I'm really not having much luck lately..

[naughtyG]

.. after finding out my 2000 has a shot 2nd gear, I've now got electrical gremlins on the '86! :bang head:

Basically it runs fine, and then suddenly it starts conking out while riding (or idling). I basically lose all ignition, I can see the headlamp gets very dim, and the tachometer goes flying up to about 4-5ooo rpm :ummm:
Usually it comes back within a few seconds (it has so far), but then today it went off just as I was turning at a traffic light (luckily very slowly in 2nd gear as it was wet), the engine stopped, the rear wheel locked up and slid out under me.
I was lucky I was going very slow, so the bike just slid down on its side to a stop and I just caught it and then struggled to pull it back up. Then it started again normally. No damage to me, very small scratch on the muffler, phew! :worthy:

So the question - where do I start troubleshooting, according to the symptoms? I've already dismantled and cleaned up/lubricated the RH hand controls, so I'm positive the starter button and kill switch are ok.

What does everyone think? Ignition box, key switch, short in the loom? :confused2:

At least I do have another bike - albeit a 2000 - so I can pull components for exchange to try to get to the bottom of it..

 

[NHVmaxpower]

Wish I could help . Thats why I dont give advise if I have no clue . I usually ask you guys what to do. Sorry man.

 

[twistedmax]

You can't swap the ECU. From the 2000 to the 86.If it turns out to be the ECU I have a couple spares for sale, good luck Id rather have the MOD MONKEY in my garage then electrical gremlins

 

[jfeagins]

Check out all your battery terminal connections. Check out the main grounding point for all your assy wiring on the right hand side of frame and just outside battery box. Check all connections inside your main fuse block.

just my 2 cents.

 

[moperformance]

Intermittent problems are the hardest to locate. What I try to do is place a couple of DMM's that have a min and max voltage latch. what this does is when the failure happens the meter will lock at the minimum voltage seen at what ever point of the circuit it's attached to. Battery, key switch, coil pack etc. Fuse location points heat up fail and then reconnect. Having a way to monitor various points will help you narrow down the problem area.
Good Luck.

 

[PATMAX]

G, sorry to hear your gremlin infestation. My first thought was ground but I'm gonna go with a bad pick up assembly. The one around or above the stator. Mine was intermittent, start and stop. It got to the point I didn't even trust going around the block. Bad think was I troubleshot EVERYTHING but that. I replaced with new and it is an expensive part. Labor is easy enough though. I can't tell you the principle of why it would start, run, die instantly, not restart and start easily later that day or the next. Maybe the electrical guru's have a theory on that. My only comment is will you trust a used albeit cheaper replacement?

 

[mr.maxx]

check the voltage regulator connector also

 

[AMechEng]

My first though is that all the symptoms seem to be related to the ECU. I would start by checking that the ECU is grounded and then I would check continuity from the two ECU plugs to where each pin terminates. If continuity is good, I would check to see if there is a way to diagnose problem with the ECU (such as checking resistances across pins). If there isn't maybe take the ECU from one bike and put it in your other bike and see if the problem goes away. Also, look for water intrusion or any signs of damage to the ECU outer case. Good luck. I have a jet ski that I totally rebuilt that has only seen 30 min on the water due to electrical gremlins. I know the frustration.

 

[MaxMidnight]

...I'm gonna go with a bad pick up assembly...

As it is an '86 it will have two pick-ups so unlikely that both would play up at the same time?

Is it just the ignition you loose, i.e. are the lights etc, still operating?

As it seems to be a sudden loss of spark I would start by checking the wiring from the ignition fuse and work toward the ignition unit.

If possible it would also be helpful to substitute the ignition unit with a known good one

 

[44boyd]

Man I just feel bad for as long as you've waited to get your bikes then to go through this, you're more patient than me. Hope you find the fix quickly.

 

[Fire-medic]

I am going to suggest a primary voltage issue, as he loses nearly-all voltage, apparently. I wouldn't be surprised to hear it was something in the charging circuit, or possibly a combination of things. The trouble is, the symptoms can be related to a number of components.

Easiest to fix would be a bad intermittent short in your battery, though those things tend to go bad and stay bad, as-in the battery goes dead and won't accept a charge, or it accepts a charge, but under load it craps-out. Replace the battery, go cheap w/Pb-acid, or slight upgrade to a AGM construction, or the ultimate, the Li-ion (lithium ion) vanity battery. Tell the Ballistic dealer, "fire-medic sent me."

If your charging system isn't working correctly, the battery won't be feeding the ECU module the 12 volts it needs to run and function. Check your voltage regulator for output at idle & under the guidelines on the factory specs for rpm's & output. Check the plug for the stator to the voltage regulator, a known trouble source for corroded wiring and bad connections. You can also change the voltage regulator to a more-efficient design (keep reading, to RaWarrior's thread)

And, lastly, the ECU/ignition box itself, which is the 'replace with known good one to check for function' dodge. That may be hard to do, and if you think that's it, perhaps you should consider upgrading to the later model box, fewer parts, and supposedly fewer things to go wrong. It involves more than just changing for the later-model box, as-in number of pickups, too.

Our friend RaWarrior did a good trouble-shooting thread for the charging system. http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=19108

FYI, I had an intermittent problem that caused me to become very frustrated, it was a combination-bad wiring at the stator/voltage regulator plug, bad voltage regulator, and defective ECU/ignitor box. Solved those, and it ran OK until my ignition pick-up went bad, years-later. Start saving your pennies for having to buy that one new!

Good luck.

 

[dmax1]

Man I just feel bad for as long as you've waited to get your bikes then to go through this, you're more patient than me. Hope you find the fix quickly.

Just a Quick thought
Did you know of this problem before the bike was shipped to you? If it ran fine before being in customs then possibly some mice may have made or tried to make your vmax a home. That is a problem around here in AZ if you leave your vehicles sit to long. They like to strip the wires or anything they get thier teeth into. Look for mouse droppings if you find any the problem may lie near. :confused2:

 

[Rollie]

This was a simple fix for me , once I found the spark plug wires looked o.k. but were shot .

 

[jfeagins]

This was a simple fix for me , once I found the spark plug wires looked o.k. but were shot .

Uh, yer plug wires were makin yer headlight go very dim whilst killing yer bike too?:ummm:

 

[Buster Hymen]

Check out all your battery terminal connections. Check out the main grounding point for all your assy wiring on the right hand side of frame and just outside battery box. Check all connections inside your main fuse block.

just my 2 cents.

This advice makes a lot of sense since the issue affects ALL your electrical components and the main fuse and the grounding system ties into all of that.

 

[wildweasel_pt]

This advice makes a lot of sense since the issue affects ALL your electrical components and the main fuse and the grounding system ties into all of that.

I do agree as well as the symptoms are all over the place and intermittent with no fuse blown.

 

[naughtyG]

Just so you guys know, a bit more history on this:

- the bike comes from John in Texas (DiddlySquat) and he's never had any such problem while he owned it.

- it ran perfectly fine before it left TX - no problems at all

- when it arrived here (after a few months: shipping to LA; shipping LA-Fremantle in cargo container), its battery was dead.

- when I first switched it on, I got a green neutral light, but as soon as I hit the starter button it went out and I got absolutely nothing (indicating some kind of bad connection)

- the green light did come back after a while, but there was defo not enough power left in the battery to even spin the starter. We push-started it and it ran ok, amazing with a dead battery really.

- when I got home I replaced the battery with the good one from my 2000. I also cleaned and lubricated the main ground connection near the battery '-' on the frame

- bike started and ran fine. I replaced the mufflers with OEM, got rid of a flashing relay in the rear brake light circuitry, got rid of some obsolete Tboost wiring I found under the right scoop, and noticed the only other custom wiring is a fan switch.

- took it to be examined, it ran fine all the way there (about 30 miles) and passed the test. Then on the way home it got pretty hot (100F+ day here) and as I got near home it started playing up, eventually conking out while idling as I parked it.

- then I rode it to work yesterday, and felt it playing up as I was riding (small cut outs) and then it cut out properly a few times for a few seconds.

- when it cuts out it's definitely no ignition at all, and the exhaust will make a BIG pop or two. I can see the headlight is still on but very dim. The tachometer needle does play up and jumps up to 4-5k rpm, and that has me stumped but should be an indication of something?

I am leaning toward a bad TCI. I already know the vboost controller is no good - vboost does work (clutch slips as it hits in first few gears) but it does not cycle when switching on. :confused2:

I am hoping it's just a bad wire, hopefully at the fusebox. I'll be checking all wiring I can look at first, then I'll start replacing bits from the other bike just in case, such as the key switch, the vboost controller, the blinkers relay (as it contains the kill circuitry from the sidestand etc), the voltage regulator and so on. I've also got the coils and spark plugs wires from the '00, so I'll try them too as that's easy.

I know I can't swap the TCI as '00 and '86 are different but hopefully it's just a bad wire or a short.

 

[CaptainKyle]

I have sent at least 10 bikes over there now & dont trust the goverment any better than ours they all suck. Who knows what happened to your 2000 Max with in a year. I know I put a clutch in it & ran the shit out of it & it was fine. God knows what happened to it in between.

 

[MaxMidnight]

when it cuts out it's definitely no ignition at all, and the exhaust will make a BIG pop or two. I can see the headlight is still on but very dim. The tachometer needle does play up and jumps up to 4-5k rpm, and that has me stumped but should be an indication of something?

I am leaning toward a bad TCI.

If it were the Ignition Unit then I wouldn't have expected the headlight to be dim - that suggests low battery voltage to me .

I seem to recall (but don't quote me) that the ignition unit needs at least nine volts to function. If there is an issue with the charging circuit then once the battery is depleted you won't get that and the motor dies.

Did the bike fire up again once it had died?

 

[naughtyG]

Hi Steve,

yea that's the thing, it only happens for a few seconds at most so far, then it comes back to full life.
I've had a bit of a look today, and can't find anything wrong yet. The battery is fully charged and holding up fine. Bike starts and idles perfectly. It's gotta be a shit connection or a short somewhere.

I'm gonna clean up the clutch switch - I noticed that if I put in gear with the side stand down and the clutch held in, it kills the engine. If I disconnect the clutch switch it doesn't. Still, shouldn't have anything to do with it as the side stand has been up at all times..


Kyle,

I know what you're saying about the 2000 gearbox - and I trust you completely. It's the shipper bastards who kept the bike for almost two months in Sydney, and the compliance cowboys who had the bike for 8 months that I blame, but of course there's nothing I can do about either now.