2001 VN1500 FI engine Problems - Please Help

[zute]

I have a 2001 Nomad FI. I topped off the tank before a ride and since the bike has been running terrible. It sputters, loses power, backfires, and lurches (FI light comes on). I have since run through that tank of gas and filled up again, but the problem continues to happen. The first shop I took it to couldnt duplicate the problem and wasnt able to get a code from the computer. The second shop was able to duplicate the probem after 15 miles, but also cannot get a code. The seem to think it is the ignition coil, when I think it might be gunk in the tank or the fuel filter.

Any suggestions?

[GREENISBEST]

If you've picked up some Water in the Gas when you topped off the Tank that could be causing the trouble, It's not uncommon at least here in the UK to get some badly contaminated Fuel resulting in a poor running Bike Or Car.

Strange that the Fi light would come on thou unless it's picking up a bad sensor reading due to the motor running rough.

If it started directly after your fill then i would suggest a rather tedious strip and clean all associated fuel system components and try that, Should be no need to touch the Injectors they will run through pretty easily.

[Classic]

I would also recommend cleaning and tightening the battery terminals as FI bikes are very sensitive to battery condition.

[zute]

Thanks for the comments so far.
Unfortunately I am not a wrench, so it's at the dealer again. I was actually riding it to a meeting last week and passed a kawasaki dealer on my way. It was running so bad, I was not comfortable riding it any further - so just dropped it off, in hopes that they can figure it out.
It has not been run in over a year, since this problem began initially. When it first started happening, I took it to my regular shop - they had it for 2 weeks and couldnt duplicate the problem, but as soon as I picked it up, it started acting up 5 miles down the road.
Now, it's been over a week at this shop and they called me today and said they rode it "several times" but couldnt duplicate the problem, so it was my V&H pipes that was causing the problems with the fuel/air mixture. Funny, especially when I've had those pipes on the bike for 8 years and never had a problem - and I thought the FI computer self-adjusts for aftermarket pipes. Anyway, I told them they werre full of $#!t and to go take it for a nice long ride. So they test-drove it again and WERE able to recreate the problem (the FI lit up and everything), but they couldnt get any code to download. So now they think it sounded like the ignition coil. It's so hard to determine hat is electrical and what is mechanical and I don't know how much faith I have in these guys so anything that I can bring to their attention would be greatly appreciated.

[RidgeRacer]

I'm not that familiar with your particular bike but I do know that in general turn of the century Fuel Injected Kawasaki bikes have no fuel flow monitoring.

In other words if it was a fuel problem there is no way the ECU would know about it and therefore it would not know to turn on the FI light. The Engine Control Unit can however tell if the injectors or coils are malfunctioning.

This doesn't prove that its not a fuel problem but there is most likely something else going on that the ECU is seeing. Being able to get the error codes would be a big help.

[RidgeRacer]

First let me say that your bike does not 'self adjust' for after market pipes. To do that the ECU would need some kind of feedback about your Air Fuel Ratio. I looked at the online parts diagrams for your bike and didn't see any kind of oxygen sensor in the exhaust system. Whoever told you that doesn't know what they are talking about.

On your FI light: I guess we assume that because they are 'dealer' mechanics they know what the hell they are doing but maybe they don't. Again I'm not that familiar with your bike but on other bikes of that era, like the ZX-12 downloading' the FI error codes is not rocket science but they still may be screwing it up.

First of all it doesn't require any special equipment. All you do is short a wire under the seat to ground or the bike frame and the FI light starts blinking in code such as LONG LONG LONG short short would be 32. On the ZX-12 there are actually two different diagnostic modes. One show you the current codes or the state of the bike at that instant in other words if the FI light is on while you enter the test. The other mode retrieves old codes when the light came on while you were riding then turned off before you got back home.

When the light comes on how long does it stay on?

If it were me I would splice in a length of wire to the diagnostic line and strip the other end. Then when you were riding the bike and the fi light came on you could pull it over and flip it into diagnostic mode right there by the side of the road by just holding the wire against something chrome and grounded to the frame. When you pull over don't turn off the key even if it sputters and dies at idle.

[zute]

The dealer said it is the ignition coil(s) - they will be replacing them on Thursday - I'll keep everyone posted.

[zute]

It has been a few months since the dealer replaced the ignition coil. the bike has been running fine, however the problem started again.

Can anyone tell me if this bike has 2 ignition coils (perhaps the "other" one went bad)? I am waiting to hear back from them as I just dropped it off again on Saturday.

[zute]

Ok, the bike started acting up again, this time a hell of a lot worse than last time. The shop says it's the same ignition coil that they replaced 2 months or so ago, but this time, they seem to think that there is a wire that is corroded further up into the wiring harness. They want to replace both the main and the sub wiring harnesses ($360) plus the junction box ($100) and the ECU ($810). I'm looking at ovr $1250 in parts and another $600 in labor. They charged me $500 to replace the ignition coil last time, and they just charged me another $120 to look at it again to give me this estimate. Needless to say I did not let them do the work and have picked up the bike to take it somewhere else for a second opinion.

Can anyone tell me if this sounds ridiculous or is it the right decision? Unfortunately I do not have $2000 to put into the bike right now. Again, the symptoms are, when the bike warms up (usually between 5 and 15 miles), the Fi light comes on intermittently (although it's been staying on a lot longer lately) and when it does, the bike hesitates, loses power, lurches, and backfires. When they replaced the ignition coil, it seemed to run better, but I still felt that it lacked power and almost seemed like the second coil was also going bad.

If you are in the Northern VA area - steer clear of Champion Motorsports in Sterling, VA!