Motor problems!! HELP PLEASE!!
Last edited by Cruzn34; Dec 28, 2012 at 07:11 PM.
That being said, I'll get to what was wrong. First of all, We all know you have to have 3 things all working together to make any internal combustion engine run!
(1) Proper Fuel and Air mix!
(2) Compression
(3) Ignition
Any one of these not properly functioning will result in an engine that won't start! So after going from the obvious, which in this case was the ignition because of the engine seeming to misfire, I checked, rechecked, and even checked that ignition again! After verifying that the ignition system was functioning properly and knowing that the engine had compression, it just made sense to look at the Fuel delivery system!
First I removed, cleaned, and checked the throttle body and all sensors related to that part of the motor!
Second, after I was very sure that the throttle body was in good order, I moved into the fuel tank. That is where the monster gave up its secret! The strainer on the bottom of the fuel pump assembly had completely disintegrated and there was pieces all over the bottom of the tank. After removing the fuel pump, I found that the pickup tube was clogged with what appeared to be a large amount of the screen material clogging the opening therefore preventing proper fuel flow but not completely keeping the engine from cranking and running. After seeing this, it all started to make sense because what I presumed was an ignition misfire, was actually the engine running lean which caused a higher than normal idle at low RPM and a leaning of the engine at a higher RPM thus causing the engine to start what appeared to be a misfire resulting in the ECM thinking that neither cylinder was firing properly and displaying a Non Combustion code for both cylinders!
Now everybody that heard this bike run and even the ones that were there when it started crapping out, all agreed that it was an ignition problem! Even the Harley Chief mechanic at My local shop stated that it was an ignition problem and worked on that basis while installing a new coil, spark plugs, Crankshaft sensor, and even disconnecting all connectors, cleaning, and reconnecting them, and yet the engine still had the same problem!
Frustrated, I went to this forum and the advice given resulted in My finding, identifying, and repairing this seemingly impossible to fix problem! The culprit all along was Ethynol fuel and its notorious ways of damaging fuel systems! Although I haven't been able to properly road test the bike due to the extreme cold weather here, I am 99% sure that what I found fixed the problem!
In conclusion, I will always check the fuel system first to make sure that Ethynol Monster hasn't crept back in and started eating away at the fuel lines and filters! After that I will always look elsewhere for the problem convinced that the fuel system is intact and working properly!
Thanks to All that contributed with their advice, and a special thanks to Chuck3049 for his insight and phone calls that greatly helped in determining the problem because if it not for all the suggestions from everyone here, I might of never found the problem and never been able to repair it my self saving me an untold amount of money that would have been spent at " The Stealer!"
Thanks Guys and I hope this post helps someone else having a similar problem like this!
Last edited by Cruzn34; Dec 30, 2012 at 06:51 AM.
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