Help! - Bike Won't Run (Sometimes)

Here are the details:

'09 FE450, 104hrs, valves are in spec.

History:
- Got the bike, did some early spring bushwacking, gas boiled, stuck in woods until it cooled down, not a good first ride. Wrapped the exhaust, seemed to work.
- First enduro, bike ran fine, rider didn't do to well.
- First XC race, 1.5 hrs into it, bike stops, not overheating, just stops. Managed to get a lift back to the start. Thought it might have been dirty injector, back in garage, cleaned it out, bike fires right up.
- Second XC race, 1.5hrs into it, nasty, technical race, bike stops, will not start. It tries to run but won't. Tear it down in the woods to find problem, no luck. Stuck 4 hours in the woods until an ATV can pull me out. Back at the motel next day, rip it down in parking lot to try and get it started again, no luck, Fuel, spark, compression, still won't run. I have to sit out the second race next day. Get the bike home, charge the battery for kicks, bike fires right up.
- I figure problem might be related to heat issues, decide to test it in the garage. Start bike, run for an hour in garage. Bike gets VERY hot, but still runs fine, does not boil gas, does not overheat rad (my heat fixed worked). Took tank off to make some changes, put it back on, bike won't start

This is getting serious now, I have zero faith in the bike. I HAVE to get this fixed. The wife agreed to getting the bike since it would make me an enduro star, but now I can't even finish a race. I have NEVER DNF'd a race before on my trusty old DRZ. My high tech dream bike is turning into a nightmare.

So after my blood pressure went down, and after the ride to work today (on my super reliable 1983 Honda CX650 with 115,000kms on it), I have concluded that this must be an intermitant electrical problem. My fussing around with the tank somehow makes the electrical connection better or worse.

It is like the computer shuts down power after 5 seconds if the bike is running or not. Any idea which connector or wire or component to check? How does the computer decide the bike is running so it keeps power on, which sensors does it read?

Any help or suggestions are welcome before I rip apart the wiring looking for problems.

Heat test was valid. I couldn't even touch the frame on the right side. The rear shock was also cooking. Anyway, heat was not the problem. I did add more heat shielding around the fuel line from the tank to the injector as well as more insulation under the lower tank. I used this insulation called Spaceloft which is an aerogel, and was only available to NASA until a couple years ago, amazing stuff.

Bike will not start (run) now even when it is cool.

I have just about given up, this is a plea for help.

I have a 2009 FE450. When the bike runs it runs great. Unfortunately, it is not running. It starts and runs for about 5 seconds then shuts down. It seems the computer cuts the power.

Here is what I have done to help diagnose/fix the problem
- Installed new battery
- Bypassed the roll over sensor
- New spark plug
- Ripped the entire wiring harness apart looking for breaks/shorts
- Tested every sensor per the repair manual, all are well within spec for voltage/resistance/continuity
- Checked fuel pump pressure, it‘s +40PSI, FUEL PUMP IS WORKING, all filters are clean
- No error codes are being thrown

I had other issues. Previously, bike would run great for about 1.5hrs, then start bogging, stall and finally not start again. It has left me stranded a few times this way. I thought I had the problem fixed, but happened again last weekend. The Berg fairies didn’t fix it this time, which in a way is good, because when I fix the problem this time, it should be fixed.

I am at the point where I don’t know what to do next. Everything simply tests fine but bike won’t run.

Any ideas? I need this fixed, I have missed a couple races already this season.

OldNewbie said:

It runs for 5 seconds, then shuts down - is this consistent? Is it always 5 seconds, or does the time vary? If it's always 5 seconds, or always 6.3 seconds, or whatever, I would have to suspect the computer, or a module, or whatever it has (?).

If it does consistently shut down after a short run period (regardless of the time duration), then it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what's changing, since you can just keep repeating the test until you find it.

I would suggest monitoring the fuel and spark. It's fuel injected, right? Monitor the pulses at the injector, and the spark, and see which goes away when it dies.

If neither goes away, I'd assume for now that spark is OK, and go upstream on the fuel system since pulses at the injector are not the whole thing. Check fuel pressure at the shutdown time. That 40 might drop off to nothing once some flow is started.

If both go away, it's a module or computer, or other electrical problem.

Weak spark can be tricky as well. Spark looks fine, works sometimes, but fails when conditions change, such as the engine heating up.

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It runs for the same amount of time the fuel pump runs when you press the start button minus the time it actually takes to start. It is like the computer thinks the bike is not running when it is. Things I checked were the MAP and Pulsar sensors both of which tell the computer the engine is running (vaccuum and RPM's). Both tested perfect. I even tested the voltage from the MAP sensor when the engine was "running", and it was OK, voltage dropped since vacuum was present. Fuel pressure is perfect, runs up to +40PSI and stays there while pump is running.

As far as what quits when the engine dies, the answer is everything, power is shut off. Jumping the power relay to keep it engaged has no effect, bike still dies. I am quite sure it is an electrical problem.

OldNewbie said:

Got a friend with 09 husaberg? Sounds like the computer has a case of the stupids, you've checked everything else. Probably the only way to check it is to swap with a known good one.

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This is what I did, found out it was the fuel pump.

It tested over 40PSI, but that is on the edge of the bike working. After swapping with a good pump, the bike fired up. The good pump puts out over 50PSI

I confirmed it was a fuel problem when I could get the bike to run on carb cleaner squirted into the throttle body. It richened up the mixture enough to fire. I guess the low fuel pressure was leaning it out to much. I did see the injector was squirting, but not enough pressure to run.

The bad pump is a ca-cycleworks pump. They have been kind enough to replace it under warranty.

Kayeffess said:

This is good news. Congrats on getting the bike sorted. Too bad it took out a large chunk of your season. Is the pump in now and running.

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Bike is running better than ever!