99 FI Light?

[Lucid]

I've researched this for several hours now, and I have some ideas but I don't want to waste any money if I don't have to.

I got a 99 a few weeks ago.

I know it needs a battery; I think it has the original one. (the owner used a tender) I had to push start it yesterday for the ride I will mention later.

The bike has 24k on it, and when I got it, the tag was out of date by about two years. He said he only rode it a couple of times a year for the past couple of years.

Everything was running fine for the first 1k miles or so. (I ride a lot)

I changed the plugs to some iridium ones because I've liked them in other cars and bikes. I also might spray a small shot at the drag strip eventually.

After the iridium plugs, it seemed to not like starting as much, but this could be the battery getting weaker, or me not using the choke. (I forgot I even had one on a fuel injected bike, I haven't used a choke in years)


Problem: I was riding yesterday and about 5mins in on the highway at about a constant 75mph, I noticed a very minor exhaust bogging sound when accelerating up a hill. Not a huge deal I thought, it could need a dyno tune since I have a full exhaust, new plugs, etc.

The the FI light came on, and blinking FI on the clock. The manual says this means it's still ride-able, but that something's up. Then I felt one pretty big hesitation, literally pulling me back for a second. I kept riding, looking for an exit, and about a mile later it did the hesitation again, but a little worse this time.

Now I'm pretty worried, the last thing I want is serious motor damage.

I exited, let the bike idle for a minute or two (worried it wouldnt restart if I shut her down because of the weak battery and/or FI light) and rode back home on backroads going pretty slow. No problems on the way home.


I haven't ridden since, but I got C00 code, meaning no malfunction? From the way it felt, I was thinking it was fuel related. Filter, pump, etc. But I don't want to tear apart my tank until the winter to replace all that stuff if I don't have to.

I'm thinking about replacing the filter and fuel lines now, and an aftermarket fuel pump in the winter.

This can't be battery related right? Once it's started I should be good there
And the new, hotter plugs can't do this right?

What do you guys think?

 

[Lucid]

BTW I wanted to install an inline filter and I use 91octane so we have most of the details.

 

[rusheriv]

I'd start with the battery.
Then check the stator and rectifier output.

 

[denon970]

Lucid,
a few of us 99 owners have been struggling with hesitation/stuttering problems. I've been clearing mine up for about a year. The first thing I did was replace the kinked fuel lines and clean out the in-tank fuel filter:

stuttering

&

stumble

That helped alot. The lines were obviously collapsed and restricting fuel flow. But when I had the fuel system apart, I must have dislodged a bunch of dirt and it clogged the injectors open. It was flooding the cylinders after shut-off and was hard to start if it sat for between 15 minutes and an hour. So the next day I removed the injectors and sprayed them with brake cleaner. Alot of people said the o-rings would rip when I rempoved the injectors, but I didn't have a problem...just a heads up.

That fixed that problem. Then I had a problem with the kickstand dropping when I hit a bump and activating the safety switch (took me 6 months to figure this one out). The tach would zero out when this happened. Start your bike, put it in gear, and lower the kickstand with your foot...mine only took a few degrees of movement before the bike shut off. I bent the tab up a little so now I have maybe 30 degrees of movement before it trips.

I still have occasional "stumbling" problems, but no-where near as bad as they used to be. It seems to happen only when the tank is less than half full. When it cuts out now, the tack still reads correct engine speed (instead of dropping to zero)...if that means anything. This winter, I plan on removing the entire fuel system, and cleaning it out. I've heard there is a 2nd filter actually in the pump.

...and be sure to have a dealership run the VIN to make sure the cam chain tensioner recall has been done...trust me:

she's home

Hope this helps...

 

[Lucid]

I'll call the dealership when I get off today, those pictures are damn scary from your CCT.

Thanks for linking up those threads. I found the first one yesterday in my search, but not the second. Your post is what I was going to reference in changing out my fuel lines with Autozone ones. I'm hoping that a filter and new lines will make everything good.

It seems like your battle has been pretty tough, yet kinda fun at the same time to diagnose all the issues.

I have a full day to work on her tomorrow, I'll let you guys know.

 

[Lucid]

Got it all apart today. I got new fuel lines, but I can't seem to get the 5/16ths to fit around the connector at the fuel pump so I'll get some bigger ones tomorrow.

I was disappointed when I cracked open the fuel pump and see a relatively CLEAN fuel filter. The screw holes show use on them, so perhaps the previous owner replaced the filter. I am replacing it with an inline one anyway, just in case.

I sprayed some brake fluid in the injectors while I had them open, just because I was already there. Is it normal that no fluid comes out the other end of the injector? I assume that they only let a tiny amount of fuel in, but I still expected a little to come out of the injector. (I will send these off for professional cleaning this winter.)

The original fuel lines are dinky and weak compared to these new ones I got. The problem could have been a kink in the lines; they are being replaced with thicker ones.

I'm thinking about replacing the expensive iridium spark plugs with stock ones, just because I'm already there in the motor and all my problems came after I replaced the plugs to iridium. (likely NOT the issue, but I need to rule out plugs completely.)


I have a battery ordered and should be in tomorrow.

Any ideas or input are greatly appreciated!

 

[delbert]

when you say you cracked open the pump and the filter looked clean , did you also check the two fuel screens in there , one opposite end to the filter and the other under the fuel pressure reg , there the pups that get clogged

 

[Lucid]

Success! After waiting 9hrs or so for the initial battery charge (new battery), after a couple cranks (expected since I removed all the fuel) she fired up and ran great. My 1st to 2nd "chug chug chug" hesitation at low RPM is pretty much gone, and a lot better throttle response now.

To top it off, when I got home, my new rear tire was sitting there! (Installed today)

Hopefully this thread will help someone in the future, but I basically just did a big fuel maintenance on the 99. To sum up what I did:

Removed fuel filter - Installed a NAPA inline fuel filter
Replaced fuel lines and upgraded clamps
Switched the Iridium plugs with new stock NGKs
New Duralast battery
Sprayed/cleaned the injectors with brake fluid (will send to professional cleaning this winter)
Sprayed the injector lines with brake fluid
Cleaned out fuel pump and mesh screens. (these were not dirty, but I didnt know that until I cracked it open)

I have a bottle of Seafoam ready, once I'm sure everything is running correctly. Probably next tank.
I have a bottle of Fuel Injector cleaner to put in a few tanks after the Seafoam.

One thing I did differently from other posts is putting the inline filter in right after the tank. Tank - filter - pump - fuel rail. Some people when tank - pump - filter - fuel rail, but it makes more sense to me to catch any debris from a 12yr old tank before it hits my fuel pump.

I will likely install an aftermarket fuel pump and FPR this winter.

It was hot as hell outside but it was well worth it to be riding again. Thanks for your input guys.

 

[denon970]

Hope the troubles are permanently gone for you. What you just described (minus the new hoses) will be my winter project. I never opened up the pump when I went though it last spring, so that needs to be done. I'll be in touch with you in a few months...
As for now, my 99 seldomly cuts out, and it's minor when it does...nothing like before the cleaning.

 

[pairodice]

start w/ batt injected bikes are very sensitive to voltage my neighbor zx12 wont even idle and cuts out w/ a bad batt replaced it and it ran perfect

 

[Lucid]

Update,for future search references.

I think my problems were battery, and mainly the fact that my stator was out, diagnosed by my mechanic friend. So the stator was probably the main cause, making my battery go out. So my bike was running strictly off of battery, which often times did not have enough juice to send the proper signal to the injectors, which caused the engine hesitation.

The quick stator test he did while I was having problems with hesitation at the drag strip was:
1. At idle, the rear light was lightly flashing relative to the engine rpm.
2. At idle, the headlight dimmed when you revved by twisting the throttle a little bit.

This is my starting problem as well.

The fuel system was likely not to blame, but it's not a bad thing to get all that stuff new and clean.

 

[denon970]

I'll have to go out tonight and perform your "quick stator test" to see what my bike does.

 

[denon970]

did the test and:
1) lights stayed constant regardless if idle fluctuations
2) lights got brighter when I revved engine from idle

A few months back when I was having all the starting/idling issues, I hooked the bike up to my car battery, and it made no difference. Many of my buddies had also suggested I may have a bad battery/stator, but now think everything in that area is ok. But when I later pulled and cleaned the injectors, it seemed to have fixed most of the problems.

Cold weather is almost here, I'll be tearing the pump apart soon...