Fried ECM and coil

[XBear9S]

http://docs.google.com/view?docid=d4rbxwr_20dq5khf

This should cast some perspective on your questions...
Voltage regulator Connector Service kit Y1312.02A8

Special K!
Central Texas Hill Country Hellbuellies
"I'm a Hellbuelly! What the hell are you?"

"If you want a bike that catches the eye of a 13 year old girl, get a CBR, Ninja or GSXR. Just don't get caught on NBC's Dateline. If you want a unique, fun to ride motorcycle that other sport bike riders drool over, get a Buell. (That is unless you had a Buell and then traded it for a GSXR) "

---BuellXB

 

[desotonorsocal]

Hey all,

I know this is an old thread, but I'm trying to dig up info rather than just making a new post. I've been digging in online everywhere and this *seems* to be close to the problem I'm having. At the moment, my '06 XB9CityX is dead in the water. I'd had my temp sensor replaced (fan cutting on/off, CEL on/off, rough running,etc) and it ran perfectly after that for another 500 miles. (Straight riding iron butt style) I parked it and left the state for two weeks then hopped on it to start commuting again and got the same exact symptoms. Before I could go out and buy ANOTHER temp sensor though, I jumped the 1 & 2 pins on the diag plug and got...well, pretty much every code that thing could throw at me. Bewildered, I left the trickle charger on overnight and tried it again. I *quickly* checked some common ground areas and such (I WAS on a long ride and I ran it 100 miles with the bad temp sensor which vibrated the bike enough to have me lose my kickstand; another story) and didn't see anything obvious. Before I wrapped up, I tried the diag again; tons of codes again. Tried to start it and instead of it acting like a bad temp sensor, the bike simply won't start. Ign on kill switch off I get everything except my neutral light (strange). Kill switch on, fuel pump primes as normal. Hit the go button and all I hear is a relay. (Rotated all relays to no affect)

Is it safe to assume I'm another victim of this voltage regulator issue, or worse, could it be the ECM? I was about to buy a new one until I realized they're 300 bucks.

BTW, I'm pretty mechanically inclined (though my background is in cars) but the moto electronics are voodoo magic to me so I've stayed away from them.

Any help, including a Long Beach Buell badass that I will gladly pay money, beer, and my hot-ass sister to, to get her back on the road would be appreciated! I commute 60 miles a day so $80/week in extra gas makes me think almost any price is worth getting her running again!

Thanks guys (and gals if you're out there) for all the input to date. I've been on here a lot, just haven't posted much.
-DeSoto
~Semper Fi~

 

[Tork]

@ desotonorsocal:
1. Is your battery verified as good? Take your battery to an auto parts store and have it bench tested under load. If it's bad, proceed in replacing the battery while also following the normal voltage checks to make sure the charging system is good, otherwise you may end up eating through batteries.
2. Check your battery cables to make sure they're properly tight.
3. Check your ground points throughout the chassis. Disconnect ground points and check to see if there's any corrosion and grind/sand/file if necessary to restore clean metal-to-metal ground connections.
4. If you suspect issues with your head temp sensor, follow the cable up from where it comes from the engine and runs next to the top of the frame. Rotate and twist the sensor wire around and look for chafing and possible shorting against the frame or other parts of the chassis. I've seen a couple of XBs where the insulation wore away and caused intermittent shorting, erratic performance, occasional check engine light, etc. (same symptoms you've described). To fix the grounding issue, you can take about 4-5 inches of vacuum tubing, slice it lengthwise and slip it onto the temp sensor wire to create a thick rub-proof sheath over it. Can also be done as prevention. Just another thing to check before throwing time and parts at the problem.

 

[desotonorsocal]

@Tork,

Thanks!
I finally pulled all of the plastic bits to trace all cables (ground, etc, as you suggested) and found nothing wrong. But when I was reconnecting the air/fuel sensor (?) (the sensor on the base of the air filter bottom) I tried to turn it on one more time. Got all the normal lights including the neutral light, and she fired up. I then basically started 'moving/shifting' the harness near the right side of the intake and yep, it would make the bike start and not start, and have the oil & neutral light not come on , etc.

So I've got it narrowed down. When it's running it's got the rough idle vibrating, smells like gas 'dead temp sensor' type symptoms I had when it actually WAS the temp sensor a few hundred miles ago.

I have the ECMSpy cable now so I'm going to 'see what I can see' over the next few days. Just gotta' learn that d**m program first, heh.
Not sure exactly what to do other than that, except that I guess I'll need to look at that/those harness(es) in that area.
-D

 

[Tork]

Sounds like you've already identified a wiring issue. Following that same method, you can try to isolate the problem by determining which part of the wiring harness causes the symptoms and then use the factory manual wiring diagrams and a multimeter to go through each wire and their associated connector. Check for continuity from connector-to-connector while again moving and twisting the harness to identify breaks or shorts. *Remember to disconnect the battery before doing this.

ECMSPY is not complicated, and the time spent getting familiar with it is worth it, even if you don't get into tuning. It's a great diagnostic tool and will help you understand how the various system components work together. There are many ECMSPY tutorials online and lots of helpful folks here on the forum to help if needed. If you need further assistance, consider opening a new thread so that it gets its own focus and attention.