Sorry bout that, I figured that you already had the connector, disconnected and were having trouble getting the O2 sensor unscrewed, Not exactly sure where the connector would be on your machine, On my 11 road glide they are under the painted cover on the right side of the bike.

 

Got it figured out..
Thx all!!

 

I have a T-max on my '04 Heritage FLSTCI and have had a few issues. For context, I've had a lot done to the bike. It's a 113" with V&H 2into1, Zippers hi-po air intake, gear drive cams, roller rockers, SE flywheel, hemi-design heads, feuling oil pump, horsepower inc throttle body. The guy who put it all together is out of Forest, VA and originally installed a Daytona Twintec ECM but after about a year or so I switched to T-max because I was getting a lot of pinging cruising at highway speeds (75+) and I could find no one who knew how to tune the Twintec....and the manual looked really complex.

One of the things that attracted me to T-max was the autotune feature....essentially I came to believe I put in a base map and then the module will tune as I ride to optimize the fuel management without me having to do anything but more riding. With all the discussion above regarding AFR settings and timing adjustments and everything else, I'm wondering if my premise is valid now.

So on to describe some of my issues. I had the T-max in the bike not too long before I rode it from Tacoma, WA to Sturgis in 2010. It ran pretty well but still had the pinging (is this the same as detonation??) at highway cruising speeds of 75+ or so in 6th gear (oh yeah, I have a Optima 6-speed tranny), funny enough since that was one reason I moved on from the Daytona Twintec. Well, I get back from Sturgis that summer and unfortunately had to leave the bike sit for 3 years while I was deployed and then re-assigned to Korea. Upon returning to the states -- and my bike -- in Summer '13 I took a trip with friends/family from Tacoma to Portland. Bike ran great even after not being so much as started for nearly 3 years. No issues at all on the run down; however, on the return trip it suddenly started sputtering and surging while maintaing speed in lower gears. It got worse and eventually started doing it in all gears and just running like complete dog$hit with the sputtering and surging and just generally sounding/feeling like it was going to die at any second. I was surprised I managed to get it all the way back home.

So after the summer I trailored it here to Kentucky and it's essentially been a hanger queen while I pondered what to do with it over the winter. I figured maybe if I tried to re-write the map that would help, but of course I couldn't find the cables that I hadn't used in over 3 years to hook up the laptop. I ordered a replacement set, and they came in last week. Just today I went ahead and did a firmware update and then re-programmed the T-max module.

Test ride #1 complete, and it is running SO much better. Not perfect, but no surging or sputtering as I maintain speed, right now no faster than 45 mph. One issue I am having is that it's behaving a little strange while rolling on the throttle in 1st gear, but it's a small complaint when compared to what it was doing before the re-map. Another issue/problem is that ever since I put the T-max in, my speedo konks out on my quite a bit. I'm riding and all of a sudden the speedo will just "shut off" and the needle drops to 0. And then of course my turn signals don't shut off automatically and the odo doesn't move. I have a recalibration module on the bike, but now that's not working at all for some reason.

So if you're still with me, the questions I have: As I continue to ride, will the performance smooth out in lower gears without me having to make any adjustments to the base settings? Any thoughts on why my speedo stops working so often?

One final frustration I have is that there are only 2 base maps to choose from for my engine size (113). I was told that all you had to do with T-max was to "get it close" and the autotune would do the rest. Is this indeed the case? If yes, why do I need to worry about all the tinkering as discussed earlier in this thread?

Any/all comments are welcomed and appreciated! Time for another test ride....

 

The problem with the speedo and signals is probably the connection at the module with the big plug. Take a look at it and make sure the pins are all straight and clean. Some say to use dielectric grease but I just clean with contact spray. That plug tends to get loose so when you put it back together, hold it tight with a couple of small cable ties. It's a little tricky, but it should take care of that.
Just keep riding it and after a couple hundred miles, link up and see if the TMCC recommends running Auto Map.
You should also run a Data Collection and email it to Zippers. They will either tweak your map or send you a new one.

 

Thanks for the tips -- will definitely check the big cable to the module and see if that fixes it. And thank god for youtube videos showing how to do some of those other features the t-max software offers....

 

Yes, the Thundermax will continue to tune your AFRs. I will NOT auto tune your timing. This is why it is so crucial to load a base map that closely matches your build. It doesn't have to be a 113 map. A 110 map with a similar cam, TB, exhaust will work MUCH better than a poor matching 113 map.

Most Thundermax maps use Red Shift, SE, S&S or Andrews cams. Look at your cam timing events and find a 110 Map that best matches your cam. You can either load that map or copy and paste the timing tables from that map to your current map. I recommend the latter.

 

Oh man, that's very helpful. Lots more maps for 110" than 113" so I'll have to check that out immediately. So the cams is what's most imperative when we're talking about timing? Wish I wouldn't have read this so early in the day because now I'll be thinking about it til quitting time.....

 

The cam is just one piece of the puzzle. I personally believe that the cam and engine stroke are more important than the exhaust, air cleaner or throttle body when choosing a map. Everything matters though.

There is still a chance that you will need to have it tuned if you cannot find a map that is a good match.

 

Looked through all the maps for a while last night....the one that seems to fit the best with cam, throttle body, air cleaner & pipes is one for a 120" JIM's. The map for the 113" I currently have loaded has the bike running pretty dang good, but I still occasionally notice some rough spots in low gears if I'm not getting on the throttle. It took me a while to figure out what type of cams I have (S&S 640G), and I know I have a Horsepower Inc throttle body but not sure the size....is there a way to figure it out by examination of the bike? My documentation for it seems more of a general set of instructions.

Again, thanks.

 

The SE 264 and 266E are the two closest matches that I seen in the T-Max library. The maps listed with this cam are for engines with a longer stroke than your engine has (assuming yours is 4 3/8). May work. May need to pull a little timing.

I like to mess with things and learn my lessons the hard way so I would try it.

If your only issue is low speed/low load drivability, then stick with your current tune and (like mentioned earlier) collect and transmit support data to thundermax. Or... go get it dyno tuned




S&S 640G
Intake 25/60
Exhaust 65/25

SE 264
Intake 24/60
Exhaust 60/22

SE 266E
Intake 24/58
Exhaust 69/17