| Author | Message | ||
     California69gs |
i know i shouldn't have done it, but i was in a hurry and the guys were making fun of my dirty bike. i've got a 2003 xb lightning. i used a big scrub brush then sprayed it off with some med/high pressure water. She's clean but it's running horrible. Dies sometimes at idle, surges on acceleration, and is popping. All of which it's never done before. This is my first season on her. The temp has dropped around 20 degree's or so. i don't know, do buells run horrible when it starts to get cold? | ||
| Squash |
NEVER wash with pressure. you may want to change oil in primary and in engine. also pull off air box for inspection. you could have water in the intake. I wouldn't run it anymore until then... good luck | ||
| Swordsman |
Maybe check for water trapped in the spark plug wire covers. Could be causing a short, or they could just be loose if you brushed over the front one. That's the most exposed electronics I can think of. If the temperature swings pretty far between rides, it will make the bike run bad, but that should clear up after the bike warms and the AFV has a chance to readjust (typically 10-20 minutes of riding @ 3000-4000 rpms). I'm sure someone will mention a TPS reset, though I have no idea where that sensor is located or if it could get wet. Unless you were using an actual pressure washer, I don't think there's any chance of needing any fluid changes. I doubt a garden hose could penetrate any seals. ~SM (Message edited by swordsman on October 01, 2008) | ||
| Xl1200r |
Don't let Cityxslicker catch wind of this... | ||
| Squash |
swordsman: there is a trans vent tube that can get water into it and mix with primary oil and mess up bearings if he used a pressure }washer. don't ask how I know... | ||
| Ez_rider |
Squash - The trans vent hose is up under the seat, near the fan, right? How would you get water up there? It seems like it would take a direct aim up under the seat to get water in that hose... FWIW, I've had about a dozen bikes now, and I've always used the garden hose on the highest direct spray setting, and never had a problem. For the past 10 years or so, I've been using S-100 cycle cleaner and high direct water pressure, and it's the only way to go. No scrubbing necessary. | ||
| Spatten1 |
Problems with pressure washer: 1) Blows grease out of swingarm pivot. 2) Blows grease out of sealed bearings. | ||
| California69gs |
no, it wasn't a pressure washer. a garden hose, but with the attachment i have on it, it does spray hard. This was the first time i washed it and i was losing daylight. i fired it up right away, let it idle for a couple minutes then shut her down. All seemed fine. now the last couple time's i've driven it.......yeah it's horrible. Chugging/surging acceleration, popping exhaust.......i actually turned it around yesterday after about 3 blocks as i was unsure i'd make it to work. It's due for an oil change anyway, so i picked up some oil, filter, and a torque wrench. i've got a trans red airbox cover, but it's still got the black 03 case under it so i don't think i could've got water in the air filter? Did a "really" brief look over the bike, maybe something loose, but to be honest i don't even know what i'm looking for? | ||
| Acejay |
its just water so it should dry out eventually. i've had the exact same thing happen after giving it just a regular wash, dunno where i got the water, but it sort of idled OK, but it was a freakin struggle to make it move without dying. it took a little while for it to dry out. how many days ago was this now, and have you ridden further than 3 blocks? probably just needs a real good run and get the whole thing up to temp to dry it out. and yes, some buells - like mine - run horrible when the air is cold. takes a while for them to warm up too. | ||
| Squash |
ez-rider: I am the second owner of my bike. and long story short. the vent tube for tranny was straight up asking for water. now the motor vent is more like 3 ft long. but what a bitch to have gotten all that water in my tranny. it caused a failed bearing on trans mainshft and I had to tear it down G.D.-IT anyone reads this check your tranny vent tube, some dumb ass from harley could be laughing at us all.. | ||
| California69gs |
yeah i've driven 5 miles one day.......back and forth to work.......10 miles total.......the next day i went 3 blocks and turned around.....it's been nearly a week now, but i haven't tried it in 2 days. Started it up about an hour ago and it's still idling really rough, flick the throttle and it lags then back to low idle almost to the point of dieing. | ||
| Bombardier |
Try drying out the connectors under the front belt drive sprocket cover. | ||
| California69gs |
changed out the oil, needed to be done anyway. Started up fine, drove 10 miles. Did just fine. on the way home about a mile away the bike killed at an intersection. Same shuddering/pulling.....then died several times in a row, i just couldn't keep it going. made it home but i had to keep it at about 4000 rpm to keep it going. now i'm home, pulled a ton of stuff off. checking connections and i see nothing out of order. i tried advancing the timing...helped for a minute or two.....then again it dropped to 500rmp and died. now it won't stay running longer then a minute unless i throttle up, so as i let off the throttle it dies?? | ||
| Squash |
could be water in gas. get some water remover gas treatment and get a full fill up of 93.... I'll keep checking this post.. | ||
| Punkid8888 |
since its an 03, how about the spark plug wires and boots. I have heard lots of story of them getting dried out and cracking, as well as rubbbing on the frame, and then when you add water to it the start arcing over to the frame and causing all sorts of problems | ||
| California69gs |
nope, they looked good. My buddy, original owner, is who i bought the bike from. Save for updates he did all the service himself, which is why i think it's been so happy for so long. he's one of the lucky one's who never even had the belt break. i've got the original belt on my 03 with 15.5K on it. The wires and plugs were just replaced last year with high performance he told me. he said there's not much left to make the bike faster/better, it's already been done in the 4 years he owned it. | ||
| Squash |
could be a bad coil. sounds like your running on 1 cylinder. also if you take the bottom chin fairing off,and then the front black cover on the right side of bike there is ALL your harness's. check them out. | ||
| California69gs |
ok where is the coil? And what should I do with it? I had those parts off then I changed the oil. disconnected and then reconnected. Disconected the battery for a minute then hooked it back up. still no better. If it was on one cylinder wouldn't it be more of a loping or chugging sound? It just won't idle, soon as I let off the throttle it dies. If i don't throttle it up right away it dies? Also in case I didnt mention it already, thanks everyone for helping me do this. My buddy is starting to regret selling her to me I think. I'd ask him but I feel bad as I've already bugged the crap out of him for a ton of stuff. Since selling it I've put in 87 octane and is ran like crap and he came over, then I wanted to upgrade the belt and I bugged him at work for weeks with parts questions, then my wife backed over it and dragged it a few feet and he helped me put er back together.......and I 've only owned it a couple months, swear to god I've been taking care of it best I can, lol | ||
| Sparky |
Keep up the good work by learning all you can about it. If you don't know where the coil is, that means you probably haven't checked the plug wires condition. The coil is on the left side of the frame/tank under the airbox floor. Take those "high performance" plug wires out and inspect them very carefully looking for evidence of water inside the cap/boots and for abrasions on the outer jacket. Then throw them away. This is my opinion, but I'd replace the "high performance" plug wires with the standard Buell plug wires regardless of how good the old wires are supposed to be. The Buell plug wires were redesigned for 2004 and are a big improvement over previous years offerings with a tighter seal on the spark plug insulator, a better fit on the coil posts and are the correct length for your model. Also they are the correct impedance for the Buell ignition system. No hit-and-miss with these! (er, bad pun, sorry  ) | ||
| Squash |
buell recommends 91 or higher octane. your bike only holds 3 gallons, its worth the money for the good stuff, also I agree with sparky you need to check all ignition. I am willing to bet thats your prob. when was the last time the plugs were changed? Does your engine light come on? I think you need: new plugs plug wires 93 octane fill up | ||
| California69gs |
no I learned my lesson the first time with the gas. I ONLY put in 91 octane and I filled the tank recently so she's still full. The plugs as expected look brand new, but had some weird gel on them? So I whiped off the gel and put the boots back on. No difference still. on a side not getting to those plugs is a pain in the ass. I'm working the next 3 days so if you don't hear from me that's why. is there a certain coil i should get? | ||
| Squash |
the gel is electric grease. you only have 1 coil box. I suggest taking your bike in for service. | ||
| California69gs |
ok..........bike is running........not well, but running. I changed out the spark plugs. i think the boots might be bad as well because some clear coating looks to be coming off. Went to dealer and picked up the new spark plugs, then they also suggested some octane booster. So she's running, rough, but running. Went idle for 10-15 minutes and the fan engaged so it got warm and didn't kill the whole time. i'd post some video but i don't know a free host? | ||
| Froggy |
Youtube  | ||
| California69gs |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49SoIxxn5OU | ||
| Kowpow225 |
Interesting... initially it idled too high but then fell back to normal at the 1 minute mark. (Message edited by kowpow225 on October 11, 2008) | ||
| California69gs |
and when I took that vid it had already been running for a couple minutes. at least it doesn't just die anymore. But I'm more then a little nervous to drive it. sorry about some of the sound quality. Around the 2 1/2 minute mark it does some of the weird idle up/down then nearly dies.......I'd just take it into the shop but at $80 a hour.....well you know....... | ||
| Xl_cheese |
As mentioned before- try a tps reset and report back. | ||
| California69gs |
Well i broke down and took it into the shop. Well actaully they picked it up. First try it was a simple slap onto the computer and all was well. Turns out the air to fuel was all messed up. They reset the computer and all was well.........for awhile...then i started having problems again. Took it in for a second time. Turns out when i changed the plugs i stripped the threads on the rear cylinder. So they took her apart to mill and rethread. Turned out the manifold gaskets were leaking as well. So $800 later, they say it's fixed. haven't picked it up yet. |
