03 running sick

Howdy,

I got back off a little ride last night. The FJR's were certainly well represented across the Cascade Highway. Crossed paths with a number of you.

It was hot on this ride. I was in Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington. My bike was experiencing a problem that really isn't the surge issue. It's an 03 and when it is hot out it will not run smooth at just off closed throttle. I'm describing the throttle being just about closed. Going down a hill, idling through town, etc. It's as if the bike is on 3 cylinders. At a light it will die. It will pull hard and normal when opening the throttle hard but bringing the throttle back to 1/4 turn, or near closed, it will buck like a pissed off horse. This happened a hundred times during this ride and I couldn't see any pattern to it. The temporary cure was to turn the ignition off and then back on waiting for the diags to finish and then restarting. It would go away and then appear again later at random times.

The bike has been doing this since I moved from Maine (sea level) to Montana. It did not do this in Maine. I has been doing it in both stock exhaust configuration and now with a holeshot full system.

The bike makes for a great long distance platform but this is tough to deal with. It's a little bit more than just a character flaw in the bike.

Any ideas?

IIRC The '03's had a technical bulletin issued for the TPS. When I had an '03 the dealer told me about the bulletin and had the repair done. My suggestion is to contact a dealer near you and have them look into it.

My $0.02.

OlyFJR said:

IIRC The '03's had a technical bulletin issued for the TPS. When I had an '03 the dealer told me about the bulletin and had the repair done. My suggestion is to contact a dealer near you and have them look into it.
My $0.02.

Click to expand...

I've been considering the TPS because of the on/off reaction near closed throttle. I'll certainly give the dealer a try concerning the tech bulletin as I bought this bike used about 20k miles ago. Thank you, I appreciate the response.

I have the same problem with my '05 and can't fix it to save my life. Runs perfect everywhere but throttle barely cracked. So far, I have done: new TPS, plugs, trimmed plug wires, throttle body sync, can of Seafoam, cleaned main harness connector, BJM +3, +5, +7, adjusted throttle cable, and now the PCIII. The BJM helped somewhat, but it was still terrible. The PCIII with Wally's map helped a lot. The rough running is still there just off idle, but much better than it was. It now misfires a bit in traffic, through town, etc., but it doesn't buck and jerk. It will drive me nuts until it runs perfectly. Suggestions?

Tslapper said:

OlyFJR said:

IIRC The '03's had a technical bulletin issued for the TPS. When I had an '03 the dealer told me about the bulletin and had the repair done. My suggestion is to contact a dealer near you and have them look into it.
My $0.02.

Click to expand...

I've been considering the TPS because of the on/off reaction near closed throttle. I'll certainly give the dealer a try concerning the tech bulletin as I bought this bike used about 20k miles ago. Thank you, I appreciate the response.

Click to expand...

Yep, there was a TPS recall. Among the reported problems was low speed stalling.

Since you should get a new one installed for free, might as well try that first.

TPS!!!!

I agree TSlapper should do the TPS first, as it should be free of charge, but mine has been done and had zero effect on the same problem. Mine has never stalled on me though.

My bikes always run their best in the 65 degree summer air at sea level in Maine, or in Atlantic Canada. That's one of the reason I love to head that way for some vacation time every year.

With that said, the problem is that your engine control module is supposed to lean things out as you go to higher elevations where there are fewer pounds of oxygen in a cubic foot of air. You are probably running richer than what was anticipated by the designers of the bike.

The TPS solution may fix your problem. If they deal with it using TPS, they will be shooting you into the fuel and timing maps at a different starting point, and this will affect the performance over the whole range of throttle positions.

I just about NEVER recommend remapping with something like a Power Commander, but it is possible that your situation may be one where a PC could help. Get the recall done... and if that doesn't solve your problem, check with a local shop regarding a possible map modification.... it will be an oddball modification in that it will be removing fuel, rather than adding it, but hopefully the local folks will know what's needed for success.

El Toro said:

My bikes always run their best in the 65 degree summer air at sea level in Maine, or in Atlantic Canada. That's one of the reason I love to head that way for some vacation time every year.
With that said, the problem is that your engine control module is supposed to lean things out as you go to higher elevations where there are fewer pounds of oxygen in a cubic foot of air. You are probably running richer than what was anticipated by the designers of the bike.

The TPS solution may fix your problem. If they deal with it using TPS, they will be shooting you into the fuel and timing maps at a different starting point, and this will affect the performance over the whole range of throttle positions.

I just about NEVER recommend remapping with something like a Power Commander, but it is possible that your situation may be one where a PC could help. Get the recall done... and if that doesn't solve your problem, check with a local shop regarding a possible map modification.... it will be an oddball modification in that it will be removing fuel, rather than adding it, but hopefully the local folks will know what's needed for success.

Click to expand...

I agree with what you're saying. It feels like a richness problem when it begins to run rough. The bike definitely feels as if it is loading up. The TPS may only fix part of the problem. I'll talk to the dealer tomorrow.

This bike ran perfectly in Maine and most of my riding there was cold(er) temps. When it is cool or cold here in Montana I do not experience the problem. I do when it gets hot out. Temps as low as 75 degrees is when the problem starts showing itself.

I have a PCIII and am running Dales map for his full exhaust. When I installed it I wondered about a rich map because his was developed at sea level in CA.

That being said, this same problem was occurring before I installed Dales system. In other words, if I unplug the PCIII and reinstall the stock exhaust I'll still see the issue.

My bike is in a good state of tune and runs perfectly otherwise.

Well whatdyaknow... I get a break.

The TPS hasn't been addressed on this particular beast. Dealer ordered part and will get it installed. Might fix the problem but it sure is a nice place to start.

Question about the TPS unit on this bike. Is it adjustable? (I need to get a service manual).

The TPS is adjustable. Sort of. The TPS needs to have the lower end of the range set so that diAG 01 reads 15-17 with the throttle in the idle position and 97-100 in the full throttle position. The span of the TPS is fixed, all you can do is move the whole range up and down.

There is a high probability that your problem is the TPS.

Thanks sir.

That will give me some forehand knowledge when talking to the mechanic after the install. Much appreciated.