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 . 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 !! 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