(edit) ECU Replacement on Canadian '06 & '07 FJRs

[Zolton]

Just took the FJR in to my local Yam dealer to have the ignition switch done and mentioned the ECU situation. I also took a copy of Brodie's post regarding what the ignition switch swap out result should look like. They scoffed at me about the info I showed up with stating that "they've done plenty of these ignition switch upgrades and they don't need any internet stuff to help them". When I asked how many they'd done the reply was "5". :blink:

That's not really "plenty" in my books <_<

Anyways...when I mentioned the ECU situation and that it was a major issue in the US they said that they'd not heard anything about it. I asked them to check their system regarding any technical bulletins on it and they found nothing.

They mentioned that if it started to crap out on me because of the ECU, that I should bring it in. I told them that the main purpose for my FJR is to ride the mountain ranges of the eastern US (which it is) and that if this situation first occured mid way through passing a truck on a mountain road that the result might be catastrophic.

At that point one of the techs said that they can send the ECU in to be reprogramed by Yamaha to correct this situation. So they knew about it all along (at least one of them anyways). So that's what I'm having done now.

The point is....stick to your guns and stress the safety aspect of the situation. That will get results.

By the way, this is considered to be one of the better Yamaha dealerships in the area.

 

[shuswaper]

I dunno there Zolton...send the ECU in to Yamaha to get it reprogrammed? That is not the correct proceedure...yer dealer has to order a new one, that comes with instructions on replacement. If thats one of the better dealers... :angry2:

 

[Zolton]

You are absolutely correct. They just contacted me and said the same thing. I'm to pick up the bike after the ignition switch work and they will call me when the new ECU comes in. They were incorrect with the fix proceedure at first but at least I got a ball rolling that otherwise might not have been

Sometimes you have to make some waves to get what you want

I was a bit worried that since it was something that I requested, I was going to get stuck with the bill....I asked for clairification and they say no. Yamaha picks up the tab. I know it's a cut and dried situation in the US but up here things are a little less certain. In this case anyways.

 

[FJR Flyer]

Tell them to check Tech Bulletin M2007-016A, which specifically calls for the replacement.

 

[Bigbeavk]

Really getting tired of the excuses. First I was told the ECU would be a couple of weeks to get then mid April and now they tell me another month. What the heck is the problem? Middle of May is the 3rd date I've gotten and I leave for a long road trip in the mountains at the end of May. OK my rant is over. Maybe I should just chill out and pull over to cycle the ignition switch and keep on havin fun. Is everyone else having trouble getting theirs done?

 

[HDtoFJR]

The replacement ECU for my 06 was ordered in early March. It just arrived to the dealer today. I was told Yamaha was backlogged.

Does anyone know if the ecu replacement will affect my Barbarian mod?

 

[cruiser]

The replacement ECU for my 06 was ordered in early March. It just arrived to the dealer today. I was told Yamaha was backlogged.
Does anyone know if the ecu replacement will affect my Barbarian mod?

Does this include the Ae models?

 

[bramfrank]

- Dealers know nothing. You need to do your homework and tell them how to do it.

- You will have to reset your settings, unless your dealer remembers to read the values before swapping the ECU

- If you twist your wrist a bit you will never see the problem that they're swapping the ECU for.

- This does include AE models.

But why not ask your dealers?

By the way; My bike qualifies, but I didn't bother with the ECU swap - I ran the BRP last summer and have been up and down the White and Adirondak mountans as well and never saw the problem - but I am a fairly aggressive rider..

 

[bramfrank]

Does anyone know if Yamaha Canada ever supported the ECU replacement? I asked my dealer about it last year when I bought my new '07. He said he called YC and they told him it wasn't an issue in Canada and said it was mainly a problem in California because of the different emission requirements.
Later on, when I experienced problems with surging and hesitation going over high mountain passes, the dealer said it was because the FJR doesn't adjust quickly enough to rapid changes in barometric pressure and he advised me to deal with it by disengaging the clutch, turn the kill switch off then on, start the engine and re-engage the clutch. This works fine but I am

left with the feeling that maybe YC just wants to avoid the problem rather than deal with it.

At the same time, I haven't heard any other Canadian riders complain about it so I don't know if I'm the only one having this problem.

Anyone got some information or opinions on this? Would be much appreciated.

Your dealer is a moron. Sounds almost like my old Kawa dealer.

Yamaha Canada is indeed swapping ECUs on request if your vehicle is in the range of affected serial numbers.

The problem manifests itself because the O2 sensor is only read when the throttle is twisted more than 25% (not sure if that means 90 degrees or what, but THEY say it is 25%). When you go through a significant change of altitude and if you do not twist your throttle aggressively, the O2 sensor will not be reread and the bike with either lean out or richen up, depending on whether you've been climbing or descending - and the result is hesitation, bucking and so on.

The official solution is to swap out the ECU. The replacement has been programmed to read the O2 sensor whenever throttle position changes by more than 6 degrees (which isn't much). Why they didn't just read it every minute or every 20 seconds is beyond me - if would have been a much better solution because then you could coast down through a mountain pass, never touching your throttle if you chose not to - and the ECU would still be properly set up.

That your dealer would suggest switching off a machine running at speed on a mountain pass is beyond comprehension.

You need a new dealer.

 

[FJRGuy]

The replacement ECU for my 06 was ordered in early March. It just arrived to the dealer today. I was told Yamaha was backlogged.

Guess I beat the rush. My dealer had been sitting on the part for a long time before I finally got it in 2 weeks ago! Huh!

 

[Zolton]

I guess my bike falls within the serial number range mentioned because the dealer agreed to swap the ECU out. When I initially inquired about it they typed my serial number into there system and it came back thus; "says nothing about an ECU replacement here sir". But I was persistent (without being a jerk) and when I mentioned safety they said it would be replaced, no charge, by Yamaha Canada. As I mentioned earlier, I told them that I mostly ride my bike in the mountains of the eastern US (and I do) but it hadn't yet acted up on me. When they suggested bringing it if it started to, I countered with "what if it first happens while passing a truck on a mountain road?" That seemed to be the line that changed the course of the conversation.

Apparently it is going to take some weeks to arrive but it is scheduled to be done.

Be persistent and don't take no for an answer. ....and play the safety card, that's what it's all about.

BTW I mentioned this same stuff a few posts back but thought I'd repeat myself in case you weren't reading all the posts.

 

[shuswaper]

Well, after all the time that has passed since the 2nd gen fuel injection revealed itself as being clunky in its handling of atmospheric pressure changes (whew), I guess I am somewhat amazed that this is still an ongoing issue. In my case, my first summer with the `07 and heading uphill here in the mountains of BC alarming would be an understatement. Compared to my ole`04, it was a disaster waiting to happen...and pretty close too. It was early Sept of 07, riding up to Sun Peaks, where I was xperiencing the full brunt of my bikes disorder...bucking, snorting yadda yadda yadda...oh yeah, I turned off the key a couple times too. But, when I found myself in the opposite lane coming out of a switch-back at a steep angle, because the power came on like a firecracker after nothing with a serious twist of the throttle, I knew this bike was compromised. The following week I was on a mission...but I did something different than most. I contacted Yammi Canada thru their website and xplained my situation. Within 24 hrs, I got my reply...acknowledging the problem, stating they were going to conatact my dealer, sending them the part(s) with further instructions to follow.The job was done efficiently and the bike runs as well, if not better than the `04. I was amazed at how responsive Yammi Canuck was and I gotta say, they are tops in my world...lets face it: it is a safety issue besides the performance. But, here we are, closing in on mid `09...and it seems there are still a ton of bikes out there with the problem...what gives? :assassin:

 

[Bigbeavk]

Now the rotten bastards have delayed shipping my ECU until June. This is the 4th delay. So now I go on my trip thru WVA,Tn and NC with a bad ECU. Does anyone have the email address for Yamaha corporate in the US? All I've found on their website is a phone number. I'd really like to email them for the paper trail itself rather than a phone call that isn't going to establish a record of this. :fuck:

 

[STC10]

Now the rotten bastards have delayed shipping my ECU until June. This is the 4th delay. So now I go on my trip thru WVA,Tn and NC with a bad ECU. Does anyone have the email address for Yamaha corporate in the US? All I've found on their website is a phone number. I'd really like to email them for the paper trail itself rather than a phone call that isn't going to establish a record of this. :fuck:

It's really not a big deal. The ECU is not "bad". I have the original ECU in my 06 and am also waiting for the backordered part. In three years I have never had an issue with the altitude. Just remember, in the mountains,open the throttle up half a turn every now and then. It's not going to let you sit. That would be the ign. switch. :blink:

 

[Sagebrush]

Now the rotten bastards have delayed shipping my ECU until June. This is the 4th delay. So now I go on my trip thru WVA,Tn and NC with a bad ECU. Does anyone have the email address for Yamaha corporate in the US? All I've found on their website is a phone number. I'd really like to email them for the paper trail itself rather than a phone call that isn't going to establish a record of this. :fuck:

It's really not a big deal. The ECU is not "bad". I have the original ECU in my 06 and am also waiting for the backordered part. In three years I have never had an issue with the altitude. Just remember, in the mountains,open the throttle up half a turn every now and then. It's not going to let you sit. That would be the ign. switch. :blink:

I'm still waiting on my ECU too! I've been riding at low elevations for the last year here in Florida and hope my mountain trip in June will go ok. I had some stumbles in the "hills" of Alabama, seemed to go way after a few stops. I like to twist the throttle, hopefully my riding style in the mountains will make the old ecu happy???

 

[ASHE55]

Now the rotten bastards have delayed shipping my ECU until June. This is the 4th delay. So now I go on my trip thru WVA,Tn and NC with a bad ECU. Does anyone have the email address for Yamaha corporate in the US? All I've found on their website is a phone number. I'd really like to email them for the paper trail itself rather than a phone call that isn't going to establish a record of this. :fuck:

say Keith,

I just had my dealer here in asheville replace my ECU....didn't seem to be any problem. In by 12, out by 5. perhaps one of the dealers along the way could help you out.

 

[Zolton]

Just finished getting mine done a week ago. It came in weeks sooner than the dealer estimated. I had them do a TBS while they were in there. Because they "had the tank up anyways" the total cost of the entire procedure was $28.00

Yes you heard me. Twenty eight bucks Canadian for a throttle body sync while they were doing the ECU replacement. That's like nine bucks US (not really )

It's my first experience with this dealership and I was very pleased when all was said and done. One trip for the ignition recall, another for the ECU and TBS.

Performance Cycle in Cambridge. B)

 

[Bigbeavk]

Well I got back from my trip thru all kinds of elevation changes up to 6500 ft and had no problems. Thanks for the advice on cracking the throttle once in a while it seemed to do the trick. I had a message while I was away and my ECU is in stock now. Of course I had to tell the wife I wasn't fooling around when doing this. She was probably wondering why I kept doing it lol.

 

[Sagebrush]

Well I got back from my trip thru all kinds of elevation changes up to 6500 ft and had no problems. Thanks for the advice on cracking the throttle once in a while it seemed to do the trick. I had a message while I was away and my ECU is in stock now. Of course I had to tell the wife I wasn't fooling around when doing this. She was probably wondering why I kept doing it lol.

Mine did ok till I hit three days of rain while going up and down twisty roads. I couldn't use much throttle on the switch backs in the wet. While riding up in the 4 to 6,000 ft elevations I had to stop often and just do a restart. I stop at senic over looks often any way. After 7 months since I orderd the ECU and 12 months of owning my 07 I now have the revised ECU.

After a couple hundred miles on the new ECU I do have a smoother running bike for some reason. My 100 rpm idle swing is gone and the low rpm hesitation is almost gone when ridding slow around town around 3K. I'm heading to the mountains this coming week to try it out.