Trouble shooting tips after reflash

[14kmtnman]

I just put my reflashed ecu back in along with a new battery. The bike won't start now. It cranks well, but won't catch to start. I have checked all of the connections 5 or 6 times, checked all of the fuses (pulled each one to double check). The only things I disconnected were the battery & the ecu. No other connections. After cranking, I do get a gas smell, like it is flooded. I have let it sit over 24 hrs before trying to restart. I disconnected the battery to reset the ECU. Any other ideas? I guess the next step is to lift the tank & remove the air box & check the plugs. Is there any trick to test the plugs? Can you have them hooked up & hit the starter to see if they fire or is that a no no on these fuel injected bikes?

 

[OldRider]

Did you unplug the ECU and take a very close look at the small pins in the plug? The pins are very small and are easy to bend. That's all I got.

 

[AlsoRan]

Maybe it's only flooded since you tried to start a few times and have a gas smell? Have you tried cranking it with the fuel pump fuse pulled out, then attempt a restart? Could be worth a try.

 

[scott123007]

It is possible you are suffering the "hard start" syndrome. There is no definitive reason why it does it, but it more commonly does it after a brief start and then left to sit for a while. It is more common on the '12 and '13 models. Of the three "impossible to start" episodes I had on my '12 in 50,000 miles, one was from pre-maturely turning off the bike before it had warmed up, and then I let it sit for a couple of days, but the other two were after I returned from long trips, and after thoroughly cleaning the bike,( by removing various parts and pieces for access ; tank, plastics, air filter) and then tried starting it after it was all back together.

I realize a lot fewer people either know, or are able to nowadays, but the ONLY SURE WAY, of all the suggestions ever posted, to get my severely flooded bike started again was to PUSH START IT. You need a couple of capable friends or a down hill area nearby. I also realize that there is a skillset involved in this as to what gear you have to be in, how fast you must be going, and the timing of person riding the bike going from a standing to a sitting position as you let the clutch out so the bike doesn't just skid to a stop.

I don't know if this is even your problem, but if your bike doesn't start from a correctly done push start, you can be confident your problem lies elsewhere.

 

[78YZ]

Who did the reflash?

 

[14kmtnman]

EC Unleashed. They have given me some ideas as to what to look for & do. They are giving quick responses to emails. Since I am 1500 miles away from them, they are doing the best they can. I am going to take the ecu out again this morning to check for any bent pins, then will try the fuel pump fuse trick if nothing is found. After that, pull a couple of the plugs to check them out. It really seems like it should be something simple, maybe one of those head slapper moments..... I have an extra set of eyes coming over to double check everything...

 

[Rewop]

If you try to fix this by treating it as a hard start issue, before you try bump starting the bike can I suggest you hook your bike battery up to a car battery. With the car engine running when you try to start the bike you may find the extra power is enough to get the bike engine spinning enough to fire up. This resolved a hard start issue for me. If you have a standard battery (I do) they seem to be a bit underpowered and easily run flat after a few minutes of cranking. Hope this helps

 

[14kmtnman]

I do have a brand new battery (fully charged, same brand, style, size as what came out) that went in with the ECU. There were no bent pins on the ECU. It looks like it would be really hard to do that with the way the connections are set up. Everything looked good. The fuel pump fuse step did not work either. No start after that either. So I took 3 of the spark plugs out and they were all wet. There was also a light oil/gas mist inside the bottom of the air box. I let the plugs dry, hit them with a brass brush & carb cleaner, checked the gap & will re-install them. At the same time I noticed that my oil level was way over where I normally keep it. Yes it did smell like gas. So maybe the injectors are stuck open. I dropped the oil & will replace it before trying to restart again. I have the cylinders airing out with the plugs out while I go to lunch & get the replacement oil.

 

[corndog]

I would not reinstall those spark plugs. A fouled plug may never recover.

 

[SilverBullet]

Have you verified that the ECU returned to you was the one you sent them? I took photos of my ECU before sending it off and that was the first thing I did upon receipt. Could have been a shipping table mix up. Did ECU Unleashed already research and confirm that they flashed the correct file? They should have logs, traceability and double checks to ensure job done correctly.

I'm not trying to insinuate blame to them unwarranted but if I was you would want to eliminate any doubt before chasing the problem on your bike.

Prior to pulling your ECU off bike was bike run to operating temp and then turned off normally? or a quick start for a few seconds or minutes and then turned off before warm?

_

 

[14kmtnman]

Yes EC Unleashed double checked the file used on their end. I did take a picture of the serial number before sending it in. That was one of the first things I did. They used the same one as hundreds of other ST's. We just checked for spark & have spark & fuel going in. We even tried shooting carb cleaner in the intake manifold to maybe "kick start" it & just got a little pop upon cranking. All of the fuses checked out good. We have even isolated out the battery & hooked up directly to a non running car battery. Still no difference in it trying to start.

 

[14kmtnman]

The last time the bike ran, it was for over 10 miles on the way home & shut off as normal upon parking in the garage.

 

[14kmtnman]

We finally got it started. We tried some old brake clean down the throttle bodies but it wouldn't catch. We bought a new can of brake clean & some starter fluid, just in case. After running thru checking everything again, including spark to plugs etc, we did the hard start process several times, with the efi fuse out as well as in, & several shots of brake cleaner. While cranking it started cranking faster & faster which we thought was weird, but then it caught & ran for a second or 2. We shut everything down, key off & tired it again with some more brake clean in the TB's & it started & ran ::012:: We let it run until the fan came on at 220 & let it go down to 210 then shut the bike off. We then restarted after a couple of minutes & all seemed like it should, turn the key, push the button & have it start. I will let it sit over night & try it again in the morning. I'll report back tomorrow.

 

[2daMax]

Good to hear u got it started. This is harder than a hard start.

 

[WJBertrand]

Confused about the use of the brake cleaner in the throttle bodies?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[14kmtnman]

It changes the flash point in the cylinder for a different heat range of combustion. WD40 or carb cleaner could be used too. Just a very quick short squirt. Something flammable to help heat up the cylinders. I did have the EFI fuse out at the time, so no new fuel was being introduced. It is an old mechanics trick. Many of us have used it while working on cars/trucks to get them started after severe flooding. It worked in this case to help dry out the cylinders from the flooding even 48 hrs later. As of this morning, the bike starts & runs like it should on first try of the starter.

 

[scott123007]

I guess all that was easier than push starting. :

 

[14kmtnman]

It still took a couple more of hours of head scratching to get there yesterday afternoon. Pushing would have been really hard since I live in a flat street area of town.