Intermittent stalling on the freeway.

[HawkWing]

Summary of today's activity:

Had a look under the tank- visual inspection of fuel pump/ connections. No corrosion or out-of-ordinary conditions here, but didn't do any wiggle testing with engine running.

Checked 4 ground spiders accessible under tank. All were in the same (good) shape I left them in the last time they were serviced.

With engine hot (and off), ignition switch on, and handlebars at left and right detentes, I tugged, pushed, and wiggled ingition switch wiring bundle at base of switch . Couldn't cause any flicker/sweep of gauges. Doesn't rule out a prob here.

Took a closer look at sidestand switch- cleaned plunger, tried to get some contact cleaner into the plunger receptacle to flush out any grunge, hit it with compressed air, lubed ss pivot. Don't know whether I did any good on the switch, but sidestand definitely needed the lube.

Snooped around in dIAG mode some: found one malfunction code stored @ d:60- code 14, intake air pressure sensor. Per FSM, checked out d:03 and the values I found indicate that there is no prob with this sensor. Also checked out d:01, throttle angle sensor; values were 16-102, which I see is slightly over the upper limit. Should I adjust this? Any other relevant stuff to tinker with here at the moment? Anyway, I erased the one code and now have a clean slate.

I think time has come for a really meaningful field test to see whether I can get the problem to reoccur. Here's what I propose: run up I-40 about 100 miles, turn around, and return home (longer distance might be better, but is not practical at this time). My feelings are this: if I can't get it to reoccur within 200 miles of continuous running, the problem is (at least temporarily) fixed. If it does occur (help!); well, we can use that as a starting point for the remaining undone actions: disassemble/inspect ignition switch, and remove, clean sidestand switch. Y'all have convinced me that this is where my efforts should be directed if the problem persists. These possible causes must be proven/disproven before we can move on to the more unlikely stuff.

Does this sound like the most reasonable course of action? Anything else to do before the test ride? I won't get to the ride for a few days, but will get back to the thread ASAP after testing. Thanks again for all the invaluable help so far.

 

[RossKean]

Sounds reasonable to me. If it isn't "fixed" and the failure becomes reproducible (pain in the *** but much easier to troubleshoot), try jumpering around the ignition switch - at least try wiggling the key to see if it makes any difference to an intermittent operation. You may want to remove and check/clean the internal contacts if there is any positive indication.

I hope its fixed. If not, I hope it fails completely so you can get to the bottom of the problem!

 

[Harald]

Took a close look at side stand/switch. Everything tight and operating properly there; return spring strongMy 07 recently died while pulling into work after a 30 minute ride. After some dinking around (I like to use highly technical terms

) including cycling the sidestand, I was able to restart and ride the last 50 yards and park. I had the bike die on me once a while back as soon as I put it in gear and had suspected maybe the sidestand wasn't all the way up, but with this latest failure I went straight to the sidestand switch.

I pulled the sidestand assy and then removed the switch off the backside. I traced the wiring up under the tank and gave a little tug, which revealed the connector for easy removal off the bike. On my bench with an ANALOG ohm meter hooked up to the wires, I was able to carefully move the plunger in and out and around and cause a failure (high resistance with the plunger relaxed). This type of testing must be done with an analog meter because it instantly responds to flakey connections. The plunger spring was nice and strong,but obviously there was crud inside that was preventing the contacts from making.

On Gen II's, the switch cannot be disassembled unless you want to dig out the potting and expose innards. So with nothing to lose, I tossed the switch in an ultrasonic cleaner for an hour. Then for good measure, I shot contact cleaner up the plunger shaft while moving the plunger up and down. I finished with compressed air to dry things before testing. Tests results show a "good as new" switch and it even looks like new after the ultrasonic cleaning!

BTW, you can eliminate this switch from your bikes circuit by unplugging it and then shorting the bike side connector with a female spade terminal. The only caveat here is that you can now ride off with the sidestand down and kill yourself in the first left turn, so be careful.

In case anyone is reading this thread while troubleshooting their FJR, I have new information. As I reported here: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/159487-going-70-in-the-fast-lane-bike-dies-i-dont/?p=1169332 my FJR failed again due to a sidestand switch failure. So my cleaning lasted for almost a year, but was not a long term fix. For only $35 and considering the danger of having this switch fail, I'd highly recommend just replacing a Gen II sidestand switch if it fails.

 

[paulo888]

7000 miles later still running smoothly without a hitch.