Hard to start after laying up

Apologies this is a bit long but may be of interest to someone.

Purchased a Cross Tourer - ex demo, and drove it every day (winter and summer) for 8 months, then had it serviced by a Honda dealer and garaged it for 2 and a half years.
Decided to start it up and found that it would not start easily, and would stick at 2-4,000 revs sometimes, other times would not start, but had an engine warning light.
Purchased a Healtech code reader on e-bay. The code reader is pretty basic, but what it does do (and makes it very useful) is give you the current and past codes, their description, and real time readings of many (if not all) the sensors, and allows you to clear the codes.
I got codes 77-1 (TBW return spring failure) and 79-1 (TBW system control correlation failure). The software showed it could detect the throttle position though, so I knew the spring was actually working.
So I removed the air filter, lifted the throttle bodies, and un-clipped all electric connectors around it including the ECUs , TPS, and throttle motor, and sprayed Halfords contact cleaner on all the connections and allowed it to dry and re-assembled everything.
This cleared the 77-1 and 79-1 codes, but the bike was difficult to start, and was throwing code 78-1 (TBW motor failure) when it was not working. So I took out all the fuses and sprayed them with contact cleaner that made a slight difference but the bike would not start on cold days. Next I discovered the 3 relays that are in what I would describe as the rear wing, i.e. in the plastic cover that extends out of the seat, on the left hand side if you were sitting on the bike. I cleaned the contacts with the spray, let it dry and put it back together, and hey presto - the bike now starts in all weathers and the throttle operates in a controlled way.

I hope this helps someone, note none of the connectors showed any sign of corrosion, and it may by the simple act of disturbing them did the trick, but the contact cleaner did no harm at the very worst.

 

Hi and welcome to the MadHouse

Cross Tourer models are quite rare so it is good to see some input in this section of the forum.

Thanks for your insight - I suspect the throttle by wire issues are linked to the extended storage - and as you say just disturbing stuff which has been in the same position for ages may be enough to clear the problem. Hopefully you can now just get out and enjoy riding it.

One question which sprung to mind about your post is to ask what if any extra steps you took (apart from a service) before you parked the bike up for 2 and a half years? Did you also follow the fairly extensive storage instructions in the owners handbook. I guess at the outset you did not expect to leave the bike parked for all that time, but there comes a time when petrol degradation can become a major issue, indeed fuel tanks can be prone to rust development if left partially filled for extended periods so did you add stabiliser and fill the tank completely.

PS The folks on here like photos - so don't be shy - its easy - look for the upload a file tab and follow the prompts to upload an image from your computer.

Take care ATGATT



SkiMad

 

No, I did not follow the storage instructions, as I was shocked to see it was 2.5 years when I checked, as that was not the plan.

The tank was full, I did remove most of the old fuel before restarting and put 5 litres of new fuel in so that the fuel itself was not an issue. I also noted that there appears to be no fuel filter, or at least I could not find one when searching.

I did replace the air filter, as that looked well manky, apparently a £200 Honda service does not include an air filter ! I have an after market one, though the fit is not as good as the original so may fit an original.

There was some rust underneath the tank, but could not see any inside.

Attached is the air filter removed and a lot of the connectors, the other one is of the 3 relays, the TBW is the third one.

 

nice work! does it make you long for carburetors (not being a wise guy - valid question.) Peace

 

Thanks for the response.

Carburettors, I can take them or leave them, it is the fly by wire throttle I don't need. If the TBW motor had gone, ( and I did undo the cover to see if there was any evidence of failure or corrosion ), then that is a £3000 part from Honda as it is not listed separately from the throttle bodies. The throttle position sensor is driven from a traditional throttle cable, so it is not as if you are gaining any weight advantage.

Am now carrying a spare relay as it is in an exposed position.

 

Did you get the bike sorted? this ride by wire stuff is great when it works I suppose like all these modern gizmos, I'm interested in buying a crosstourer but I'll be keeping my 5th gen Vfr, seen too many people that have sold them and then regretted it, the riding position is tougher as the body gets older but it's worth it to hear that fantastic engine.

 

Oh Yes it works now, just come back from an errand on it, very nice.

I used to have a 5th generation, however it was ex-demo also and the head bearings need replacing every year, which is the only reason I traded it.

My riding position is much better, but it is a very very heavy bike, though I bought it for commuting and the road presence is worth the weight.
It is also an automatic, which really helps the joints when commuting in a stop/start environment, you can manually shift but the sport/normal modes are enough for me, with the occasional flicked downshift when needed.
My bike does what I bought it for, but if they did a simpler version (automatic though) I would buy it. So I fully understand your philosophy of keeping it simple.

 

bonjour je viens d'avoir le meme soucis que toi vis a vis de l'erreur 77-1
donc si je comprend bien tu as pu le regler juste en changant le filtre a air et en nettouyant le 3 eme relais qui est justement le BTW ? ou tu as du acheter une nouvelle piece?

 

Salut Yohan et bienvenue dans le VFRWorld Madhouse.

Lorsque vous aurez le temps, veuillez basculer sur le forum "présentations" et dire bonjour aux autres personnes ici - et s'il vous plaît ajouter une photo ou deux de votre CrossTourer.

En relisant ce fil, il semble que le nettoyeur de contacts électriques ait résolu le problème bien qu'ils aient acheté un relais de rechange "au cas où" car ils se trouvent dans un endroit exposé.

Hi Yohan and welcome to the VFRWorld Madhouse.

When you get time please swing the "introductions" forum and say Hi to the rest of the folks on here - and please add a photo or two of your CrossTourer they really are quite rare VFRs!

Reading back on this thread it seems that electrical contact cleaner resolved the problem although they purchased a spare relay "just in case" as the relays are in an exposed location.

SkiMad

 

please stop showing off. people who lack a proper education shouldent be confused by foreign babble.

 

Désolé mon ami écureuil. Désolé

je suppose que peu de VFR CrossTourer vendu aux États-Unis ?

En Europe, ils semblaient un peu plus populaires même si beaucoup ont opté pour le CrossRunner plus léger.