Reply With QuoteThanks special K, I'll remember that!
I've burnt thru a lot of money buying a lot of parts for my '03XB9S Lightning. Voltage Regulators (3), ECM's (3), Coils (2), make up a list of the most expensive ones. I've spent even more monies chasing down diagnosis of problems. Various symptoms had always led me to believe that there was a short somewhere in my bike's system and I'd long been on the look for it, but just couldn't find it. My bike was costing me a fortune...
Having one of the first year/model XB's, I wasn't surprised to find that the wiring harness wasn't perfect in my bike. Many a wire had been chafed and had to be rerouted, and/or repaired over the last 56,000 miles. I'd attributed my ongoing electrical issues with these shorts and written off the idea that I might find one solution that explained the reoccurrence of many, let alone, ALL past problems.
When my bike had its latest relapse a month ago, I found myself @ my wits end. The bike was running hot, and my coil was running hot and it would eventually just die of a dead battery. The diagnosis was once again a faulty voltage regulator. I knew it had to be something more. This was a symptom, not the problem.
A friend mentioned an article he'd read on Badweb, about a faulty voltage regulator connector in pre-'06 Ulysses'. He told me that his had this problem and described it to me. When I got home, I pulled up the link he'd forwarded to me and lo and behold the symptoms matched my bike. I wondered if it was only U'lys that had this problem or did it extend to all Buell types? As I read, I received a couple more emails from other friends on our forum telling me they'd suffered the same problem, and they sent me other articles on the issue.
So, I pulled my connector apart and there it was; My new voltage regulator was already being damaged by arcing. There was a bit of black soot and some corrosion. The half that was attached to the bike showed obvious signs of melting, just like in the pics. Gentlemen, I had the smoking gun in my hand!
Funny thing was that I HAD the connector update to retrofit my bike, and didn't even know it. I had ordered a new voltage regulator from the dealer, but didn't want to wait. So, I'd borrowed a spare from a friend and thought I'd fixed it, until it died again 5 days later.
It seems Buell updated the connector in '08. When they did, they made the old style obsolete, but since they still had a ton of old ones, they just threw the updated connector in the boxes. They never issued a recall that I know of. When you order a voltage regulator today, it comes with the part that fixes the problem. I had the fix right in my garage, and didn't even know it...
Here's what all pre-'08 Buell XB owners should know:
You should be aware, that if your voltage regulator is reading faulty, you need to inspect your connector. If it needs updating, you should do it, and THEN retest your voltage regulator, as you may find theirs nothing wrong with it. If you don't do the work yourself, make sure you inspect that the connector was updated by your mechanic, and not just discarded. This was what happened 5 months ago, when I last had to eat a voltage regulator, and coil. The HD mechanic didn't know what it was. The two HD service centers I frequent had never heard of the problem.
I've read where the arcing has been attributed to all sorts of electrical problems, as one often leads to another. Surges cause coils to overheat. This can destroy an ECM. Also, read about stators being burnt up. Even read about headlamps burning out.
Just wanted to spread this info. I wish I'd found it sooner. Thank God for Badweb and BuellXB.com and the like. I might have gone on hemorrhaging money. We Buellers gotta stick together...
Special K!
Central Texas Hill Country Hellbuellies
"I'm a Hellbuelly! What the hell are you?"
"It's a friggin' Buell, it's not supposed to be comfortable, quiet or safe. The wind noise is supposed to hurt your ears, the seat should be hard and riding it should make you $hit your pants every now and then. It's a fricking motorcycle, suck it up!"
--Scary MC, ADV Rider
Thanks special K, I'll remember that!
Hope it helps someone! :(
Special K!
Central Texas Hill Country Hellbuellies
"I'm a Hellbuelly! What the hell are you?"
"A good friend will come downtown at 4:00 am and bail you out of jail...
but a true friend will be sitting next to you in the cell saying, 'Damn...that was fun!'"
--Anonymous HellBeemer
Good Stuff bro. :DThe half that was attached to the bike showed obvious signs of melting, just like in the pics.Was you going to post up pics - you mentioned it in your post. Great diagnosis & explanation, added this to my profile.
Didn't take pics of my issue.
Was referring to the pics in the link me thinks.
Here's that link...
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buel...38/446915.html
Happy wrenching...
Special K!
Central Texas Hill Country Hellbuellies
"I'm a Hellbuelly! What the hell are you?"
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and
let each new year find you a better Buell."
--Benjamin FranklinBuelly
Part info:
Voltage regulator Connector Service kit Y1312.02A8
Details:
http://docs.google.com/view?docid=d4rbxwr_20dq5khf
Special K!
Central Texas Hill Country Hellbuellies
"I'm a Hellbuelly! What the hell are you?"
"Most motorcycle problems are caused by the nut that connects the handlebars to the saddle."
--Anonymous SageBuelly
So bear, on a little offshoot, since we have the same year and same ****ty wiring harness, have you come accross any issues with your speedo or odo? i can't find a short anywhere..
Sorry to say that I haven't.
Well, sorry for your sake.
Since I'm saving so much money NOT fixing my bike every couple weeks,
I quit my job and went on a lengthy vacation.
Sorry, not to have read this sooner. Well, sorry for your sake!
Ha!
No speedo or odo probs to report. And I'll cross my fingers, and knock on wood to avoid such issues (especially after my cocky responses above)...
Special K!
Central Texas Hill Country Hellbuellies
"I'm a Hellbuelly! What the hell are you?"
"A HellBuelly's greatest work is to break his enemies, to drive them
before him, to take from them all the things that have been theirs, to
hear the weeping of those that cherished them, to take their motorcycle
between his knees and press in his arms the most desirable of their
women."
--Genghis KhanBuelly
well i got my bike back from the shop weekend before last (08/05/2010) after they replaced the Stator and ran a diagnostic test ("all ok" so they said), rode it home, then took it for a spin on saturday (15/05/2010), then rode it to work and back on yesterday (18/05/2010), went to work this morning (19/05/2010) and half way down the motorway, the engine light comes on, all power lost... pull over to side of the motorway, try to turn bike back on... and click click click.....
so i had my bike back for 5 days and only rode it for a couple hours over 3 days...
bike is back in the shop again mechanics are stumped and don't know what to do...
HELP....!!!
might have to add Erik buell to my facebook and ask him a few questions, see if he can help.
http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Foru...ck-click-click
one thing i noticed when my engine light came on while riding was:
- display disappeared
- Speedo showed 0km's even though i was doing 100km's
- Rev counter went to 0rpm even though im sure i was around 4000rpm
thanks for the info XBear9S have told the mechanics to check the arcing plug...
either way i guess i need another Stator now...
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