so... rode my bike from MD to Key West and back last October. Every time I would get on it the check engine light would come on. Bike seemed to be running OK, good oil pressure, good power, good fuel economy, etc so I didn't worry about it too much. Last time I rode was new years day, same thing happened. I finally got around to pulling the code for the error last weekend, 'front cylinder no combustion'. I figured maybe bad/marginal spark plug so I picked up a new set of plugs. went to change the front one, and the plug wire was not snapped down onto the plug terminal... DUH. was down enough I guess it made enough contact so the bike wasn't running rough but probably a very weak spark. changed the plugs anyway but too much snow/ice to road test it to see if it is really fixed but pretty sure that was the culprit...

enough true confessions, I now return you to your regularly scheduled posts...

 

the real question here is who was the last person to connect that plug wire ?

 

1.) hope your new plugs are stock spec or you may create other problems with the ion sense.

b.) and anti-seize paste on the threads

2.) years ago, I had all kinds of problems with "awesome performance" wires pushing themselves up off the plugs ( bike and cars) accel yellow wires seemed the worst and the clips just seemed to not have enough spring to them to stay connected to the plugs...

Mike

 

haha last person to work on the bike was me... I rerouted the front wire to hide it better, so I definitely can't blame anyone but me... Just before the trip tho I had converted all my lights (even headlights) to LEDs and I was sure it was something related to that...

new screamin eagle plugs same as I have run for last 50k miles so they'll be ok... antiseize always on plug threads. and this time I used a dab of dielectric grease on the plug terminal and felt it snap into place so all is well... aftermarket taylor 10mm wires but never been an issue before, I am sure this little snafu was caused by my error... o well just glad it was something simple...

 

I had a similar problem with my first performance car, bought new. It was only a few weeks old and when giving it it's head one day it started stuttering and coughing. With only a couple of hundred ever made my heart was in my mouth as I backed off, fearing the worst. Loose plug-cap - what a relief!

Deep breath - calm thoughts......

 

I remember yellow accel wires. A "had to have" thing. What a POS they were.

 

That amazes me... running OK, good power and no front cylinder combustion. Bet it will feel like a whole new bike now. Nice, inexpensive upgrade!

 

all we can do is try to learn from our stupid mistakes , at least this one didn't cost you much to fix

 

Love the notion; That light doesn't mean anything...

 

Thats funny