2011 electrical/ignition problem

[TXFJR]

I have searched all the forums, and read all about the "spider" issues of the older Gen 2s. I have a 2011 with less than 400 miles, and I have experienced the following problem:

While coming to a stop (rolling at less than 30 mph) as I am downshifting, the bike has died on at least 10 separate times. Usually, it's when I shift down into 3rd or 2nd (from 30-20 mph) and it seems to happen as I am letting go of the clutch. The panel/gauges stay on, I just hear the engine die, just like if I had hit the kill button. The most recent time, it did it as I was exiting the freeway after a 6-8 mile trip, and I was slowing down for the intersection after the off ramp. Other times is during normal city light-to-light traffic, but always as I am coming to a stop. It has happened when the bike is just barely warmed up, and when it's at full operating temperature. The first time it happened, it was when I was bringing the bike home, with less than 50 miles on the odometer, I just wrote that one off as a fluke. However, it has continued to happen, but since it's intermitent, I don't know if the dealer will be able to figure it out.

There are no recalls on the 2011 (that I know of), has anyone else experienced this on a 2011? Any ideas as to where I should start to troubleshoot it? The bike starts right up after it dies, but I am afraid this may happen at a REALLY bad time, or that it will just not start again.

 

[03HiYoSilver]

TX,

Hate to see this happen to you. Since you are under warranty, best take it back to the Shop to Diagnose and have a History. Here is the 800-962-7926 Yamaha Customer Service-Cypress/CA.

One thing you may Check is Make Sure your Idle is at 1100 RPM (when warmed up). Your idle may be set to low and stalling.

Hope this helps...

 

[Blue Crab]

I've had the exact same problem happen on my bike (2007 FJR1300A).

The first time it happened, I was approaching a traffic light. After I squeezed the clutch and downshifted into 1st gear (while braking and coming to a stop), the engine cut out. It was a nice clean shutoff, like I had hit the kill switch. Bike was at normal operating temp.

Thinking that it may have been the kickstand safety interlock, I removed my kickstand and cleaned/lubed it up.

Things were good until about two weeks later. This time, I started the bike up, rode it down a hill, and as I was downshifting while coming to a stop sign, the bike died again.

So, it doesn't seem to matter whether the bike is warm or cold. And it has only happened when coming to a stop. All gauges and lights appeared normal and the bike always started right back up.

I'm still thinking safety-interlock. If you have the bike in gear and you put down the kickstand, the bike will shut off. I'm thinking that maybe with the inertia (forward momentum) of the bike coming to a stop is somehow causing the kickstand switch to momentarily engage. I have no proof of this but that's how it seems to be acting.

 

[Fred W]

Make 100% certain that your warm idle is set to 1100 rpm. Not 1000 (even though it says in the FSM that the range is 1000-1100). You could even try it at 1150, which would be better than 1000.

 

[TXFJR]

I will check the idle when I get home, I never even considered that! I was also thinking it was something with the the side stand, like maybe the tension was not enough and it might have been "dropping" enough to engage the cut off. But then I wondered why it never did that while going over rough roads or bumps, and it seems to only do it as the idle drops as the clutch is pulled in. It's the same with mine, a very clean "kill", and I lose no other electrical such as the panel or blinkers, only the engine.

Right now its just annoying, but I sure hate the thought of having a $15,000 bike with 400 miles that dies when it wants to....not to mention it makes me look like a rookie rider! LOL! No one will believe when you tell them "oh, its the bike....its dying" when it's a brand new bike with paper plates!

 

[ionbeam]

...After I squeezed the clutch and downshifted into 1st gear (while braking and coming to a stop), the engine cut out. It was a nice clean shutoff, like I had hit the kill switch...

Do check to be sure that the idle speed is 1,100. When the ECU sees that the motorcycle is decelerating it runs a Deceleration Fuel Cut-Off routine, couple this with low idle and it may be why the engine cuts off. If you are decelerating with the transmission in gear and the clutch engaged (locking the engine to the wheel) the force of the wheel working on the engine will keep the fire lit. A good deal of the reason most cars idle at 600 rpm and motorcycles idle at 1,100 rpm is due to light flywheel weight and lower engine rotational inertia. The motorcycle needs the extra rpm to make up for the lighter flywheel weight (and an engine with hot rod cams).

If your warm idle rpm is indeed 1,100 then more work will need to be done. I doubt that it is caused by something like the side stand sensor because the problem only shows up during a specific condition during deceleration. This is key, something in the deceleration profile is triggering the event. If the problem persists even with the idle at 1,100 rpm I wouldn't rule out a software problem with the ECU Decel routine, something that a Power Commander or equivalent may help. It would also be interesting to see what the TPS reads in the diAG mode and where the TB vacuum is at idle.

 

[Blue Crab]

Thanks for that information... I will check my RPM at idle and bump it up a little if it's not 1,100.

 

[TXFJR]

Well, I checked the warm idle, it was somewhere between 850-900. I bumped it up to 1100, will go for a ride later tonight and see if that cured the problem. I may not know for sure for a while, since it didnt die all the time, it seemed almost random, but I hope this cures it! Thank you everyone!

 

[E.T.]

Well, I checked the warm idle, it was somewhere between 850-900. I bumped it up to 1100, will go for a ride later tonight and see if that cured the problem. I may not know for sure for a while, since it didnt die all the time, it seemed almost random, but I hope this cures it! Thank you everyone!

FWIW, I picked up a 2010 this year and it acted the same way. A TBS and adjusting the idle up to 1100 took care of it. :yahoo:

Hope it takes care of it for you.

 

[KYCHERRY]

Well, I checked the warm idle, it was somewhere between 850-900. I bumped it up to 1100, will go for a ride later tonight and see if that cured the problem. I may not know for sure for a while, since it didnt die all the time, it seemed almost random, but I hope this cures it! Thank you everyone!

FWIW, I picked up a 2010 this year and it acted the same way. A TBS and adjusting the idle up to 1100 took care of it. :yahoo:

Hope it takes care of it for you.

Hey E.T - where did you get your TBS done if I may ask? Or did you do it yourself?

 

[TXFJR]

Well, I checked the warm idle, it was somewhere between 850-900. I bumped it up to 1100, will go for a ride later tonight and see if that cured the problem. I may not know for sure for a while, since it didnt die all the time, it seemed almost random, but I hope this cures it! Thank you everyone!

FWIW, I picked up a 2010 this year and it acted the same way. A TBS and adjusting the idle up to 1100 took care of it. :yahoo:

Hope it takes care of it for you.

OK, this will sound really stupid, what is a "TBS"? technical bulletin ...something?

 

[TXFJR]

Well, took her out for a short (5 miles) ride with the higher idle. The problem SEEMS to have gone away! It must have helped, because I noticed that even when "blipping" the throttle it used to sort of "hesitate" before, where now it's nice and smooth. I guess I will just HAVE to force myself to go on more test rides to confirm that the problem is gone!

 

[E.T.]

Well, I checked the warm idle, it was somewhere between 850-900. I bumped it up to 1100, will go for a ride later tonight and see if that cured the problem. I may not know for sure for a while, since it didnt die all the time, it seemed almost random, but I hope this cures it! Thank you everyone!

FWIW, I picked up a 2010 this year and it acted the same way. A TBS and adjusting the idle up to 1100 took care of it. :yahoo:

Hope it takes care of it for you.

OK, this will sound really stupid, what is a "TBS"? technical bulletin ...something?

A throttle body sync (TBS) is something that should be done at the first 600 mile service and every 4000 miles according to the Yamaha manual.

You can read about how to accomplish it here. It is mentioned in the 06 - 09 Bin-O-Facts...

 

[Fred W]

Glad the idle speed seems to have fixed it. A couple more things to be aware of on your new bike.

The second gen cold start mechanism doesn't seem to raise the idle rpm quite as high as on first gen bikes. This was (probably) changed to accommodate the bikes with YCCS, where an idle of over 2000 rpm might cause the auto-clutch to engage. Because of the low cold idle speed you may notice drivability problems similar to what you experienced when the engine is cold, even after having upped your warm idle speed to 1100. Just be extra careful when the engine is cold.

A correctly running engine may have a slight hesitation when you do blip the throttle on from idle. It's caused by the fuel injection being in a lean, closed loop state at idle for emissions testing purposes. There is really no need to blip the throttle. You'll never need to run the engine that way when actually riding the bike. Blipping the throttle from off idle doesn't hurt anything, but it doesn't accomplish anything either. Blipping the throttle between gears is done at higher rpm (well above idle speed) and you'll never feel that hesitation.

You'll want to learn how to do your own TBSes. It is such a simple adjustment, it is ludicrous to pay anyone to do one . It also doesn't accomplish all that much, except make the stealerships a lot wealthier at shop rates.

 

[ionbeam]

It's strange that there have been so many new FJRs with low idle speed. You would think that checking and setting idle speed would be part of their setup and check off sheets for new bikes. The check sheet my dealer used for my '04 had over a hundred items on it. At least people aren't reporting loose wheel hardware or loose brake parts.

There is a lot of work a dealer has to do to setup a new bike, but it seems that checking the idle speed is not on the list or being ignored.

 

[SkooterG]

Damn Alan! Fine photos of a 2004 FJR1300 being born!

Brings a tear to my eye!

 

[RadioHowie]

Damn Alan! Fine photos of a 2004 FJR1300 being born!

Brings a tear to my eye!

Damn Gunny!!! I'd pay full-boat for a new, in-the-crate '04!

 

[Blue Crab]

Well, I checked the warm idle, it was somewhere between 850-900. I bumped it up to 1100, will go for a ride later tonight and see if that cured the problem. I may not know for sure for a while, since it didnt die all the time, it seemed almost random, but I hope this cures it! Thank you everyone!

Same here... When I first started my bike (cold), idle was at 1,100 RPM. As she warmed up to operating temperature, the idle dropped to 800-900 RPM. So, I bumped my idle up to 1,100 and rode the bike to work this morning. No issues to report, but the problem was very sporadic. If it happens again then I'll be sure to post here, but I'm hoping that the idle adjustment resolved the problem. Thanks, everyone!

 

[Zorlac]

I bumped my idle up to 1,100 and rode the bike to work this morning. No issues to report, but the problem was very sporadic.

My money's on fixed.