Post-op issues: Check Engine light, error code 39

[Crow Instability]

Hello again, everyone. Today, I spent a little over six hours installing my first round of mods. I had help, which is good, because otherwise it would've probably taken at least ten.

Mods:

> Ivan's Flash
> Cobra Intake [the round one]
> Power Commander FC [preset by Ivan]
> Vance & Hines Twin Slash

So I've gotten everything attached and plugged in, and I'm about to start the PCFC calibrating per Ivan's instructions. The instructions say to turn the bike on and let it run until it's and fully warmed up and off the fast idle, then connect the PCFC to the computer.

I turned it on, and started the engine. These pipes sound glorious! But it only idled for a few seconds before dying. I figure okay, fine, there's a lotta new stuff on here, no need to worry. I turn it on again, and rev a bit to get things pumping through. It runs a bit longer, then dies again. Now it's giving me Error Code 39, and the Check Engine light has come on. I turned the key off and on, and the error code remains.

I turned the key with the ECU unplugged, and instead I get Error 1. Plug the ECU back in and turn the key again, and it's back to Error 39.

I did find this thread from another user who had the same issue, also after the flash, and eventually it was determined he'd somehow fried his ECU.

It's 9:31pm here, so any further work will probably have to wait until tomorrow, but any suggestions on trying to suss out what, exactly, is wrong? The previous user mentioned gas coming out of his muffler, and I don't see that problem [yet], but the bike was barely running for 30 seconds.

[joko]

Here you go man hope this helps.

[Crow Instability]

Thanks for the codes-- I'd already looked 39 up and saw that it says it's an injector problem. Just trying to diagnose how I could go about fixing that, or whether I should just have the bike towed to a professional now and tell them my DIY reach exceeded my grasp.

[joko]

I guess I'd check for any bent pins on the ECU and after that make sure all the couplers are connected securely.  After that I'd probably unhook the PC and try running it w/ the air intake off, maybe something's blocking air from getting in?

I just read that other post you linked and it does sound like the ecu could be fried.  You know anyone who'd be willing to let you try their stock ecu?  Maybe call your shop and see if they can test yours without having to take the whole bike in?

[ShakerNorm]

I'm guessing that you don't have one of the Fuel injectors properly plugged in - they can be stupid to get to, and you might not have got it re-installed quite far enough.  Give them a wiggle and then try again before you spend $500!

[Crow Instability]

I'm guessing that you don't have one of the Fuel injectors properly plugged in - they can be stupid to get to, and you might not have got it re-installed quite far enough.  Give them a wiggle and then try again before you spend $500!

This is my current guess, and I hope I'm right. Downside is I have to take the tank back off, which is THE WORST. I'll ask my brother to be an extra set of hands. Here's hoping!

On a semi-related note, why Torx screws exist I'll never know, and I resent their existence greatly. None on the tank, but having to go out and buy a security Torx bit this morning because of a single set of screws really chaps my ass.

[Crow Instability]

Update

Okay. There was indeed one fuel line loose. Put that back, after much gnashing of teeth because those clamps are uselessly difficult to manipulate. Good news: Error code cleared and check engine light went away. The bike did start, and idled for a bit before again dying. I'm not overly concerned about that, because my assumption is that it'll be fine once everything's calibrated.

Bad news is, after that first startup, now it won't start up again. It's not throwing any error codes, but I kind of rather it were, because at least then I'd have an idea of what's wrong.

When I hit the start, it now makes a buzzing sound that persists for as long as I hold it down. I took a video, though only at the very end, so the sound's just the first couple seconds. It's the buzz, not the louder noise, that I'm more concerned about. I can go back and do it again for a longer video, but I'm concerned about damaging something if I force the sound.

https://youtu.be/X_9rCex32DQ

So. Fixed one problem, onto another. Now what?

PS: In trying to calibrate the PCFC in the Dynojet program, Ivan's instructions say that at the top of the screen, I should click "Power Commander Tools", then "Calibrate Throttle Position". But I don't see Power Commander Tools as an option anywhere: not at the top menu, and not buried in any of the top menu's options. Others who have used this software: am I looking in the wrong place? I've looked everywhere and even checked Dyno's own help files, and they all talk about clicking "Power Commander Tools" as if it should be right before my eyes. I'm certain I downloaded the right program for the PCFC Ivan sent me, so what am I missing?

[Aspen]

Try taking the FC out of the equation. Remove it, if problem persists you know it's something else.

[Crow Instability]

...Well, I just went out to record a longer video of the sound and it started up just fine. I immediately shut it off because I wasn't expecting that, but my assumption is that it'll idle for a bit, then die again, then make the noise again.

So now I'm mostly just confused. I'm done tinkering for the weekend, so tomorrow after work I'll fiddle some more. If it runs fine tomorrow then I guess that's that--if this happens again, I'll start with disconnecting the PCFC to see whether that's it. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to have them.

[ShakerNorm]

Sounds your battery may be getting weak...  Sitting for a while will let it kind of redistribute the charge and get a little more power for one more start, but a second attempt will kill it.  It's a phenomenon called a "Surface Charge".  Might want to let it sit on a charger (NO MORE THAN 1 Amp!) overnight and try again.

Unfortunately, the only way to reliably test for it is to do a load test - but most Auto shops (Canadian Tire, Pep Boys, etc) will do it for free.  Hopefully it's still good and just needs a boost.

[Crow Instability]

Charged the battery, but now it's back to giving me Error 39, and there's a smell of fuel when I try to crank the bike, though I don't see a leak anywhere. So I give up--I would rather swallow glass than deal with taking the tank off and on again for a fourth time. I'll email the shop that's an hour away and hope they have a towing service.

Thanks for all your help anyway, everyone. Hopefully the shop can tell me what I did wrong after they fix it.

Edit: They don't tow, which is reasonable, so before I rent a truck and tow it out there myself to have them poke at it in their spare time, leaving me without a bike for several weeks, I'll try disconnecting the PCFC as a last resort. That means I'll have to take the tank off again, and I'm about ready to throw myself off a cliff because of how irritating it is to do that, but we'll see what happens.

It'll crank to life, but it's clearly struggling, and it dies almost immediately and gives me the Error 39. I'm too frustrated to work on it in this heat today, so that'll be something for Thursday after work or Saturday before it gets hot.

That presents a new problem, though: if it is the PCFC, which Ivan pre-programmed, what happens to the bike if I run it without the PCFC connected? Presumably, it would do bad things.

[RudeBoltin]

Ivan has stated multiple times that with his flash you don't need a fuel controller to safely run your bike. No matter what intake and/or exhaust you use. The fuel controller is only gonna fine tune how it runs, but again it is not needed with Ivan's flash.

[ShakerNorm]

Yup - Rude's right - I've been riding mine for 2 years without an FC. 

I DO have one (I want to put it on a dyno to fine-tune it), but it's not currently doing anything, and the bike runs great, so I'm not in any panic over it.

[Crow Instability]

I got the PCFC through Ivan at his suggestion, pre-programmed with his maps, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Tomorrow I'm getting up early to work on the bike before the heat picks up [it's been at or over 100F every day this week], and I'm going to try taking it out [without pulling the tank off completely] to see whether that fixes my problem. If it does, then I'm left with two options: a) see whether I somehow hooked it up wrong and try to fix that/call Ivan and see what he suggests, or b) just ride with it off and see what happens.

I'm not worried about how it runs without it, necessarily; both Ivan's own thread and the review thread made it clear, as Rude said, that it's not required, which is a relief if pulling it out lets her roar to life. My concern is more that I might sacrifice more fuel economy than I'd like without the FC in it. But I suppose we'll see. First step is to see whether it's the PCFC that's causing the problem. If it's not, then I have no idea, and I must've biffed something somehow when replacing the tank after pulling it off the first time.

[Crow Instability]

Alright, here's the latest sequence of events:

1) Swapped two of the PCFC plugs around, on the off-chance my helper plugged them in the wrong plugs. That actually helped a lot--it started up with very little chugging, and the idle sounded steady, if a little...I don't know, it would sound strong for a bit before getting weak, before going back to normal for a bit, etc. But it would still only chug for a maximum of 60 seconds, regardless of whether I was revving or not, before dying. When it died, however, it did not give me any error codes. But I need it to idle for a good long while before I can use the Dyno program to put in Ivan's TPS settings, among other changes he instructs one to make by connecting the PCFC to your computer. I would like to ride it a bit like this to see whether it can idle well after going around the block a couple times, but I'm very concerned about it dying while I'm riding around, which would be bad.

2) Removed the PCFC connections entirely, from both fuel plugs as well as the TPS. Bike comes to life without struggling, but the idle sounds notably different--clearly the bike is working a little harder to chug along. It seems to idle indefinitely now, without any audio cues that it's going to die. So, problem solved? Not quite. Now the Check Engine light is on while it idles, and when I shut it off with the killswitch, I get the 39 error. It still turns on and idles just fine with the error showing and the check engine light on, but I don't want to ride it with the light on and those errors showing, lest I miss something important and crash because something unforeseen happens at an inopportune moment.

So, once again: any ideas? If I could get it to run with the PCFC, that'd be ideal, but it won't idle long enough to let me. And if I could run it without the PCFC without worries, I could live with that, but without it now I'm getting the same check engine light & Error Code 39 duo that led me to start a thread in the first place.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. And sorry for coming back over and over. Should've just swallowed my pride and let a professional do it. But alas.

Edit: Another video. Startup, sitting there while it idles for a bit, and shutting it off to see the EC39 pop up again. Check Engine light throughout.