Spark Plug cleaning feature on 08 XB12XT

[Dysan]

Hello, I am new to this forum and a new owner of a 2008 Ulysses XT. I love this bike but I am experiencing something that the previous owner never has. Every so often when I turn the key on, without cranking the engine, I hear a “pop or poof” sound then smoke rises from the vent over the gas tank. The smoke smells like exhaust gasses. I read about the plug clear feature but I am not twisting the throttle to activate this feature. Could it be doing it automatically? Any insight is appreciated and I apologize if I posted this incorrectly. I have videos of this I will try to post. Thank you.

 

[user_deleted]

here is what's happening and the probable solution and NO....the "auto spark plug/combustion chamber clearing" process is not being initiated on its own. impossible! the event you described was a partial combustion process with the fumes from combustion blowing out the intake valve and up thru the TB eventually into atmosphere...hence the aroma and sound.
1-auto clearing feature can only be achieved by holding throttle wide open....placing red run switch to on position...and then turning on the key. if you are NOT doing this the auto feature will NOT activate
2-occasionally when you shut off the motor the intake valve in one and only one cylinder remains partially open. a random occurrence. unspent fuel droplets then form a combustible vapor in that cylinder and remain there for a period of time. that amount of time dependent on tons of variables.
3-you now proceed to start the bike with the above random conditions in place and hear a "pop or poof" as you described it coming from the airbox area in conjunction with combustion aroma....perhaps even a wisp of smoke.
4-how did this happen? simply put your coil fired. it is a "dual-fire" design. why did this happen? it found a ground source and activated itself firing both plugs and causing this event.
the solution? start checking all your grounds. i've listed the 2008 ulysses grounds on here 25X or more. YOU HAVE AN INADEQUATE AND/OR BAD GROUND. simple as that.

 

[Dysan]

Wow, what a great reply and so fast. Thank you very much for your help I will check the grounds try to find where you posted the grounds. I’m doing this from my phone I have to switch to a computer to find it.

 

[user_deleted]

Wow, what a great reply and so fast. Thank you very much for your help I will check the grounds try to find where you posted the grounds. I’m doing this from my phone I have to switch to a computer to find it.

my pleasure. your 2008 XB-XT has factory grounds as follows:
steering neck/triple clamp pinch bolt area. check there closely and you'll find the ground wires loom
large main ground wire which is a bare braided wire atop the dog-bone beneath rear of airbox base plate
small multiple ground wires all black in color in vicinity of ecm/battery box area
the negative battery cable to battery terminal
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" to frame attachment point.
a cursory visual check worthless. locate all the grounds....remove all the fasteners...carefully clean all terminal ends and check for integrity....reattach and tighten.

 

[Cooter]

Wow I got learned today. Never even heard of that function before. Thanks Lunatic!

 

[Silverrider]

here is what's happening and the probable solution and NO....the "auto spark plug/combustion chamber clearing" process is not being initiated on its own. impossible! the event you described was a partial combustion process with the fumes from combustion blowing out the intake valve and up thru the TB eventually into atmosphere...hence the aroma and sound.
1-auto clearing feature can only be achieved by holding throttle wide open....placing red run switch to on position...and then turning on the key. if you are NOT doing this the auto feature will NOT activate
2-occasionally when you shut off the motor the intake valve in one and only one cylinder remains partially open. a random occurrence. unspent fuel droplets then form a combustible vapor in that cylinder and remain there for a period of time. that amount of time dependent on tons of variables.
3-you now proceed to start the bike with the above random conditions in place and hear a "pop or poof" as you described it coming from the airbox area in conjunction with combustion aroma....perhaps even a wisp of smoke.
4-how did this happen? simply put your coil fired. it is a "dual-fire" design. why did this happen? it found a ground source and activated itself firing both plugs and causing this event.
the solution? start checking all your grounds. i've listed the 2008 ulysses grounds on here 25X or more. YOU HAVE AN INADEQUATE AND/OR BAD GROUND. simple as that.

Lunaticfringe, On what year Buells does this "auto spark plug/combustion chamber clearing" process work on ? Kool info thx.

 

[user_deleted]

Lunaticfringe, On what year Buells does this "auto spark plug/combustion chamber clearing" process work on ? Kool info thx.

from the 2008-2010 XB/1125 TSB dealer notice issued way back when. i don't think it's an available function of the 2007 and earlier XB ecm units. the process does activate the CEL and put it in "blink" mode but stops once process completed. and it actually does work!

as follows: SPARK PLUG CLEANING PROCEDURE

2008 XB and 1125R Buell motorcycles provide a feature to help clear residual fuel from the combustion chamber if a flooded engine or fouled spark plugs are suspected. This is achieved by opening the throttle to wide open, setting the Run/Stop switch to Run, then turning the ignition switch ON. This will fire the spark plugs for approximately 4 seconds, burning any fuel left over in the combustion chamber. It may be necessary to repeat this procedure several times to allow a severely flooded engine to start.

NOTE: Motorcycle should be in Neutral.

 

[Silverrider]

Thx you , Buell Whisper.

 

[Dysan]

Hi, you provided me great info before. Now I have a new problem. My horn is not working nor are the 2 12v Power plugs. The fuses are good and the horn works when hooked to a battery. Any advice?
Thanks again.

 

[Dysan]

Hi, now my horn and power plugs aren’t working. Fuses are good. Any ideas?

 

[njloco]

Did you check them for continuity? If they're not hot, check appropriate fuses, if they're good, start tracing the wires for possible breaks.

 

[user_deleted]

Hi, now my horn and power plugs aren’t working. Fuses are good. Any ideas?

simple trouble-shoot and fix. if you don't have one buy yourself one as per pic. a few bucks buys quality and a lifetime of assistance. on your ulysses simply remove the windscreen to access the horn and wiring in the headlight bucket area.
the bucket bracket is a large ground source as is any black wire observed in that area.....black wire in 4-wire headlight wiring harness also ground source. then do this:
1-go to headlight wiring harness and disconnect. you'll be probing the ORANGE wire in the harness on the main harness side.....NOT the headlight assembly side. with key on and test light grounded probe the orange wire on the harness plug end....NOT the headlight assembly harness plug end. test light should light. if not it is not grounded properly. after establishing that test light is now working plug the harness back together and move on to next step.
2-turn key on....red-run switch to on just to be sure....make sure the wiring plug is connected to horn....press horn button....and probe horn terminal with test light. test light does NOT illuminate? try the other horn terminal. test light NOW illuminuates? bad ground for horn circuit.
3-do precisely the same procedure for your uly dash mounted power outlet. CAUTION HOWEVER: when doing the test you will be probing the center connector terminal inside of the outlet. that is the positive source of the outlet. do NOT touch the sides of the outlet with the test light probe while performing this test or you'll pop the circuit fuse.
4-you'll find that it was not coincidental that both your horn and power outlet ceased operating at the same time. they both source their ground from the steering neck area ground loom. your problem lies there.

 

[rchuff]

John has always had the best write ups on this site. I had always wished 07 and under had that option for cleaning plugs. Nice write up John as always.

 

[user_deleted]

John has always had the best write ups on this site. I had always wished 07 and under had that option for cleaning plugs. Nice write up John as always.

thanks much ricky for the kind words.

 

[Outlaw]

I give that ^^^^ a big he'll yeah.
' Merica. Let's make some stuff.

 

[Dysan]

Lunaticfringe, you were exactly right. Thank you so much for your extremely helpful and detailed responses. I found a broken ground wire in the horn area that fixed the horn and outlets. Do you think this broken ground wire could be the problem I was experiencing with the “poof” and combustion from the coil firing? I really appreciate you assistance.

 

[user_deleted]

Lunatic is just channeling his inner teabag....

LOL jay! and for what it's worth if you could capitalize "TEABAG" in the future it's even more of an attention-getter.

 

[user_deleted]

Lunaticfringe, you were exactly right. Thank you so much for your extremely helpful and detailed responses. I found a broken ground wire in the horn area that fixed the horn and outlets. Do you think this broken ground wire could be the problem I was experiencing with the “poof” and combustion from the coil firing? I really appreciate you assistance. ��

you're quite welcome and thanks much for the kind words. always appreciated. keep this in mind about electrons....buells...and your bike in general. vehicle current ALWAYS flows from ground source to the positive battery terminal. always! think of it in terms of a lightning strike from a tall object such as a tree....tall building....tv transmission tower. they are all "grounded". a lightning strike flows from that object up to the positively charged atmosphere.....from ground to positive. simplest way i can explain it. XB model buells are very smooth runners at speed but shake and vibrate like hell at idle and just off idle which is tough on batteries, fasteners, and ground sources. your coil is activated by the bikes' ecm which sends the coil a "ground" signal to make it fire both plugs simultaneously. an ecm with a "confused" ground does weird things. i don't know if faulty front end grounds in the headlight bucket area and steering neck would have caused your "poof and pop" problem but anything's possible. many but not all XB's also have a small multi-wire ground cluster near the battery box/ecm area. it's a cluster of a few black wires going to frame ground. if you find that little cluster on your bike address it with my prior instructions.

 

[Dysan]

Hi Lunaticfringe, is Rotella T6 a good oil to use in my Uly?

 

[njloco]

Most of us use 20-50 Vtwin amsoil in both holes but I don't see why you couldn't as long as it meets the MFG requirements.