CHECK THEM GROUNDS......

[RPBUELL]

Truly amazing how just a tiny fraction of play in any ground can invoke havok with the electrical system.

After replacing my ETS a week and half ago, on start up I began getting a Warning Light (TCT 16 and 15 both stating "Ground to Short) and a slight fluctuation in idle revs. After a couple of light blips, the light turned off and the revs returned to normal.

What the hell?? SO I called AL back up at ASB and told him I may have gotten faulty ETS from him. There was a slight delay and silence after I told him the symptoms then he told me to check the Battery main ground on the Frame Rail underneath the seat. Shared that he had a similar situ not too long ago with the same symptoms. Ok.

Went out, hooked her up to the PC (ECMSPY) and took the air box/filter covers off, rechecked the new ETS/wiring , ok. IAT connector/wiring, ok. Cranked down the MAIN GROUND on the FRAME. ok. Then finally checked both Batt connections then the Frame Rail Batt Ground. BINGO! Just as AL stated. The Frame Rail Batt Ground under the seat had loosened enough to created just a enough gap for the two grounds to rattle so ever slightly creating a possible short. Put some Loctite and a backup nut on. Appears that there is a ground that comes off the wiring harness on it's way to the ECM from several Sensors including the ETS and IAT that also connects to that exact same Frame Rail Ground.

With that all completed, cranked her up and BAM! No proverbial hesitation on start and perfect revs. NO light. Check the numbers on the PC all indicated good. Let her run a couple minutes then turned her off. Went back out an hour later. BAM.... perfecto start up again and all numbers reading as they should.

Bottom line, as we all know, BUELL's vibrate more than any other rig on this planet. That is a known facto. The wiring/electric configuration is odd to say the least due to the design of the EFI as well as the engine and frame design.
This is the third time in less than six months I have fixed what I thought was an "oh **** here we go" issue by simply tightening grounds and connections.

First thing on the Trouble Shooting list for any potential electrical issue ie. Revs, shut offs, bogging, etc, CHECK & TIGHTEN ALL GROUNDS, all three BATTERY CONNECTIONS and ANY WIRING CONNECTORS that are associated with said issue.

[50dro]

Glad you posted this! You may have read my thread on my "starter problems?" Turns out, that I affected the ground created between the seat rails and the frame when I had the rails powder coated. I didn't even consider that there was a ground circuit designed into the frame! Dremeled some of the coating off of the rails where they contact the frame and BINGO!!!! No more issues!!!! Starter was fine and I didn't have to pull the primary cover etc to replace it!! :D

Grounds are very easy to overlook when you are DIY'ing but you have to keep them in mind or you'll find yourself with electrical gremlins!

[djs2k2]

Yeah my ground strap gave me issues when I rotated motor out, I didn't want to over tighten, so I didn't tighten enough and bike was acting funny. Then wouldn't start.

[konarider94]

ETS?

[djs2k2]

Electrode Transition Sensor :p

[BuellRonin]

Can you post pictures of the locations of these grounding points? Cheers!

[50dro]

Best I have at the moment.



This is what I did to test mine. Jumper from negative battery terminal to the engine ground strap. There are 2 points on the rails pretty much on either side of the battery. That's pretty much it! All else goes through the rails and frame to get to the motor. For precaution, I ran another wire from the ground point on the rail to the coil.

[RPBUELL]

ETS

ENGINE TEMPERATURE SENSOR located and screwed deep into the Rear Cylinder

IAT = INLET AIR TEMPERATURE SENSOR that is connected to the bottom of the Air Filter Intake Cover


The Ground that was giving me issues is directly in front (some 6-8") and to the left of the Battery connected to the left side frame rail. Below the left bolt of the MAIN GROUND in the photo above. Your Batt ground should be connected to this if you have an XB.

[RPBUELL]

This should help:

[Sammyzuko]

I've been chasing what seems like a ground issue for some time now. I'll clean the battery connections and the bike will run awesome for a few weeks, then eventually it'll start hiccuping. I've only been messing with the frame rail ground next to the battery. Looks like I'll have to try to find the other ground locations as well.