Intermittent CEL - Error Code 33

[GatorA10]

Hey guys, I have a 2009 XB12R w/ 16,000mi. It's been an awesome bike but about a month ago it blew the fuel pump fuse while riding. Replaced the fuse and it fired fight back up. It trigged the CEL which makes sense but now the light is usually on right when I start the bike and then will randomly go off for a minute or so at a time and then come back on. It doesn't seem to correlate with any RPM what triggers the light to be on or off and the bike runs just as good as ever. Idles perfect, no hiccups anywhere in the RPM range. The service manual doesn't seem to help with this one. Is it any indicator of the fuel pump about to fail?

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Cooter]

You only need to post a question in one place, thank you

Code 33 (Fuel Pump): The ECM doesn't monitor pressure.
BN/Y wire is shorted to 12 volts. This will also cause the ignition fuse to blow.
BN/Y wire is shorted to ground. This will cause the pump to run continuously.
Fuel pump motor stalls.

Since yours runs, I would bet the harness has a problem, or more likely the fuel pump wires have chaffed inside the tank.

Pull the pump out and look. Easy job to cheat by hanging the rear of the bike and disconnection the lower shock mount. The pump will slip out past the swing arm.

Good Luck

[GatorA10]

Cooter,

Sorry about that, obviously I'm new here. Thanks for the help! Yeah I am going to give it a shot this weekend and see if there is anything obvious with the fuel pump. Hopefully its an easy fix. Do you think it could be a fuel pump motor stall? The bike doesn't hiccup a bit when the CEL comes on so I assumed I could rule that out? The other issues listed in the service manual definitely don't apply. Ill dig around and see, let me know if you have any other ideas. Thanks Again!

[Cooter]

No worries man.
You'd know if the fuel pump was stalling, right away. I really think it's just chaffed wires inside the tank. Should be easy to spot when you pull it.

[Cooter]

A ground or power issue at the pump or in it's circuit would cause a Fuel Pump issue but won't cause a CEL Code 33 (Fuel Pump). The ECM wouldn't know where the problem is, to set that code because like I said, it doesn't read pressure on an XB.

That narrows it down to the signal wire, the ECM would know where that issue is. The BN/Y is the ECM signal to turn on the pump in all the XB's I've worked on.

So if the BN/Y in the harness to the fuel pump is OK, the more common issue would be chaffing in the tank. Buellers are used to this problem. So, how would you check for fuel pump wire chaffing without pulling the pump?

Would you care to enlighten us dirty Plebs?

[GatorA10]

Got the pump assembly pulled. Not seeing anything obvious. The harness leading to the pump looks totally fine (from what I can see). I pulled the black sleeve on the assembly back too and it looks good. Whats next? Replace the pump?

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[Cooter]

Lunatic could be right... 50/50 at this point.

You can find out for sure, and it's free to check.

Pump unplugged, turn the Ignition/Kill On to see if the FP fuse still blows. That would mean the pump is probably OK and the wire harness (BN/Y FP supply) has a short to ground.

If the bike fuse does not blow with the pump unplugged... put 12V power to the pump with a 10 amp breaker on a wire. If it pops, PM Lunatic for parts because now you KNOW the pump is bad, and not guessing anymore.

[GatorA10]

Im rolling the dice and going to assume its a pump issue. The 2 times it blew a fuse it was after riding for over an hour and a half, so maybe to old stock pump is working too hard now? Ill let you guys know what I figure out, thanks again for all the help!

[Cooter]

Coolio! Hope that gamble pays off for ya and you get to ride less uh... uneventfully. LOL.

[GatorA10]

Whelp, got the new pump and regulator installed. Fired right up, idles fine, CEL went out for about 10 seconds on startup, thought I was in the clear, and then came back on. Still an error code 33. Took it down the road for about 10 minutes and it runs as good as ever.......I guess check the harness? Not entirely sure how to do that..........