2003 XB9R died while going down the street.

[thesock]

2003 XB9R 4.5K miles. Battery is ~2 months old, some basic NAPA $80 replacement; I replaced the battery 2 months ago due to poor starting.

So I was riding my bike today and while driving @ ~30mph it cut out, dash turned off and giving it throttle had no response. Got to the side of the road and the dash would not turn on and the bike was unresponsive. Checked fuses, they were good as well as the relays. Got a ride home and once I came back, I put in 1 gallon of gas. The dash turned on but the bike would not turn over, I apparently put in one of the fuses wrong. I promptly loaded the bike on my truck and went home.

Once I got home I charged the battery, secured the terminals and fixed the incorrect fuse placement now the bike turns over and fires up instantly. The ground cable to left of the battery is secure, I'm guessing from other troubleshooting posts this is either a stator or voltage regular issue or both. I'm wondering if there is any other reason for the motorcycle to do this especially while driving down the street.

I'm green in regards to electrical stuff but I have worked on 2 strokes. I'm just curious as to if there's anything I'm missing, my main concern is the bike dying while driving.

Thanks in advance.

 

[user_deleted]

on your 2003 you need to carefully check the following regarding possible causes/cures for your situation:
1-check to see if your factory sidestand switch is still installed. look at the stand by the mount. see the little button switch? remove the 2 wires.....source a quality MULTI-METER....place it on ohms...kickstand down of course.....pin the multi-meter leads to the 2 pins on the switch....read meter and work the button in and out on the switch. see dramatic change in meter readings? if so switch is ok. if not switch is faulty. replace it.
2-a stator or VR on the way to death-row will typically activate your CEL telling you a charging system fault OR low voltage issue has occurred. check that both cable ends are perfectly clean and secure to the battery.
3-wrong fuse placement? you must be referring to the diode fuse. when installed correctly the arrows point to the drive belt side of your XB. if wrong turn it around.
4-replace your battery fuse. it's 10 cents.
5-remove black plastic front pulley cover. see the large bundle of wires coming in from motor side that attach to harness plug then head towards battery area? that is your 77 connector. unplug....check for arcing/corrosion/burned connector spades....spray with kano kroil...reattach.
6-perform simplest charging system test known to mankind. others will chime in with lofty schematics, beautifully colored diagrams, incredibly complex instructions and other assorted jibberish. it's all bull****. take your multi-meter and set to DC VOLTS. start bike...warm motor...hold throttle @ constant 2500rpm. should see 13.2-14.4 volts.....in that vicinity is fine. do you?
the above check-list will get you started. you might have other issues but what you described is electrical interruption in nature and typically sourced to either the battery or charging system. report back with findings please or i get grumpy.

 

[Hughlysses]

Regarding #2 above, in my experience, a charging system problem will NOT cause a check engine light. I'd start out with step 6 and do a voltage check with the bike running.

 

[ocgreenmachine]

Any chance your initial issue was a battery terminal that jiggled loose? That would cause a loss of power.

 

[user_deleted]

Regarding #2 above, in my experience, a charging system problem will NOT cause a check engine light. I'd start out with step 6 and do a voltage check with the bike running.

does NOT always dump fault code #16 into the computer but almost always does....in my experience....activate the CEL however briefly. i only mentioned this possibility as a clue to what might be going on with his bike and trouble-shooting reference.

 

[Cooter]

Go through the steps Lunatic laid out for you. It may seem unnecessary, but proper diagnosis requires a systematic approach. Bouncing around and hoping to get lucky, requires......





Luck.

:upset:

 

[thesock]

Any chance your initial issue was a battery terminal that jiggled loose? That would cause a loss of power.

Terminals were good.

on your 2003 you need to carefully check the following regarding possible causes/cures for your situation:
1- It has the factory kickstand switch but I'm not seeing a button, I'm a very literal thinker so I'm looking for a push button, there's a plug that goes into the stand it appears and connectors. I'll take pictures tomorrow, when my garage has better lighting, and search the site to see if I can find clarification. I tested the connector but I imagine that's incorrect, when the stand was down I had no reading on the MM when the kickstand was up it gave me a reading then quickly went to 0.
2- No CEL came up and terminals cleaned.
3- Fuse placement was on me, had no lighting on the street and didn't slot it in correctly. All clear on that end.
4- Will do tomorrow hopefully.
5- Will do tomorrow as well if the lady's family permits it.
6-Came up 14.3-14.4V through out.

Thanks for the input, oughta keep me busy.

 

[thesock]

Here's a picture of the kickstand, trying to find a button and like I said I just can't find anything lol.

Fixed everything else save for checking the kickstand button, going to put it all back together tomorrow and if weather permits Saturday during the day I'm going to drive it around the block for an hour and see if it dies at all.

On a gray connector near the 77 there looks to be some oil residue. Is this anything to be concerning? It doesn't feel or smell of fuel and it definitely has the consistency of oil.

 

[thesock]

Two weeks later and bike's had no issues.

Cheers!

 

[user_deleted]

On a gray connector near the 77 Click image for larger version. Name: 1228161808.jpg Views: 4 Size: 86.8 KB ID: 6183 there looks to be some oil residue. Is this anything to be concerning? It doesn't feel or smell of fuel and it definitely has the consistency of oil.

hard to say unless you locate the source of the leak. i loathe any sort of leaks be it oil, fuel, coolant(ya---i know---shut up), brake fluid, etc. oil residue resulting from leakage in that particular vicinity of your bike typically starter gasket, trans/case vent line, base gasket, rear rocker cover gasket. clean thorougly.....dry well.....ride....with quality flashlight start to investigate. you'll find it but i'd concentrate on the black rubber 3/8th ID trans/case vent hose area.