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Junior Member
XB9SX - check engine light, power and dimming headlights + stall
Seems like I am back with another unusual problem, which is a bit sad! I must say I have definitely enjoyed my Buell quite a bit, putting a fair few kilometers on it last year, but recently this year I have begun to have some odd problems regarding electric power and the check engine light (which has so many codes that is quite the nest to dive in to). If anyone recognizes the problem and there is a previous post dealing with it in this forum here I will gladly read over that one in its entirety, but here goes.
After around 30 to 40 minutes of riding my XB9SX I have the check engine light pop up on the dash. It will usually pop on for just a few moments and then go away, but I have learned that this is the beginning of my problems after doing three test rides. After this, after a bit of time passing my headlight will begin to dim, up until the check engine light comes on once more. If I am rolling along there does not seem to be any loss of power in the engine, and I can sometimes get rid of it by revving and powering out of the little episode (or so I thought.) Today, in looking for more tests regarding this issue I was rounding a slow corner in town, and the lights dimmed once more, check engine light came on, and I felt the bike hang up for just a tiny moment, very nearly stalling. I gave it some more power and went through the corner, but knowing something was up I pulled into a nearby parking lot.
As soon as I came to a stop the engine hung up, and died, lights dimming and everything. The dash reset at the same time, all dials doing the start up wave dance twice over as the bike struggled to get power. The clock reset as well, so I know the machine fully lost power for a moment there. I wondered if it was a battery issue, since it certainly seemed like it, but I could start up and stop multiple times without the problem resurfacing at all, nothing happening there on idle either, other than the fan coming on (more on this later). I was able to limp back home with the check engine light only coming on once more briefly and not having anymore problems with about ten minutes of driving, save for the fan coming on once again... and then again, and again. It seemed as though the machine was running very hot and the fan was trying to keep up. So at first what I thought may have been some sort of electrical battery issue might instead be an overheating issue? I wondered if the fan was running so much that it was draining the battery or something like that, so that after enough time passed the power was running low (which would be a huge problem itself there, possibly bad battery in that case) but upon coming home I have tested the battery voltage and it is sitting at 12.8 which is certainly a healthy level. So now I turn to you guys, does this sound much like an overheating issue? The fuel tank was quite hot at the end of the ride, and the fan coming on suggests that it could be overheating, but I haven't really encountered any of the issues related to overheating that I have seen elsewhere in this forum - i.e. skip sparking (unless that corner hangup I noticed was a skip spark) unusual revs or other engine problems. My fuel level was okay, just over half, so I don't think it was fuel boiling in the tank and causing odd things related to that.
I changed the oil at the beginning of the year, it is using genuine Harley Davidson synthetic, levels all seem to check out when looking at the dipstick, and the oil is not fouled already.
Tracing things back, one of my last rides in the previous year had ended prematurely from my bike refusing to turn over. Turns out battery had died back then, so I got a new one for this year, so I am running on a brand new battery.
Things I have tested and checked - I have looked through the error logs on ECMdroid, and my first test ride had a logged code saying low battery voltage but that never came up again (which is what started my hunting of a power problem.) I have gone through a few electrical things, TPS reset, I have check all grounds on the machine to make sure they are set correctly. I have checked the battery connections too, all of that is fine. I changed the spark plugs, wondering if there was something odd there - just a direct swap of NGK Iridium plugs to another identical set. In terms of heating I did have thermal padding in between the seat and the engine, which I have just removed tonight if it is an overheating issue. I also have the right scoop installed for more airflow, and have the whole time.
Information on the bike - XB9SX 2008
-K&N Air Filter
-Bueltooth ECM
-Bueltooth SS Exhaust
-NGK Spark Plugs
If this is an overheating issue I am not sure why it is coming up in this exact way. I am not running in overly hot, stop and go scenarios, driving before the event is usually from 60-80km/h, so should enough air getting in there to cool things off, especially so including the right air scoop. I'm a little bit at a loss here. Once again, if this looks like a previous post just point me in that direction and I'll read it, looking to try anything to be fair. Thank you very much for any information provided. I will continue to find other things around and follow up if I can.
Last edited by kaboom!; 05-18-2021 at 11:45 PM.
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