Help, losing faith in Harley

[Fish]

Originally Posted by grbrown

Fish,

I am a bit mystified that you delivered the bike to the dealer to get it 'fixed', but then changed a variety of essential bits as soon as you got it home! The dealer would have a better chance of getting it right if you left it alone, preferably as you want to ride it. They should also have cleaned it while they had it....

Best of luck getting it sorted.

'Cos they won't touch it with a Kitech fueller on as it's not Harley and therefore not covered by their warranty.
I can't leave performance pipes and intake on it without the fueller as it won't run as it is supposed to, therefore the original pipes and intake had to be refitted so it could go to the dealers.
Frankly, it's a fucking ball ache.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Principal

I've said elsewhere in this forum that I am totally the wrong person to talk to about any technical aspect of a Harley - or any other form of motorised transport!

So, I had a natter to one of our technicians, and he's suggested the oxygen sensor might be at the root of the problem. Might be worth asking the dealer the question.

John

Possible, but wouldn't that throw up P code P0134?
Can they go faulty without throwing up a code? :dunno:

[Limey_Dave]

If it was totaly shot, or disconnected,you would get a code.
If it was starting to fail or had a high resistance connection you may not.
I would think you'd need to use a line out box to see what voltage range it was working on.

I'm not a Harley tech,far from it,this is just the principals of oxygen or lamda sensors in general.

[Principal]

Originally Posted by Fish

Possible, but wouldn't that throw up P code P0134?
Can they go faulty without throwing up a code? :dunno:

Not a clue I'm afraid. You need someone far more technically able than me.

[Oilslick]

When I had an intermittant misfire on the rear cylinder that gradually got worse, there was no fault code until it got so bad (wiring to the injector only just touching) that the fault code was displayed.

BTW check the that the plug is fully home into your engine temp sensor (located at the back of the front cylinder head, left hand side). I've heard somewhere that this can cause cutting out symptoms.

Good luck

[Mark G]

Hi, just read this thread. We had the same amount of mayhem with my wifes heritage when it was new back in 2005. The problem sounds identical, running like a sick pig at low reves or would stall at high revs? After new ecu's, downloads, plugs, fuel change, calls to HD in Oxford etc, weeks on and it still wasn't sorted. Turned out to be the fuel pump or injectors that weren't putting fuel in at the right pressure, 30 psi instead of 80 or something like that! Eventually got sorted and hasn't skipped a beat since, runs beautiful to this day. Problem diagnosed over the phone by my brother who's a diesel fitter and has no interest in bikes at all! best of luck,

Mark

[Veggie]

Originally Posted by Mark G

Problem diagnosed over the phone by my brother who's a diesel fitter and has no interest in bikes at all! best of luck,

Mark

Now HE sounds like the sort of bloke to have as a backup....nice one

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Mark G

Turned out to be the fuel pump or injectors that weren't putting fuel in at the right pressure, 30 psi instead of 80 or something like that! Eventually got sorted and hasn't skipped a beat since, runs beautiful to this day. Problem diagnosed over the phone by my brother who's a diesel fitter and has no interest in bikes at all! best of luck,

Mark

Suggested that to them as well as a couple of other possibilities.
I work with diesels too.
Phoned yesterday and the tech was pulling his hair out, still couldn't find a fault.

[Fish]

They couldn't find a definite fault but have ordered a new ECU.
Seems a bit drastic to me to START with replacing the ECU?

[SteelD]

Hi Fish

Sorry for chipping in late but I've only just joined. I currently ride a Suzuki but might be tempted by a Harley so I've come over here to find out more (especially about the reliability ).

Anyhow, that's not the reason for posting. On the Suzuki forums where I normally hang out, one guy had his brand new Suzuki custom-painted before delivery and had a similar sort of problem. It would run fine for a while and then suddenly the bike would cough and splutter at mid revs and would bog down with no power.

He had several weeks of frustration going back and forth to the dealer and the dealer not being able to fix the fault. They tried ECU and all the 'obvious' things first. At one stage we were suspecting that the shop that did the custom paint blocked a breather of some kind or crimped a hose when putting back the painted bits.

Eventually, it turned out to be a faulty fuel pump. It was replaced and the bike has been fine since. The owner is now as pleased as punch. So, the moral of the story is that these things do happen on occasion and they can be very demoralising especially when you've waited for your new bike and spent serious money on it. It will get sorted - it just needs a switched-on mechanic and then you'll really love the bike. Just hang in there.

David