 ft-lbs is way way to much you will break something. The service manual says 72-96 in-lbs converted to ft-lbs equals 6 to 8 ft/lbs. | ||
| Livnlo |
sounds to me like a voltage regulator going bad. same thing happened to me | ||
| Ulynut |
Could be a bad ground.  | ||
| Old_man |
Happened to me, the coil had melted. Ruining the ECM or was it the ECM that caused the coil to melt. Don't know but I didn't get the bike back from the dealer for 6 weeks. (but that is another story) | ||
| Jos51700 |
It sounds like a broken wire to me, assuming the battery cables are tight. The clock reset is the giveaway that it's losing electrical power from the battery. I'd check the wiring in the guide on the LH side of the steering head. I've seen several broken wires there that have similar symptoms, and there's an updated guide. | ||
| Vicfirebolt |
I appreciate the responses thanks. | ||
| Pwnzor |
20 ft-lbs is way way to much No... it isn't. I'm not talking out of my ass, the cables need to be tighter than the factory spec. I have the manual right here, I wouldn't recommend a higher torque value for no reason. | ||
| Azxb9r |
20 ft-lbs is way way to much you will break something. I agree, the battery cable bolts are only 6mm bolts. It does not take much to break them. | ||
| Zoedogg1 |
If your clock is resetting after the bike has been off, I could very well be the battery. Check the starting amps load. But then again even if your battery is in need of a change, it still doesnt explain the flickering.hmmmm Is it hard to start? | ||
| U4euh |
The 03 models also had a problem with the wiring harness rubbing next to the coil and other related stuff under the airbox base. Easy to fix if that is the problem, but just hard to spot. Clock resetting means that ALL power to the machine has been interrupted, just like disconnecting the battery. Regardless of what it 'looks' like, take the cables off, have the battery cranking amps checked, and clean the terminals off before re-installing. | ||
| Jos51700 |
6mm or otherwise, they do thread into lead... All they have to do is make constant contact, not hold a wheel on or something. | ||
| Vicfirebolt |
ok I will do that with the battery. The clock only resets when this issue occurs not every time the bike is off. What should I look for under the airbox base? My biggest issue is that I can't tell if I am fixing it or what and really don't want too be stranded somewhere heh. I will look into those suggestions for sure though thank you. Glad I got some input I appreciate it. | ||
| Lovematt |
While the bolts do thread into lead...the ONE time I followed the specs after cleaning all the contact points and bolting up the cables...I had a problem with intermittent power losses. They had also loosened up a bit. I tightened them to about 17 Foot Pounds (almost where I could "feel" them reaching their limit) and have never had a problem since then. I recently changed the battery about 6 months ago and decided to tighten them to 15 and have not had a problem since then either. Physically the spec might be right for the materials but the reality is in some cases it may not be tight enough. | ||
| Pwnzor |
OK, you all are obviously experts, so don't listen to someone who discovered reality after much trial and error. Lovematt has it right, the manual is not perfect. Practical reality differs in many ways from the "specs". Any bolt that breaks under 20 ft-lbs of torque needed to be replaced anyway. Good luck. | ||
| Vicfirebolt |
I thank you all for your responses. I have tried too do most suggestions and only time will tell if I have resolved the issue Thanks again badwebbers. | ||
| U4euh |
Keep us updated. If you go under the base, look at the wiring harnes, left handside as your riding, inside the frame rail. Look for spots that are rubbing, it is pretty obvious if you do have this problem. I just had to put some rubber type material between the two contact points. | ||
| Jos51700 |
"Any bolt that breaks under 20 ft-lbs of torque needed to be replaced anyway" What about if it threads into a soft material, like lead? | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
Make sure the wiring harness is plugged into the back of your clocks securely. If you don't have a good solid connection there, nothing works. I discovered this issue when I converted my front end from an S to an R. I didn't quite have a good seat on this connection and experienced the same symptoms you described. I unplugged it and made sure I hadn't bent a pin in the connector, reinserted the wiring harness connector, and haven't had any further issues. You never know, maybe yours vibrated loose/has some gunk in it. | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
I previously posted a mere fluke I experienced (wiring harness in back of tach/speedo box). The odds are against you having the same issue, but it never hurts to check all your connections, and I noted that no one mentioned this one. More than likely this is an issue with your battery connection(s) though. I once had a problem where the bike would idle rough and die at red lights intermittently, check engine light intermittently came on, etc. I took it to a HD dealership while out riding away from home one day and they failed to fix it and sent me back out the door with the same problem and a $150 bill to pay. I went home and discovered that they failed to check the basics - positive battery terminal was loose. Don't worry though, I did get a full refund when I called them on it. | ||
| Azxb9r |
Any bolt that breaks under 20 ft-lbs of torque needed to be replaced anyway. A typical 6mm grade 5 bolt will break at 18-19 ft/lbs. A grade 8(hardened) bolt will handle 25 ft/lbs if it is threaded into something hardened. Threaded into a grade 5 nut, it will pull the threads out of the nut at about 18 ft/lbs. If you were actually able to get 20 ft/lbs of torque on a battery terminal bolt without breaking anything, you got lucky. | ||
| Bcool83 |
Check out where the wiring harness enters the forks...on the left side of the bike, looking up at the back base of the front fairing (assuming the setup is the same as the Lightning). There should be a bundle of wires held against the middle tube...some of those wires have been known to chafe (did this on my bike, and I experienced pretty much the same symptoms you're describing). | ||
| Pwnzor |
What about if it threads into a soft material, like lead? I've been torquing my battery bolts into the lead terminals to 20 ft-lbs for 4 years now. If you were actually able to get 20 ft/lbs of torque on a battery terminal bolt without breaking anything, you got lucky. No luck involved. I know exactly what I'm doing. A typical 6mm grade 5 bolt will break at 18-19 ft/lbs. A grade 8(hardened) bolt will handle 25 ft/lbs if it is threaded into something hardened. Threaded into a grade 5 nut, it will pull the threads out of the nut at about 18 ft/lbs. Where are you getting this misinformation? You really think you can snap grade 8 anything with 25 lbs of torque? Grade 8 steel is hardened to handle 150,000 psi tensile strength. Last time I checked, 150,000 POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH is a lot more than 25 FOOT POUNDS. Do your homework. Inexperienced wrenchers will take bad information to be true, so by spreading it you do a disservice. Back on topic, if the problem is not the battery cables then start looking around the wiring harnesses anywhere they touch the frame. Buells shake and rattle as they roll, and the wiring is not exactly the greatest. Take the time to wrap up any exposed sections to protect it from chafing. edit: Grade 5 is good for 85,000 PSI, for the record. (Message edited by pwnzor on April 15, 2008) | ||
| Azxb9r |
Where are you getting this misinformation? Just to verify what I already knew, in between jobs at work yesterday I grabbed a handful of 6mm and 1/4 inch bolts and nuts, got out two of my Snap-on torque wrenches(one electronic and one "click" type), and started breaking bolts. The numbers I listed are the numbers that I got repeatedly. Grade 8 steel is hardened to handle 150,000 psi tensile strength. Tensile strength and torque are not the same thing, by your way of thinking a 6mm bolt should be able to handle as much torque as a 10mm bolt, it just isn't so.} Do your homework. Inexperienced wrenchers will take bad information to be true, so by spreading it you do a disservice. After a quarter century of turning wrenches for a living, I have a very good idea of how much it takes to break different sized bolts. The reason that I posted was to help keep other people from creating problems by following bad advice. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Dude... I don't know where you're getting your bolts. That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a good long while. I own a couple of Snap-On torque wrenches myself, and a couple of Craftsman's as well. Big deal, so you have tools. Everybody does. You're not breaking grade 5 or 8 bolts with 20 ft-lbs of torque. Think what you like, it doesn't matter to me. This thread is so hijacked at this point it may as well crash into the ocean with all the passengers aboard. | ||
| Jedi74 |
Isn't this a forum for helping out other Badwebbers and not a peter contest on who can break a bolt. Can't you two kiss and make up. ;0) | ||
| Azxb9r |
Isn't this a forum for helping out other Badwebbers Yes it is, which is exactly I have been trying to warn people about the danger of over torqueing. Maybe I am over sensitive about this because I have to fix other peoples butcher jobs on a regular basis. Maybe I just don't like seeing people get bad advice. Either way, the USS/SAE recommended maximum torque for a 1/4 inch bolt(same cross sectional area as a 6 mm) is as follows: grade 5- 10-12 ft/lbs grade 8- 12-15 ft/lbs There is good reason the recommended specs are this low. Overtorqueing is bad-don't do it. | ||
| Deadduck |
good try on the ol' jedi mind trick  | ||
| Jedi74 |
you WILL stop arguing on this site. **hand wave** | ||
| Jos51700 |
"This thread is so hijacked at this point it may as well crash into the ocean with all the passengers aboard." I did, actually, LOL. |
