issues with 01' X1

[zippitta]

Ok... the bike has 10k miles on it, has the Force racing exhaust, K&N air filter, and a power commander.

I just picked this bike up 2 days ago in trade for a welder..

Here are the systems... the engine light comes on at every stop-light(overheat related Im sure because it goes out as soon as I start moving again), but it hasnt gone into skip mode on me yet.

Also the motor breaks up pretty bad at about 4k-5k RPMs when under load(usually just 4th and 5th gear, but every now and again in 3rd).

other than that, the bike seems to be running fine. maybe a little rough when just cruising...not sure because I dont know how a new/unmodded one rides.

Could it just be running lean causing these issues?

[zippitta]

Im no longer leaning towards the bike being lean causing the break-up. I think there is a short in the ignition switch maybe. The bike lost power and stalled on me twice while riding. I think the short just might have progressively gotten worse. When the bike lost power all I had to do was tap the ignition key and the power would come back on. Now the stutter is present during cruising and sometime when I take off, itll bog for a second and then pick-up and go.... hopefully all i need to do is replace that switch

[zippitta]

Ruled out a dying battery/bad charging system causing the power loss... battery checked at 12.2v and went up to 12.35 when idling, and up to 12.55 at 3k RPM... so, the charging is working....

would it be a good idea to hot wire the ignition to see if that is whats causing the power loss while driving?

[zippitta]

got to messing with the wires behind the ignition switch... the wires were hot to the touch after just a minute of having the ignition switch to the on position... I really hope this is the cause to the stutter/power loss problems

[strmvt]

wish ya luck my friend electrical gremlins are the worst

[zippitta]

Ok, I fixed the ignition switch and now it doesnt cut out as far as shutting off on me, but Im still experiencing a break-up while driving. It cruises rough and it breaks-up partial throttle under load and wide-open throttle.

So Im either losing spark or it is running super lean. Im about to go check to see if I killed the plugs because thinking about it, I didnt notice any running issues until after a banged it off the rev limiter a few times.

[zippitta]

Well, spark plugs look great. Electrode looks clean and unworn, and the prong is a grayish color

[zippitta]

Well, I checked the resistance of the temp sensor from both the connector on the sensor itself and running to the ECU connector both numbers were the same... the motor was still a little warm probably 90+ when I started and it checked at about 26.3 with my multimeter set at 200k so Im assuming that means the resistance is about 26,300 ohms(Im not an electrician so I hope Im reading my meter right)... and as the motor cooled even more it went up to 27.7( again assuming that means 27,700 ohms).... i downloaded a manual for a 99' to 00' and according to that table it is pretty much right on for that temp range... and I wiggled the sensor wire around and couldnt get the reading to change at all, so Im certain there is no short in the wire anywhere... oh well, back to do some more trouble shooting... if anyone has any suggestions as to what could be wrong, please, I am open to check just about anything. I just got this bike and I really want to ride it...lol

[zippitta]

I did some looking around and found out how to jump the diagnostic plug and get the bike to flash codes....

it flashed code 23(front injector) and code 32(rear injector)

Before I go to replacing the injectors, is it possible that the power commander that I have installed on the bike is causing these codes to be tripped? Also, I had the battery disconnected since the last time I rode, shouldnt that have cleared any of the codes?

[zippitta]

Well, I pulled the tank off, drained it, replaced the fuel filter, removed the injectors, cleaned them, put it all back together.... NOW ITS RUNNING WORSE THAN IT DID BEFORE!!!!!!! What the *&#*&( !!!!!! Dealership, here I come

[zippitta]

Get this, riding the bike to the dealership, the bike ran like crap... popping, backfiring, missing, it stalled on me once, then I tried revving it to maybe clear out any trash that might have gottne into on eof the injectors and then the bike started running on one cylinder, I couldnt go faster than 50 mph.... then after about a mile the other cylinder started firing again. Then after about 5 miles of riding, the bike just stopped acting up completely. Stopped sputtering, back firing, missing, and I could run it through every gear partial throttle or WOT... i was like wow, maybe it finally cleared itself out. Nope, about 5 miles from the dealership, it started acting up again..... hopefully they can figure it out pretty quickly.... right now, they are leaning towards a fuel issue, whether it be the injectors, or the power commander.... wish me luck guys.

[desmo]

Looks like your keeping this thread alive yourself! Interesting stuff, please keep us updated and sorry I can't provide any assistance.

[ztied]

Is there any chance the ecm is bad,Good time to have a buddy with the same bike.Please due update.Thanks

[myronman3]

well if nothing else it i am following ya, did you get fresh gas in the bike? injectors clogged? keep us posted.

[Trill]

I had similar issues with my 2006 XB and it ended up being a short to ground from the ECM. The wire harness coming from the ecm rubbed through on my battery terminal and was shorting out. Same stuff that is happening to you.. would pop and stall and even left me stranded once. For a while it was minor and ended up taking a few days for it to completely crap out. A little electrical tape and no more problems.. I would check the wires carefully comeing from the ECM.

[ajgerdes]

just take off the power commander have heard of x1's acting up because of it. Since you have went through most of the bike now im betting its your problem.

[LeFox]

personally i would remove the power commander & check the fuel pressure.

[zippitta]

Update,

I decided to ditch the FI on the bike and I am taking it to a shop tomorrow and they are going to convert it to carb :) ... that should fix all the issues....lol

I took the bike to the Harley Dealership and they said they couldnt get the bike to misfire. But they did say my charging system was reading 1 volt low 13.5v instead of 14.5v @ 3k rpm. I was like oh well, it must be fuel related and told them to stop diagnosing it. I pick the bike up after paying $180 for their time. They were locking the doors as I was about to leave and guess what? As soon as I start the bike I it was missing and backfiring... I was like WTF? how did they not notice this? Then as I was leaving the bike was stumbling all over itself. It was missing and backfiring all the way home. So I thought about it and figured maybe the battery is just getting drawn down because they did say the bike wasnt charging at the rate that it should. I got home and was almost immediately positive that that wasnt the issue though. The battery read 12.7v with the bike off. Charging is fine, but I threw my charger on there for 2 hours just in case. Start it up to ride it, and its even worse. I had to restart the bike probably 4 times to keep it running. It would try to die even blipping the throttle. I take it for a spin. Taking off, it was stumbling worse than before and it was running even rougher. So it is just progressively getting worse. On the ride back to the house the check engine lamp came on. It was 85 degrees out and I was cruising about 55mph, so I knew it wasnt overheating. Then before I knew it the bike went to running on only one cylinder. But when I would open the throttle up a bit more, it would start firing on both cylinders, but it was still missing/breaking up pretty bad. I checked the codes as soon as I got back, it flashed codes 13, 23, and 32. It was flashing codes 23 and 32 before(even right after I disconnected the battery and I think it should have cleared any codes). The only new code was 13 for the O2 sensor. So it boils down to injector issue, fuel pump is going bad, ECM is bad, O2 sensor is bad(doubtful since it is brand new), or possibly a vacuum leak(I doubt it because even thought the problem progressively worsened, it got bad fast). Its just weird how something can go from running perfect to barely running at all so quickly, but at the same time it not being instantaneous like a part failure. Which leads me to believe its not ECM failure. Who knows, but I hope its just fuel related because if I spend all this money swapping it to carb, Im going to be ticked it turns out to be something else....lol. Wish me luck guys.

FYI, these problems arent the only reason Im swapping to carb... from what I have read, the FI system on the X1 is terrible, causes nothing but problems, and hinders your ability to make it go faster....lol. I plan to build the motor up and after speaking with NHRS and a local HD engine builder they both said that the carb is pretty much the only way to go if I want to make any decent power. So I figured Id kill 2 birds with one stone, get the bike running well and open up the doors for more power. I just wish the bike was running well so I could ride it until the parts came in :(

[ROBO]

Have you found out the problem yet?? My Uly xb12 is having the exact same issue. The same codes as yours are coming up also. The problems began immediately after taking the bike to a pressure washer following some off-road riding.

I changed the plug wires, the plugs, the ignition coil, reset the tps, did a wiggle test. I put fuel stabilizer in the engine and clean gas, but it's running like it needs to pass a kidney stone or something. It's so frustrating and I'd love to hear what you've done.

[zippitta]

Well Robo, when I dropped it off at the shop, I tried to start the bike to show the guy what it was doing. It didnt fire...lol. So the progressive problem, finally hit its worse. I have not figured out exactly what the problem was yet, but I think as soon as they pull that cam position sensor out, they are going to find it melted or something....lol. I will definitely keep you posted as to what the problem ended up being(I cant let it rest until I figure it out, I am going to go through and test each part individually, until I figure out exactly what caused everything to go south) and I will definitely post the results of the carb swap, I am excited. It should be finished sometime next week. Im just waiting for the intake manifold to come in. Somehow, they are back ordered from Harley :(

[popeye13433]

i would try to run a bit of fuel system cleaner in it. my old x1 experienced it a bit but the cleaner got it running up right. i had a buell race ecm on mine with the v&h full exhaust and force winder with K&N. in order to clear your codes i believe its 50 start cycles disconnecting the battery wont just clear them i ran into that when i ran it with out the exhaust on (had to see what she sounded like)

[zippitta]

Ok, I just got the bike back on Friday. The tech at H&D Cycles thinks that the power commander took a crap because when he disconnected it, the bike fired right up. I went the carb route anyways and I have to say I am definitely happy. I made 90.2 HP and 83 ft-lbs of torque. The power curve is smoother and broader than any other bike I have owned in the past. I love it :D Too bad I cant ride it again for another month or so. I broke my collar bone back in June and re-broke it again today :( Just my luck.