altitude problem revisited

[JustHoward]

I first took my 2008 FJR up to altitude when it had 10,000 miles. I experienced much reduced throttle response, e.g., when I came back on the throttle just a little, it felt like the bike was going to stall, and when I advanced the throttle just a little, nothing much happened. At 10,000 feet, when I pulled into a parking area, the bike stalled. About twenty minutes later, I went to restart the bike, and had a lot of trouble starting it the normal way. I had to give it a lot of throttle to start, and when I came off the throttle, it stalled.

As I descended, each time i tried to shift gears, the tach would go to zero, but the bike would start again once the clutch was engaged. These symptoms persisted down to about 6,000 feet, and then gradually went away.

My dealer said it was bad gas.

This problem has persisted, on and off, for the past two years. If I go to altitude at high rpms, with wide fluctuation of rpms during the climb, I don't seem to have this problem. But if I'm cruising along, like on the interstate, but at 4,500 rpms, I do have this problem.

It happened again last week (I now have 75,000 miles on the odo) on my way from Memphis to Las Vegas. At Flagstaff, (7,000 feet) all these symptoms came about.

Any ideas as to what's wrong? My bike VIN number is outside of the recall range for new ECUs.

Howard

 

[Roy Epperson]

Any ideas as to what's wrong? My bike VIN number is outside of the recall range for new ECUs.

Might be worth checking with Yamaha to see if there is a part number difference between the "upgraded" ECU and the one subject to the recall.

I've not looked into how the ECU senses altitude but it might be that some "dirt" is blocking the altitude pressure sensor input and the ECU is reading the pressure that was there when the dirt got stuck. (That's what can happen to aircraft pitot tube.

 

[ionbeam]

I've talked with Howard about this problem. His symptoms are not like the altitude sickness, once at altitude he has running problems that do not change with throttle movement or turning the key OFF/ON.

Based on what Howard said, I believe his Air Intake Pressure sensor is working. His Gen II only has one sensor. I think it was after I talked with Howard someone posted a picture of an AIP that had the hose clogged with goo where it connected to the intake vacuum rail.

The other reason I'm posting this is because he can't check his AIP sensor via diAG and the guy with the plugged tube couldn't either. diAG asks you go to the actuator step 03 and crank the engine while observing the diAG value change as the engine cranks. Per the FSM Displays the pressure difference (atmospheric pressure - intake air pressure). It seems that the Gen II goes ahead and starts which causes a diAG error and no value display. The procedure in my Gen I manual matches the one in the Gen II manual though it isn't word for word. The actuator procedure does work on my Gen I. Either there is a diAG software glitch or there has been a procedure change that did not make it into print in the manual.

One last oddity, even though my FSM says the AIS should read in mm Hg it actually reads in Kilo Pascal.

 

[road runner]

I did the d:03 test last year on my 07 and it worked as the manual says. The reading went from 95 to 91 while cranking.

I was trying to help someone with an 08 who had similar problem as this one. Haven't heard back from him since so don't know how he made out. It's very interesting that he had similar symptoms, same year bike, and came up with Er:1 when he tried to diag the AIP. :huh: His didn't start, but after a few seconds of cranking and no change in value the Er:1 came up.

Is it possible if the Meter see's no change in value it puts up the Er:1 (which is no signal from ECM) instead of fault code 14 (which is AIP hose clogged or detached) ?

Also interesting is the 08 ECM is different from the rest, and the most pricey. 06 and 07 are the same. 08 is different and most expensive. 09,10,11 are all the same but differ from the rest , but not as much $ as 08. I would think 08 threw 2011 would be the same. I wonder what's different about the 08.

Don't mean to drift off topic just mentioning a few similarities, and things that make me go huh.

 

[ionbeam]

I did the d:03 test last year on my 07 and it worked as the manual says. The reading went from 95 to 91 while cranking.

.... It's very interesting that he had similar symptoms, same year bike, and came up with Er:1 when he tried to diag the AIP. :huh: His didn't start, but after a few seconds of cranking and no change in value the Er:1 came up....

 

[dasadab]

I had serious bucking problems with my 2009. I went up to 8000 feet and the bucking was so bad that I had to coast downhill to a lower altitude. The dealer said it was bad gas. BS. I haven't had the time to get to altitude to try it again. Living in west Los Angeles, there isn't a lot of altitude near by. I was thinking a power commander may be worth trying, but I hate to spend money on an experiment. Next time at altitude I am going to film what happens on my iPhone. Perhaps you could do the same. Also, my mileage seems pretty horrible. I haven't done a formal mileage calculation lately, but yesterday riding two up in traffic I could almost watch the gas gauge drop. Last time i checked i was in the mid 30s with full hard cases and a Rifle shield. Thos was at about 75 mph cruise. Maybe the mileage and altitude issues are related. Dean

 

[dcarver]

Last time i checked i was in the mid 30s with full hard cases and a Rifle shield. Thos was at about 75 mph cruise. Maybe the mileage and altitude issues are related. Dean

That's what I get running solo at those speeds with Rifle shield...

 

[dasadab]

Last time i checked i was in the mid 30s with full hard cases and a Rifle shield. Thos was at about 75 mph cruise. Maybe the mileage and altitude issues are related. Dean

That's what I get running solo at those speeds with Rifle shield...

Oh well, it's a damn great shield, and I have tried a few.