| Author | Message | ||
     Chrisrogers3 |
So I ran down my list of problems with my 2008 Firebolt not starting and there seems to be an issue with the fuel pump. I do have confirmed power going to the pump itself but the pump will not cycle at all now. I also pulled the fuel line at the throttle body and there was absolutely no fuel pressure there when cycling the ignition. So the question is, whats everyones input on the pumps. The bike has 6600 miles and is an 08. I havent had any issues with a pump in the past and I know the wiring sometimes gets screwed up in there. Has anyone else had a total fuel pump failure outside of the wiring issues? Im just torn on taking the bike to the dealer (under warranty) where they will sit on it for a week to two or pulling the swingarm and draining the dang full tank of gas and pulling the pump myself. | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
Well, it depends on whether you want to pay for it to be fixed, or have Buell pay for it. I cannot imagine why anyone would voluntarily spend time and money on something that is covered under a manufacturers warranty. Let the dealer do it and put the money in an account to use for repairs when your warranty has expired. | ||
| Akbuell |
If I am reading the wiring diagram in the service manual correctly, power comes from the fuel pump fuse (first thing to check) to the pump via the orange/grey wire. The brown/yellow wire is the control circuit to the ECM. Black is ground. With a multimeter, you can make some checks to be sure the pump is getting power and is grounded properly in the main harness. I am sure that unplugging the pump from the harness and supplying 12v and a ground to it could show whether it is working (If I Knew How The Control Circuit Worked !!!). I suspect the ECU provides power to close a solenoid which turns the pump on. I think. All that being said, check the wiring harness end of the plug to see if you have volts and a ground. Simple enough. And then take it to the dealer. Use your warranty. | ||
| Rogue_biker |
I will go the other way for one reason and one reason alone: DO NOT TRUST YOUR BUELL DEALER! Unless you know their mechanics have worked on Buells, have actually done the Fuel Pump replacement, do NOT let them touch your Buell. This is all based on my personal experience. When my Firebolt's fuel pump went bad, my local dealer wanted to DROP THE ENGINE to remove the swingarm! IDIOTS! And when I got my bike back (I told them NOT to do the work), it was put back together with a sloppiness of a monkey (hence the name wrench-monkey). I had to ask myself, did I really want these same idiots to drop my motor and replace such a vital part of my bike? NO FREAKIN' WAY!!!! If I were in your shoes, knowing what I know now, I would fix the issue myself. The Buell fuel pumps have one flaw that fails: the wiring harness inside lies unprotected and eventually rubs against the housing, causing a short circuit in the pump. The pump itself is reliable. If you take your bike to the dealer and have them "fix it" under warranty, they will simply replace your whole fuel pump. That same fuel pump will likely have the same wiring harness flaw. So now they will drop your swing arm to do this only to replace a part with the same part that is flawed! So you are simply delaying the inevitable failure of that new pump. It's silly but the dealership doesn't care! I recommend that you fix it yourself. It is very easy if you have the right tools. You don't need to drop the swing arm either. If you choose to do this work, let me know and I will post a detail work up on it, give you a complete parts list, etc. I just did the work on my Firebolt and it was well worth the effort. The best part is, no so called "Buell Mechanic" touched my bike so I know the work was done 100% right and by the book! | ||
| Aidan203 |
Not every dealer is the same. I'm sure they know about the harness problem. | ||
| Rogue_biker |
9 times out of 10 they won't know jack about the bike nor any harness problem. That's why I said, if there is a dealership nearby that knows what they are doing and have done that work before, by all means, use them. Otherwise, the wiser choice is to do it yourself. If you can change the oil and the spark plugs on the Firebolt, you can fix the fuel pump. | ||
| Iamarchangel |
Warranty: if I have to put out more than $25 and/or more than 30 minutes for something under warranty, I would..., I don't know, can't think of anything, I simply wouldn't do that under any circumstance. First, you paid for the warranty in the purchase price. Use it. Second, it tracks the problem. You can go up the chain to Buell. You're on your own if you're on your own time. Third, you haven't said if your dealership is actually bad. Somebody else is insisting they're all bad because his was. Mine is good. Disproves his rule, very sorry about his luck. Even so, if they screw up, it's all recorded and can be made good. (BTW, my dealer always does a pre walk around and signs off. No scratches on their notes means they did it if it's there after. Easy. See if yours will do that.) | ||
| Chrisrogers3 |
Here is the deal, my dealership isnt bad at all, they have fixed all my issues in the past and they no doubt would have fixed this one too. I take my Uly to them all the time. The issue regarding this was my dealer couldnt get it in till thursday and I absolutely need the bike back on friday. So they couldnt help me. I also tracked down the issue. My fuel pump was only getting 8.74 Volts to it and it needs 13.2 volts to cycle on. Turned out it was a short in my harness where it plugs into the ecm (of course I found that out after I pulled the pump). | ||
| Akbuell |
Good on ya for finding the problem. Good info to know, thanks. Dave |
