Power Commander&Ecm issues
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4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2007
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Power Commander&Ecm issues
Ok so i'm new here, but I need some help. I have a 2001 95cu Fuel Injected Fatboy. All the go fast parts, Stage 2 ec, power commander,cams, heads, vance and hynes longshots, k&n filter,etc. I ran into a lot of backfiring on decel so i fired up the computer and tried a few fifferent maps. I ended up losing my original map because I'm not allthat smart. Anyway I loaded a few different set ups from PC and the bike ran like crap. I lost 1/3 of my mileage and created a huge dead spot in the power curves. I ended up taking my bike to the dealer to have it dynoed to see where the problem was. The result was that from 1500rpm to 2000rpm or so my bike ran great then did a nose dive to 3500rpm the screamed up to max rpm. We tried several maps to try and smooth out the curve to no avail. One tech says my Ecm was screwed so we reflashed it back to stock and it smoothed out the curve a little. He still syas my ecm is pooched though and my PC is near dead as well. All in all my mpg is still down by a third, so's power and now I have a check engine light coming on under hard accel. so what do I do. I'm thinking of V&H fuel pack and new ECM or do the whole thing with Twintechs stuff. Please help.
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
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RE: Power Commander&Ecm issues
On my wife's bike it was claimed that her ecm and her pc were dead. They both got replaced and the bike still ran like crap. It ended up being a spark plug wire that was arching because she had braided ones. We put on a set of stock wires and the bike ran like it should again. Try that before you spend any money replacing either unit.
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
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RE: Power Commander&Ecm issues
The cables didn't cause the problem because they were braided rather they were defective. There was a metal piece that was close to the rubber boot that actually arched to apparently the engine block or even to the other wire on her softtail. After the dealership went through all of their diagnostics and we replaced the ecm and the power commander there was still an issue. We brought the bike home and I found a burnt hole in one of the cables that you could not see from the top of the cable. I went ahead and put her stock cables back on and then no problem.
We purchased a new set of braided cables (both sets were magnum) and the new set had a piece of plastic shrink wrap on them extra where you can shrink it where you want. Obviously there a problem for them to add this.
So... I am doubting that there is an ecm problem or a power commander problem since this is a very similar issue to what we experienced. His ecm is out of warranty because the ecm only carries a 5 year warranty and his power commander is probably out of warranty as well. In my opinion if the ecm was fried then the dealer wouldn't be able to reflash it as well as if the pc was fried I would find it hard to believe that you could add/change maps.
We purchased a new set of braided cables (both sets were magnum) and the new set had a piece of plastic shrink wrap on them extra where you can shrink it where you want. Obviously there a problem for them to add this.
So... I am doubting that there is an ecm problem or a power commander problem since this is a very similar issue to what we experienced. His ecm is out of warranty because the ecm only carries a 5 year warranty and his power commander is probably out of warranty as well. In my opinion if the ecm was fried then the dealer wouldn't be able to reflash it as well as if the pc was fried I would find it hard to believe that you could add/change maps.
Road Master
Joined: May 2006
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From: LQ
RE: Power Commander&Ecm issues
I'm in a similar sitch right now... My bike is backfiring, missing, stalling at stoplights... The engine light will come on and off..And the speedo is goin haywire... Sometimes at 0 other times 75... or just bouncin all over the place. Took it to the dealer, and they are trying to say the same thing... PC fried my ECM... Tech said he's seen it happen 50 times!!! yet he's still waitin for HD to call so it can get hooked up and diagnosed??? WTF. If the ECM was fried why is the bike running at all and why can they get info off of it??
I too have steel braided Spark plug wires... And I'm starting to believe that may be my problemo as well...TickTock did your wifes bike have any of the same symptoms I mentioned??
I too have steel braided Spark plug wires... And I'm starting to believe that may be my problemo as well...TickTock did your wifes bike have any of the same symptoms I mentioned??
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
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RE: Power Commander&Ecm issues
Originally her bike would have an issue starting. It would just turn over and over and not really start. When it did start it wheezed until it warmed up and then it would run fine while it was hot. We took it to the dealer and after a day or so they came back and said the ECM was fried. They put in a new ECM and then claimed the PC was fried. I went in and was able to get the back to run fine with the new ECM and the old PC. I wasn't sure at that point so I opted for a new PC. With the new components the bike ran a bit better but it still backfired and ran bad. I decided to change the plugs on a whim and that is when I discovered the little burn mark from an arc in the rear wire.
For the price of testing your stock set (free) I would suggest you try it... Regarding the PC frying the ECM I don't think that is possible since the PC receives data from the ECM and passes it along. To the best of my knowledge the PC does not pass anything back to the ECM.
For the price of testing your stock set (free) I would suggest you try it... Regarding the PC frying the ECM I don't think that is possible since the PC receives data from the ECM and passes it along. To the best of my knowledge the PC does not pass anything back to the ECM.
Road Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 792
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From: LQ
RE: Power Commander&Ecm issues
ORIGINAL: TickTock
For the price of testing your stock set (free) I would suggest you try it... Regarding the PC frying the ECM I don't think that is possible since the PC receives data from the ECM and passes it along. To the best of my knowledge the PC does not pass anything back to the ECM.
For the price of testing your stock set (free) I would suggest you try it... Regarding the PC frying the ECM I don't think that is possible since the PC receives data from the ECM and passes it along. To the best of my knowledge the PC does not pass anything back to the ECM.
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Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
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RE: Power Commander&Ecm issues
Maybe you should just take your stock cables with you and put them on your bike and see if that solves the problem before you ride off. Your ECM has a 5 year warranty so the worst thing is you really might have a bad pc. Easy enough to check that by just disconnectingit and see how the bike runs for a short time. If it runs fine it is a PC problem if not and you checked the plug wires it could be something else.
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4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2007
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RE: Power Commander&Ecm issues
Thanks for the info, I'm going to go and inspect my wires today. there Vance&hynes , not steel braided though but what you said makes more sense than whatthe dealer originally said. I went to the other dealer in town yesterday and discussed my problem with them and they agree that my ecm is definaltly pooched and probably my pc as well. If it is pooched I'm thinking of going with the Twintech system. I hate the idea of waisting more money on a dyno as i have already thrown away a considerable sum with the current setup. But I'll check the cables before I do anything. Thanks.