XB9S Misfire? not sure,don't know! HELP!!

[BeansXB9]

Okay... Where do I start? I'm new to the forum and Awesome!! Mom had her push present and Dad got his! WOO-HOO 2003 XB9S 3 weeks ago and I love it! I'm the 3rd owner to the bike, it has 9k miles, Buell race ecm, Buell race exhaust, K&N air filter. Well 3 days ago on my way to work it started to sputter, misfire, lost of power and my check engine light came on then it went off then it came on then off [confused][mad]. I was cruising around 70 to 80 mph when it happen. I replaced the plugs today, now I have to take them out cause everyone here has stated that autolites are not good for these bikes, so I will go get NGKs tomorrow. I also need to replace my ignition wires which I cannot find around me or no harley dealers has them in stock [mad]!! I don't have the ecmspy cable or wouldn't know where to begin if I did and money is a little tight right now with the baby. So all INFO would be very appreciated.

thank you
Bean

 

[ich]

sell it.

 

[chrispudd]

Get yourself some HD or ngk plugs. It's your preference. I like the HD stuff. I"m surprised your local dealer doesn't have wires in stock. They're fairly cheap. Put some dielectric grease on the boots before putting them on the plugs. You don't need it on the coil end, it'll just be slippery and tend to back off.
Good luck with the repairs and keep us posted,

 

[CrazyTexan]

Buellsterparts
Buellparts.net
Ebay-pinwall cycle

Good parts sources.

All buells seem to give a little attitude now and then. Probably just somethibg small and over looked. Were the plug wires in good shape? I had one thatvwas deformed and clipped on the plug loose

 

[100thwindow]

you might wanna check your battery terminals. Make sure there is no corrosion and make sure theyre on tight. I experienced something like that once and after tightening down my battery terminals it never happend again.

 

[60kXB9]

I had the same issue and have the same bike. When your light flashes it is overheated or "thinks" it is. In this mode it goes to misfire to reduce power to cool down. I replaced plugs, wires, battery etc.... it was the temp sensor in the rear head. Its easy to replace and fairly cheap. They are known to go bad and I beleive the new ones are an upgrade. I have the tool if you decide to go this route.

 

[thrstrmech]

Welcome to the forum...hold off on temp sensor, I have an '03 XB9S too, the symptoms you described were the same for me a few weeks ago...look in your manual if you have one or down load from the link below the BuellXB header, you need to build yourself a jumper cable to read the codes, start there first before throwing money at it...once you get the codes, that will steer you in the direction of the problem and maybe the root of it. check your IAT sensor, you'll have to remove your airbox cover upper and lower, disconnect and use a multimeter for resistance check, follow the manual for reference point of what the reading should be, replace if needed, check your fuses and replace as needed.
I replaced the IAT sensor, cooling fan and fan fuse on mine, all issues resolved...FYI...the fan had stopped working due to internal failure, the shaft on it was all over the place when i rotated the fan blades, the fan fuse blew like it's suppose to, to protect the electrical system...the codes read were directly related to the IAT and cooling fan.
That's why I say to hold off on replacing parts 'til you get the codes read, then proceed from there, good luck.

 

[BeansXB9]

Thanks for the info! I'll check into it tonight when the wife and kids goes to sleep.

 

[BeansXB9]

Well I checked it out last night, all the fuses are good, battery terminals are tight, changed the plugs. I did find a spark plug wire corroded and breaking apart. So took it out and replaced both wires with screaming eagle wires from a sportster that I borrowed from a friend. Took the bike for a spin and still NO FIX still having the same problem. thrstmech how do I build a jumper cable to read the codes? I got a hold of a service manual, Finally found a Buell Parts Dealer not to far from me, so I ordered the oem spark plug wires.

 

[thrstrmech]

you can either order the pins that are listed in the manual or use some regular wire connectors, female ones...the manual states to use 18 gauge wire, I used 12 and it worked fine, new castle harley davidson has the pins for $1, plus shipping, if the dealer close by doesn't have 'em in stock...jump pin 1 & 2 and you'll be set to read the codes, count the CEL light flashes, there's an example in the manual on how to read 'em

here's what mine looks like using the pins called for from the manual, a bit blurry, sorry...used some heat shrink also

 

[BeansXB9]

Thank you thrstmech! I made a jumper cable and these where the codes I got:
13 - O2 sensor
16 - Battery Voltage
23 - Front Fuel Injector
32 - Rear Fuel Injector
33 - Fuel Pump

But what I don't understand I can hear my fuel pump come on every time, and it starts with out any hesitation. Could it be a bad battery? I read the manual and it stated that it could be an ignition relay or the wire harness connection to cause to throw codes 23,32, and 33. The guy that I purchased the bike from told me it was a new battery. There's no corrosion on the battery cables, their clean and tight. What do y'all think? Any suggestions?
Thrstmech what you think? Did I miss something?

 

[thrstrmech]

think you're covering it well, just tackle one thing at a time, start with the battery, it could either be indicating a low voltage or high voltage condition. go through the manual at Trouble Code 16, have you tested the battery voltage/amps, make sure it's within serviceable limits, next look at the ignition relay, if you have a spare swap it out, a faulty relay can cause power lose in injectors, the coil, ECM and fuel pump. check and see if the O2 sensor is loose, next check ECM connections of the fuel injector and O2 sensor...looking for a solid connection between the two, run some seafoam through the fuel system, will help clean injectors, etc...next check your exhaust, could either be loose or leaking or both. all this can contribute to the codes you read.

 

[BeansXB9]

Ok, I checked the battery, I'm reading 11.84 volts checked all the fuses again, I checked all the exhaust bolts and intake bolts they were all loose, tighten them all back up. Well when i began to start it, it wouldnt start!! I wouldnt hear the relay click and I wouldnt hear the fuel pump, so I tried switching the relay around to see if that was the problem, but that was not the problem!! So I disconnected the battery unplugged the ECM and plugged in the stock ECM thinking maybe I had fried to other one! Could it be just the start and the ignition relay? But I had started it before I began messing with it. I don't know !!![confused]

 

[BeansXB9]

Thrstmech I found the problem! Its in the fuse box, I pulled it up and could hear the relays clicking on and off so I removed the wires out of the fuse box, But like a dumbass I forgot to mark them, where and how they went, I looked in the manual and it shows how they go 6 is rd/blck, 7 grn, 10 blk/rd, 8 nothing, 2 tn/lgt grn but I have a wire left a black with brown? Where does that one go? Also looking at the wires ends they have a small tab sticking out. So do they touch? And if they do which ones touch? I connected the wires like the manual states, Key relay works, Ignition relay works, but when I turn the ignition switch on the fuel pump comes on like it should, but when i press the starter button I don't get anything, so I tried connecting the green and red/black wire and all the starter does is click.click.click,click. So what do I need to do now?

Thanks

 

[thrstrmech]

In looking at the starting circuit, there is no BK/BN wire, looking at Appendix B, pg.B-21. The wire may be dirty giving it a brown appearance. That could very well be W/BK wire? Can you take some pics of what you've got so far? Upload 'em into "My Pics", then click on "Add Your Photo" to post in the message...this would help see what you've got thus far.
It's 10:39pm here, time to call it a night, early mornings for me to get to work, I'll take the manual with me and see what else you may be missing and post asap. Relatively slow day tomorrow, so I'll be online on the forum so you can catch with me there, try to help you as much as i can. Surprised that no one else has chimed in, hell may be I'm missing something too...we'll figure it out though[up]

 

[thrstrmech]

Battery voltage at 11.84 volts...go to Battery 7.10 in the manual, your battery may be trashed, how old is it? Starter clicking over and over, not enough juice to kick the bike over? Your battery is not holding a charge, time for a new one I think. Still have to figure out the BK/BN wire.

 

[BeansXB9]

I mess with it again this morning, plugged a new stater relay turn the ignition switch on and tried to start it but this time there was nothing at all no clicking on the starter, not a thing and my lights didn't come on either, the lights on the instrument panel came on, my brake light worked, blinkers worked but no headlights. I'll take some pictures when I get home from worked and post them up. I'll check the battery too.

Thanks

 

[BeansXB9]

Thrstmech , here's the pic of what I got, on the second pic with my finger is the blck/brwn wire? And as for the wires I don't believe I have them in the right location beacuse my headlights don't work and when I turn on my high beams my fuel pump kicks on??

 

[thrstrmech]

ok, start over by labeling the wires, masking tape would be fine, go by Appendix B, look at each circuit page by page, label the wires as you go matching color to which point it's to be placed in...do one circuit at a time, be patient...write down the color wire and what component and location it goes to, may seem monotonous, but this is easier to go by than tracing the line on the schematic as they are so close together and small. After you have identified the wires for one circuit, go ahead and install each wire to that circuit which will accomplish two things, complete it and those wires are no longer in the way...move on to the next circuit, repeat the process 'til you have 'em all in place. If you have an open point in either of the circuits that maybe where the mysterious BK/BN wire goes, but before you plug it in, are you able to trace it to point of origin? If you can and find what it is, then you'll know where it goes by the schematic, though it's a different color wire than what the schematic shows. But now you have it labeled for future reference, also take a picture before you close everything up after testing it all.

 

[BeansXB9]

Thrustrmech, I found the main problem, it was the kickstand switch! I took the battery to Orielys had it charged and tested, its good, I traced that wire to the kickstand. Well I looked over the schematics over and over, we'll the wiring on the bike was all backwards well I finally got it all wires put back together. I want to thank you for all your help!!!!!

And here's a pic of her