Soon to be for Sale, '00 V11

[gstallons]

IAEF ?

[luhbo]

If All Else Fails (- RTFM)

[helicopterjim R.I.P.]

RTFM?

[luhbo]

RTFM?

 

Sorry, the puritans write it this way I guess : RT(beep)M

 

Hubert

[gstallons]

Epiphany !!!!= Read The F**kin' Manual ?

[Otis]

Hi,I own a 1999 v11 with only 16000ks on the clock.Out riding last weekend this also coughed spluttered to a stop.I found the relay that operates the fuel pump to be that hot i could hardly hold onto it to remove.I replaced it with a identical spare fired up and run until the problem repeated itself.Pump fuse unblown.This problem seems simular,what gives.

[savagehenry]

Epiphany !!!!= Read The F**kin' Manual ?

Reading the manual, or refering to the directions is the first sign that you have given up...

[GuzziMoto]

Hi,I own a 1999 v11 with only 16000ks on the clock.Out riding last weekend this also coughed spluttered to a stop.I found the relay that operates the fuel pump to be that hot i could hardly hold onto it to remove.I replaced it with a identical spare fired up and run until the problem repeated itself.Pump fuse unblown.This problem seems simular,what gives.

As I recall, there are two different relays that have to work for the fuel pump to run. Which one is getting hot. I don't believe the fuel pump is a dedicated circuit. There are other things on that circuit that could be drawing too much juice or you may have a short. Your issue could be with the fuel pump but it also could be with another component on the same circuit.

Did you check your electric petcock (if your bike has one)? I only say that because that appears to be the problem with the original posters bike.

You might want to post your issue in its own thread.

[Otis]

As I recall, there are two different relays that have to work for the fuel pump to run. Which one is getting hot. I don't believe the fuel pump is a dedicated circuit. There are other things on that circuit that could be drawing too much juice or you may have a short. Your issue could be with the fuel pump but it also could be with another component on the same circuit.

Did you check your electric petcock (if your bike has one)? I only say that because that appears to be the problem with the original posters bike.

You might want to post your issue in its own thread.

GuzziMoto,this is the rear relay.Found today that by pushing the relay towards the frame the relay wont activate,so i presume that its breaking contact with the block it pushs into.So with the seat on this is the problem.But if it is breaking contact constanctly would this cause the relay to heat up to a degree were it fails to operate until it has cooled some

[Kiwi_Roy]

GuzziMoto,this is the rear relay.Found today that by pushing the relay towards the frame the relay wont activate,so i presume that its breaking contact with the block it pushs into.So with the seat on this is the problem.But if it is breaking contact constanctly would this cause the relay to heat up to a degree were it fails to operate until it has cooled some

 

Perhaps your relay base is at fault. If you unbolt it from the frame check that all the connectors are pushed home properly.

Or perhaps the contact needs to be squeezed together a bit.

You can slide the connectors out by releasing the clip from the top. I use a pop rivet nail with the tip filed to a chisel shape.

I modified my relay bases adding an LED so I can see at a glance which ones are energized.

I smeared the base with petroleum jelly, this protects the contacts from corrosion and makes the relays easier to get in and out.

The fuel pump relay also supplies power to the injectors and coils.

Roy

[ScottS]

yup the broken electric petcock will fail in the closed position. but a fuel pump in good health can suck it open, hiding the failure until either you have vapor in the lines or the fuel pump can't generate enough vacuum to hold it open.

It happened again, and I'm about to give up on this bike.

 

This past friday, on my birthday, I went for a ride in the beautiful rolling country side, 75 degrees, cool breeze, perfect. Then it happened again, I dont know if it's Vapor Lock, or Tank suck, or ECU heat sink, or Fuel Pump, or relays, or just bad karma .... 30 miles from home, I was riding down the road at 45 mph, she started backfiring, then slowly coughed and sputtered to a stop. 1 hour later, started up, ran for 1/4 mile, did the same thing. Some cyclists rode by and commented on what a cool bike I had, as they cheerfully peddled off. I had to call a buddy to come pick me up in the middle of nowhere, on his day off. (Last year when this happened, I paid $40 to a 15 year old kid, and we put it in the back of his Ford Ranger with a huge sticker across the back window that read "Coon Hunters do it all night". There's a lot more to that hilarious story that involves under age cigarettes, catching a t-shirt in the cab on fire, and his buddies worried that I was going to rape him.

 

Some info:

'00 V11 sport 7k miles.

All relays replaced 1k ago

Adjusted Valves

wrapped fuel line and fuel pump in racing heat shield

new plugs

yesterday, bike started perfectly in the garage, ran for 15 minutes, seemingly no problems.

 

I have read everything I can on this gremlin. Last year the problem was more typical. 85 degree day, I stopped to make a call, problem occured when I started back up. That is what prompted the valve adjust, heat shielding and plugs. I've probably ridden 300 miles this season, without problems until last weekend.

 

I'm stumped, any and all advice is appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Steve

[strider]

I’ve owned the V11 Le Mans for about 6 years. Yes, I’ve had the all too common relay problem but the latest one really had me stumped.

 

Riding home from work the other day the engine died. I thought “Bloody relays again.” I took the seat off and switched relays around, turned the key on and sure enough, the fuel pump came on, engine fired up and I put the seat on and climbed back on the bike. It stopped again. I thought “Oh no… this may take a while.” I rang home to tell wife that I’d be late and get her to alert son with trailer.

 

I played with the relays again and it started. Seat on and rode to within 2 km of home when it started missing, surging, backfiring etc.

 

I coaxed it home just as son pulled up with the trailer. Now of course he had a go at me for riding a European bike, blah, blah… he’s too young to understand. Played with the relays again and all seemed well.

 

Friday morning the bike started fine. I rode it to work and it only coughed and spluttered once. On the way home it died completely and while fault finding (power on) I noticed smoke coming from the rear of the relay block. The relays tangs had become so hot the diode attached to one of the wires de-soldered itself.

 

This time I did need the trailer.

 

On Saturday I did some rather intense fault finding. I disassembled the terminal block, separated the wires, repaired the solder joint with a crimp terminal (according to my multimeter the diode was still serviceable), checked all the wires for continuity – no fault found. I suspected a broken wire or a poor connection but everything checked out fine. I reassembled everything, went for a test ride and apart from one hiccup, all was ok.

 

Sunday morning, club ride. Got on the bike, started it up and it conked out before the bottom of the driveway. Started it again and rode about 2 km when it started playing up again. Turned around, nursed it home and once more pulled it apart.

 

No fault found… but as I was inserting the relays, I noticed the rearmost two slid in easier than the rest. I started the bike up and wiggled the relays. It coughed and spluttered and eventually stopped. I tried it a few times with the same result.

 

What I did next was bend the spade terminals of both relays out slightly so that they would apply pressure to the mating contacts in the relay bases. I successfully started the bike up again and wiggled the relays. No coughing or spluttering.

 

It appears I’ve fixed the problem as I’ve ridden the bike to work for 2 days now with no ignition problems whatsoever.

[raz]

I suspect many reported relay problems was really socket problems. When replacing the relays, the sockets gets a little conditioned and may service for yet some time. What you did is probably a longer term fix. Either bending the terminals a little, or pinch their mates in the sockets.

[Otis]

This is exactly the same problem as i am having,will try your fix in the weekend.Cheers.

[lemppari]

It does have the original electric petcock, but would that failure cause the sputtering, backfiring, slow coughing symptoms?

 

The fuel pump does start up when the key turns on, but i did notice that it sounded pretty weak and squeaky when I took the bike off the trailer 1 hour after the breakdown. But the next day it was strong and worked.

 

As for a TPS failure and throttle body balance, to be honest that procedure sounds a bit like witchcraft to me. 2 years ago I increased the idle a couple hundred RPM by turning the idle screw, but that is all that I've messed with on the throttle bodies. Could a TPS failure, or unbalanced TBs cause a breakdown like this? I would think that it would just cause poor running, not stopping. (p.s. my tach broke again 10 miles into that same ride, so i can only guess what the idle revs are)

 

But I'm willing to try anything.

 

What has me most irritated about this is that even if I replace the petcock, balance the TBs, fiddle w/ the relays, etc... I still wont be confident that I've fixed the problem, and wont want to go more than a mile from home, uphill only.

 

When I had relay problems, the first to go was the tach, every time, followed by other eery symptoms. It turned out to be a poor connection in the socket. After bending the connectors a little to get better contact I haven't had the bike miss a beat.