Fried ECU again, reasons???

Or the time I put the fan on a 1972 mustang on backwards....Farking car would overheat over 60mph and run cool once ya slowed it down......Drove me nutz

 

Yup, it happens, more than we like to admit...

 

I've been following this post out of technical curiosity, as it is something I've never had to deal with (ECU-related issues, that is.). FWIW, my old CB1100F will also crank with the kill switch in the "Off" position. Guess how I know... :biggrin:

 

As your profile shows you have a '96, country US, location Germany, the next question is, where did the bike originally come from. A '96, from NA will not crank with the kill switch off. I don't have the manual for the European model, but have seen enough differences, to know better than jump to conclusions.

I only bring this up, so that we can all be on the same page, and so there are no uneccessary wild goose chases. Plus, it would be good to know if your switch is functioning correctly.

Maybe someone, in the know, could make a list of the known differences between the different markets. Seeing as this is truely a world wide forum.

:crazy:

 

We have all voted, you have been elected to create the model differences spreadsheet, by the way, we are going to need you to come in on saturday and we are wondering if you are done with those tps reports for this week....


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Well, I wouldn't exactly say I've been missing it, Bob.

 

Now damn that's what I like, a man with a good sense of humor. You're alright in my book, Karazy. You oughta think about teachin' a class to all of the uptight folks around here.




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I bought my VFR in the U.S., yes, I am in Germany, but only temporary. My VFR is also a North American model according to the VIN sticker.

 

Then, as stated earlier, your bike should not crank with the kill switch off. A faulty kill switch, that is designed to cut the spark, could be the reason for all your problems.

:crazy:

 

I already replacedthe kill switch, twice in fact, and it still cranks in the kill position.

 

I'm not sure what your level of understanding is in regards to the igniton and starter systems is, so I'll try to simplify it for you.

The kill switch, when open (off) will cut power, from the battery positive side, to the starter relay and the coils. This circuit is parallel to the safety circuit, which includes the clutch, neutral and sidestand switches. The safety circuit cuts the power, to the same as above, by removing the ground. This system is designed so that if one of the switches is not in the right position, the bike will not start or run.

The only other part of the system, besides the ECM, is the pulse generator. This feeds info for the tach and the inputs to the coils, so the spark is at the right place at the right time. If this is not functioning correctly, there will be no spark.

I believe that you have tested everything in the circuits and the only thing that is not working, as it should, is the kill switch. If we assume the switch, itself, is okay, then it only makes sense that there is a problem somewhere in the wiring. It is obvious that there is a short, that is allowing the starter to run. This same short may be causing you to lose your spark. Unless someone swapped the wiring harness from an earlier gen, you'll have to do some wire ringing, until you find the problem.

:crazy:

 

I'm fairly comfortable with how the starting/kill circuit and switches work. It's just something interesting to my VFR apparently, as all the wires have good continuity when they're supposed to, as the wiring diagram has been completely reviewed, and all wires shot with a multi-meter. Right now my VFR seems to be running just fine, but I still plan on keeping a close eye on it, until I do find the issue, as I'm not 100% sure that it is actually fixed. Thanks for the info!!!

 

I guess you forgot to mention that it was now running. I thought that you still didn't have any spark. What did you do to make this happen?

:crazy:

 

Well, in the process of trouble shooting the bike, I had pretty much disconnected every plug/connector on it, and checked for continuity, and measured the voltage, and/or resistance at each end. I may have had a bad connection, or bent pin somewhere, because when everything was connected again, I got spark, but only whehn the start/kill switch was in the "run" position. I then cleaned the carbs, and also swapped out the #1 spark plug boot, as it wasn't positively locking onto the spark plug. I also made a new bracket, and relocated the ECU. Fortunately for me, I had some really good friends help me out, as I was really scratching my head. I'm a pretty good mechanic, but hardly ever get into the electrical side of things, as that's a totally seperate career field in the Air Force.

 

Bad\dirty connections on a bike are quite common. Usually caused by corrosion, that is not always visible to the naked eye. Hopefully your friends applied some dielectric grease to all the connectors, while they were there. This helps to keep the moisture out and the connectors clean.

I was an AVN tech that remustered to AVS. I have seen many a greasy confused by electrical circuits. I usually try to convince them that it is actually quite similar to a hydraulic system.

reservoir ~ battery/power supply - fluid ~ electrons

pump ~ transistor/amplifier - both increase flow rate/power

shutoff valve ~ switch - starts and stop work

restrictor valve ~ resistor - both used to reduce flow

check valve ~ diode - both allow flow in only one direction

pressure regulator ~ voltage regulator - both create a desired flow rate

accumulator ~ capacitor and or inductor - they are commonly used to help keep the flow constant by adding the stored pressure/fluid - voltage/amperage during spikes in demand

filter ~ usually a capacitor - where the filter removes unwanted contaminents, the capacitor is usually used to remove unwanted AC by sending it back to the ground


Although there are many other parts to both types of systems, these are most of the common ones. I only hope that this was more help than harm.

I should have got Ghost to help me with this. He could have added diagrams to help make it clearer, the way he does.


:crazy: