engine light

[tbbrider]

While riding today I noticed the engine light came on and went off. Turned key off and restarted light didn' t come back on for 10miles then did it again.Could someone help.

[MikeWa]

TPS,Speed Sensor,Fuel Light Error,Emergency Stop Switch, to name a few.

Mike

[BradT]

Check oil level. Did it come on during hard acceleration ? This would could be normal.

 

If it was not under hard acceleration then I would invetigate a little more.

 

Brad

[gunkylump]

If your oil level is on the low side.....check your sight glass when your bike is sitting level. Under hard acceleration, as Brad mentioned above, and the light will come on. Scared the dickens out of me first time it happened, went home, added a touch of oil, and all was good.

 

If that isn't it......the search is on!

 

gunk:shock3:

[Condor]

Did it come on when you finally got it into 5th gear???

[tbbrider]

yes it was in 5th gear.I have a bunch of keys on the key ring,which some times causes the key hard to turn.C ould that cause the key switch to act up?

[V7Goose]

The oil level light suggested by a couple of people above is unrelated to the Engine Trouble Warning light, as is the OD light jokingly alluded to by Condor.

 

It is true that the oil level light can briefly flash on under some circumstances, but this is NORMAL and is documented in the owner's manual.

 

Assuming you actually saw the Engine trouble warning light like you said, you should run the self-diagnostics covered at the end of the shop manual (page 8-76). This bike has three self-diagnostic systems, but one is specific to the fuel gauge and another for the cruise control. You are interested in the first one for the ignition related systems.

 

Hopefully that will lead you to the cause of the problem.

Goose

Edited March 21, 2011 by V7Goose

[V7Goose]

Been giving this a little more thought for ya - the fact that you said the light didn't come back on after you switched the key off indicates that the problem may be intermittent. I doubt that this bike has a real computer that can store the error code like an ODBII system on a car, so if the actual problem is not happening when the key is first turned on, the self-diagnosis probably won't show any codes. In that case, you may have to wait for the problem to get worse before you can find it.

 

However, at a minimum, I'd re-seat the plug on the ignitor a couple of times to clean the pin contacts - that may permanently fix it.

 

Also, if the light comes on while riding, test the cruise control before you shut the bike off. One common component that can set the engine light and cause problems with the cruise is the speed sensor, so if the engine light comes on, but the cruise control works (and STAYS engaged for a while), that probably will eliminate the speed sensor as an intermittent problem. You can also try bypassing the emergency stop switch as a way of eliminating that as an intermittent cause.

 

Finally, the TPS would be a prime cause of an intermittent problem, and it is easy to test without taking anything off except the tank. You can follow the instructions on page 6-11 of the shop manual, but you will find an old analog ohmmeter much better for this than a modern digital meter since one of the primary symptoms you will be looking for is a smooth change of resistance between the yellow and black wires while you roll on the throttle.

 

And if you happen to get that far and decide to go ahead and check the actual setting of the TPS as defined on page 6-13, you need to be aware of several issues. First, on at least 50% of these engines, the TPS canNOT be properly adjusted in the calculated range. For example, if the calculated range ends up being 625-725, it is not uncommon for the TPS to NOT be able to go below 800 ohms. So don't get too concerned about this. If the measured resistance with the throttle closed is within 100 ohms of the calculated range, it is probably not worth even trying to adjust it unless you have already removed the carbs to check the float levels or clean the jets. Secondly, you have to actually remove the carbs (or at least pull them up off the intake joints) to be able to even loosen or remove the TPS, and even then you will need a torx security bit to defeat the anti-tamper post in the screw heads. Lastly, know that the shop manual has a big error on page 6-13 where it tells you to set the resistance between the yellow and blue wires - you must use the yellow and BLACK wires.

 

Goose

Edited March 21, 2011 by V7Goose
Add information about testing the Throttle Position Sensor