xB9s ECM Problems

[0bs3ssi0n]

Hello i recently picked up a 03 buell xb9s at a extremely low price that has some issues im hoping i can tackle my self. ill cut to the chase.
when i first got it the bike would start but idle very rough, if you went to give it throttle it would die right when you twist the throttle unless you twist it far enough to push past the dieing point then it would sit at 2k rpm's idle rough and still eventually die unless you keep revving it right before it dies, however once in a while it will idle just fine and not die at all UNTIL you go to throttle it which brings us to where i am now.

the guy had a racing ECM in it "FOR RACE USE ONLY" and i think he didnt properly map and update everything when he put it in, and gave me 2 more stock ECM's, a power torque thing that has a bunch of connectors, a USB bluetooth connector, and a few other small things, so i figured i would just throw one of the stock ECM's in it since im not interested in racing learn how to TCP reset and all that jazz, well after removing the race ECM and trying both of the other ECM's the bike wont get power now so i thought "maybe both of those stock ECM's are bad not a big deal ill just buy a new stock ECM", well i put the racing ecm back in wich was working and i still cant get power back, not to my dash, stater anything... im working with about 450$ more i can put into this thing and i would like to find the cheapest route to getting it running stock.

what am i doing wrong that the bike isnt getting electrical power even putting the working race ecm back in?

 

[AZmidget91]

You didn't happen to buy this bike in Bisbee, AZ did you?

Any codes stored in the ecm?
I would check fuel pressure and check for an intake leak.

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

I did get this from bisbee, do you know something i dont?

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

ive restored power to the bike, right now im going to begin trouble shooting these 2 stock ECM's to see wich one is good, THEN see if im still getting the same stall problems, it seems to me that the bike is trying to run rich because of the race ecm, im hoping going back to stock will fix this.

 

[AZmidget91]

The mods to that bike, it won't run well with a stock ecm, with stock tuning.

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

Any suggestions on what to do then? its running very poorly with the race ecm also... from what i can tell the injectors look ok, seems ot be about 5 new sensors in it..

 

[AZmidget91]

I would check for an intake leak, then check fuel pressure. Go to buellmods.com to find digital copies of the service manual to see how to do both of those

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

Ty for the digital copies, I took the tank off and check quite a few things out, and the motor looks real clean. Everything is all back together now and firing up seems to be holding 1.2 at idle and not dieing unless I throttle it up... have the racing ecm back in I think your right with the engine mods the stock ecu won't work right... I may tinker around a bit with it tomorrow morning beyond that I'm goping to run it to the sierra vista harley dealership tomorrow afternoon or monday.

 

[njloco]

Do what you want but if it were me, I'd be listening to AZ and following his direction!

Good luck

 

[AZmidget91]

The real clean comment has me worried. The pictures of this bike that I saw, there was a pretty big leak. Either rear base gasket, or starter would be my guess.

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

are you talking about the craigslist picture?
I know i asked about that and the picture if you look at it was taken at a gas station, i have the bike parked in my kitchen right now, just had the tank aff, looked at all the gaskets, no visible external damage to any gaskets thats 100% im not saying there isnt internal damage, i have a video of the bike idling just fine until i killed it like i said even after playing with the throttle manually it really just wants to die at throttle unless you over throttle it at start... and the motor physically sound very nice as wlel as the exhaust... i seriously think its going to come down to an electrical problem or a fuel to air issue somewhere... ive already uninstalled 2 poorly installed led lights from the back, and 2 from the front.

HOWEVER i fully expected to take this on as a personal project to learn, and i will 100% test compression myself i was more posting about the ECM issue, but it makes sense with the engine mods that you would need it professionally tuned once you worked out all the kinks.

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

really just wanted the capability of taking it back as close to stock as possible but its ok, i can hopefully work around it and still enjoy the bike as modded as it is... and from what i can tell is mostly engine mods...

 

[rchuff]

If you are not willing to listen to people then why are you on this site? AZ gave you a starting point and you aren't LISTENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Think you should just take it to the dealer. What is the matter with people now a days no one listens.

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

If you are not willing to listen to people then why are you on this site? AZ gave you a starting point and you aren't LISTENING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Think you should just take it to the dealer. What is the matter with people now a days no one listens.

calm down im listening brother lol, i printed off the digital manual to the bike, ive been correcting some faulty wiring, getting that back to normal, then i will beging to test the compression and injectors so on... but when it comes to tuning the bike after getting it in running order i do think taking it to somone would be better

 

[squidbuellie]

What kind of engine mods do you think this bike has? Can you see any mods like... Does it have axtell cylinders? Xb12 intake with ground out injectors ports?

I could keep going but, I doubt there has been anything that cool done. Max would be cleaning of the combustion chamber port job and maybe xb12 pistons. And if so the bike would still run with the Xb9 ecm it just would run sluggish and run lean more on the low end.

If I'm wrong and you have those kind of mods let me know and I can point you in the right direction.

But here is the quick run down. Take the airbox cover and plate off. Fire the bike up and spray carb cleaner around the throttle body while giving it gas and see if you have a change in rpms.
If nothing changes check the plugs then hook up ecmSpy and test the injectors, fuel pump.
If you hear the clicks from the injectors and the fuel pump whines up. You will want to do a tps reset then fire the bike up again looking down the throttle body (from the side not strait on.. bike can backfire and shoot gas at you)
If the throttle butterfly is fluttering you will want to replace the throttle control sensor(ford V6 part) you can buy it at autozone for like $15-$25 instead of the $100 plus from Harley.
Another thing to look at is the cam position sensor... did the P.O drill out the rivits? If so you need to check your timing.

Sorry that it's long winded... good luck.

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

Well from what i understand the bike is sitting at 1050cc and stock if im not mistaking is 984cc, beyond that he said some things i simply didnt know about as far as mods, i just knew the bike would idle well and i already fixed the electrical issues he was having, the rest can be fixed.

and that was an awesome beginner starting place i can literally start now... however i have already checked plugs and i dont even think they have 10 hours of riding time on them.

 

[AZmidget91]

The guy selling it didn't know what he had. From what I could see.

Millenium 1050 kit
Full micron exhaust
Collapsible push rod tubes, which suggests valvetrain upgrades, which suggests cam upgrade, and possibly head work.

Like i keep suggesting, test for an intake leak like suidbuellie said, spray some sort of flamible fluid near the bottom of the throttle body.

 

[AZmidget91]

No, I got these pictures from the previous owner.

Dented Micron exhaust, collapsible push rod tubes, fork leak....

Potential base gasket or starter leak, hacked up headlight modules, with some not stock headlight brackets.

Also, what are those round things all over the air box cover?

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

yeah i seen the fork leak, base gasket isnt leaking for sure, ill look at the starter.

 

[0bs3ssi0n]

hopefully at 1.3 it wasnt to bad of a buy, i still have 450$ of my original budget for a bike, but i could go more if i needed to.