FI light and PCII

[Rice_Burner]

So I have had the FI light problem since near the end

of last season, on my '99 XX. The typical symptoms of the "Loom issue."

Light comes on but will go out with use of other electrical devices such as

turn signal, etc. So I finally bite the bullet and decide to do surgery on

the loom. I gather up necessary tools and head out to see Squareman, who has

volunteered to be a willing party in this madness. After several prayers

:icon_pray: , I carefully excise the loom only to find pristine contacts.

There are zero signs of the corrosion that I would have expected to cause

the FI light issue. After deciding that anything that I could do a loom in

such good shape would be counter-productive, I carefully wrapped the

unchanged loom in electrical tape and tuck it away. As Anson and I are

putting away tools and wondering what could be causing the issue, if not the

loom, we come up with the Power Commander. I was so fixated on the loom,

that I didn't even consider the PC before that moment. The light came on

during my ride to Anson's place, some 400 miles. We disconnected the PC, to

see if the FI light would come on during my 400 mile ride back home. Well,

the light did not come on during my ride home or the riding I have done in

the last week. The PC was on the bike when I purchased it and it didn't

occur to me that they would crap out for seemingly no reason. Has anyone

else come accross issues with the PC? :icon_think:

RB

[EVLXX]

Yes... Alfabird has been have the same problem.... I think he's still argueing with Dynojet over the issue.

You might want to drop him a PM and see if he can help.

[Rice_Burner]

The PC was on the bike when I purchased it, from a private owner, and I have no idea where it came from, how old it is, or if it was abused somehow. I am not looking for retribution. Removing the PC seemed to solve the issue. I was trying to get a sense of whether or not this is a common failure/failure mode. I was also wondering if the light was the only issue or if the light was the ouput for something else going wrong.

I am thinking about getting another PCII, since I liked the ride more with it than without it. If this happens a lot, I may re-evaluate if it is worth the trouble.

Thanx

[Helvet]

Same problem here (I think) and more....

Last October I had the complete loom changed. On the way home the bike was fine, and I parked her for the winter.

April I started riding again, and it was fine. After a few rides I noticed the PC2 was switching off, or the bike was running in safe-mode (no warning lights). Disconnecting the battery did a reset, and everything OK (untill it happened again and again).

Two weeks ago the bike ran worse than ever, and finally seized in the middle of nowhere. Luckaly we were with 60 Blackbirds, so we tried a few things. Nobody had a Voltage checker (how do you say that in English?), so the problem was hard to find... The battery was clearly dead, but still rather new (6 months old). First thought was the rectifier (most common problem, still the original from 1999).

We exchanged the battery between 2 Blackbirds, and I could ride home with this. There we changed batteries again. I ordered a new rectiefier, and installed it. Still not enough charging (11Volts at 5.000rpm).

Only then I figured out the alternator was fried...

So, I changed the alternator, and the charging was fine now. Everything OK, you'd think.....

Except, the freaking PC2 is still giving up on me after a while, and I need to reset it....

I would like to order a new one from the USA, but Ron Ayers will not ship to Europe.... Here I have to pay over $ 200,-- more than in the USA for it..... And I am still not sure it is the PC2 that is causing the problem. Anybody got any other ideas? Please help, I am getting mad (and that doesn't happen very often...).

[blkbrdrydr]

My FI light used to come on until I removed the PC II

[airborneXX]

Friend of mine here at work with a 2000 had similar problems. Tossed the PC years ago and it's been fine ever since.

[TimothyPilgrim]

Damn I'm glad I found this thread, because I've been running into exactly the same issues with my FI light. I've got a PCII as well, but also an aftermarket alarm and Hornet electronic deer whistle. All these farkles were on the bike when I bought it from a used-bike dealer in December. It's also a 1999.

For me, the FI light brightens and dims at will, and a flick of the highbeam switch will usually turn it off, but not always. The FI light will also flash with either turn signal. I was thinking it was a short circuit because of this, but now I see you guys are blaming the PCII. I haven't played with mine since I got the bike and I've got no idea how it's wired in or how to adjust it. How do I go about disconnecting it to see if it's the cause? Will the bike run poorly if it's not hooked up? FYI, I've not had any driveability issues since the FI light has been coming on, but the story of one guy getting stranded doesn't sit well with me.

Tim

[Rice_Burner]

My concern was that I didn't know if the FI light was the issue or just a symptom of something else going wrong. So I didn't want to take a chance. There were a few other behaviors like the ones you mention, but they seemed to fit the loom issue perfectly. So that was where I started. :icon_doh:

Anyway, the PCII was very easy to disconnect. Should be under the seat at the rear of the cowl. There is a large multi-pin connector (didn't bother to count pins) that goes from the bike to the PC and an identical one that goes from the PC into a small box that should be held down by a rubber strap. Once you take the PC out of the loop, the remaining connector goes right into the box held by the rubber strap. Pardon my non-technical description, but that is the best I can do without looking at it.

I noticed the difference after I took it out. It was installed when I bought the bike, so that is the only way I knew it. When I removed it, I noticed that the low end throttle response was not as smooth. Particularly, going from full closed to open. Not unbearable, just different than what I was used to. Certainly not bad enough to put the same PC back on, not know what ill effects it was having on the bike.

RB

[Squareman357]

Damn I'm glad I found this thread, because I've been running into exactly the same issues with my FI light. I've got a PCII as well, but also an aftermarket alarm and Hornet electronic deer whistle. All these farkles were on the bike when I bought it from a used-bike dealer in December. It's also a 1999.

For me, the FI light brightens and dims at will, and a flick of the highbeam switch will usually turn it off, but not always. The FI light will also flash with either turn signal. I was thinking it was a short circuit because of this, but now I see you guys are blaming the PCII. I haven't played with mine since I got the bike and I've got no idea how it's wired in or how to adjust it. How do I go about disconnecting it to see if it's the cause? Will the bike run poorly if it's not hooked up? FYI, I've not had any driveability issues since the FI light has been coming on, but the story of one guy getting stranded doesn't sit well with me.

Tim

That sounds like RiceBurners problem too. His was doing the same thing with the flickering and turn signals and whatnot. He hasn't had a problem with the FI light since he removed his PCII. Take your seat off, and towards the back of the bike, you should see the PCII connected into your ECU. There is one cable (gray one from the bike) running into the PCII and one cable running from the PCII to your ECU. There is a second cable connected to the ECU (black one) but that's factory. Remove the cable from the PCII to your ECU, remove the cable from the bike to the PCII, and then put that cable into the ECU. Now, you may notice some ride differences. I think, from his description, in RiceBurners case, it's not as smooth from off throttle to on throttle, and he may also experience a loss of gas mileage. He's running stock pipes with a K&N Air Filter and can feel the throttle response difference without the PC, so much so that he was thinking about buying a new one to replace the one he's got now. YMMV.

[willxx23]

I'll let you know how the PCIII works on my 00.

[Rice_Burner]

That sounds like RiceBurners problem too. His was doing the same thing with the flickering and turn signals and whatnot. He hasn't had a problem with the FI light since he removed his PCII. Take your seat off, and towards the back of the bike, you should see the PCII connected into your ECU. There is one cable (gray one from the bike) running into the PCII and one cable running from the PCII to your ECU. There is a second cable connected to the ECU (black one) but that's factory. Remove the cable from the PCII to your ECU, remove the cable from the bike to the PCII, and then put that cable into the ECU. Now, you may notice some ride differences. I think, from his description, in RiceBurners case, it's not as smooth from off throttle to on throttle, and he may also experience a loss of gas mileage. He's running stock pipes with a K&N Air Filter and can feel the throttle response difference without the PC, so much so that he was thinking about buying a new one to replace the one he's got now. YMMV.

Yeah what he said. :icon_clap: :icon_lmao: :icon_goodsign:

RB

I'll let you know how the PCIII works on my 00.

I thought the PCIII didn't work with the '99s.. :icon_think:

[Squareman357]

I thought the PCIII didn't work with the '99s.. :icon_think:

I thought the last time you called me that I told you they were working on modding the PCIII to work with those model years. They were asking for volunteers in Vegas area to bring in 99s and 00s to test, and for letting them use their bikes they'd be getting a free PCIII and a few hundo worth of free tuning (Will you lucky bastage ). Should have some news soon. Guess that means you won't need that serial to USB cable I got for ya LOL! I'll use it for my GPS instead.

[willxx23]

I thought the PCIII didn't work with the '99s.. :icon_think:

I thought the last time you called me that I told you they were working on modding the PCIII to work with those model years. They were asking for volunteers in Vegas area to bring in 99s and 00s to test, and for letting them use their bikes they'd be getting a free PCIII and a few hundo worth of free tuning (Will you lucky bastage ). Should have some news soon. Guess that means you won't need that serial to USB cable I got for ya LOL! I'll use it for my GPS instead.

Bingo...^

Saturday I'll be the first "guinea pig"

[Rice_Burner]

I thought the PCIII didn't work with the '99s.. :icon_think:

I thought the last time you called me that I told you they were working on modding the PCIII to work with those model years. They were asking for volunteers in Vegas area to bring in 99s and 00s to test, and for letting them use their bikes they'd be getting a free PCIII and a few hundo worth of free tuning (Will you lucky bastage ). Should have some news soon. Guess that means you won't need that serial to USB cable I got for ya LOL! I'll use it for my GPS instead.

In my mind, working on and successfully developed are two VERY different things.

[Rales]

So does anyone have there old PC II laying around they would want to part with for a decent price as they appear defective? I'd be interested in looking it over and seeing if I can find anything out about whys thats happening.

[Squareman357]

I thought the PCIII didn't work with the '99s.. :icon_think:

I thought the last time you called me that I told you they were working on modding the PCIII to work with those model years. They were asking for volunteers in Vegas area to bring in 99s and 00s to test, and for letting them use their bikes they'd be getting a free PCIII and a few hundo worth of free tuning (Will you lucky bastage ). Should have some news soon. Guess that means you won't need that serial to USB cable I got for ya LOL! I'll use it for my GPS instead.

In my mind, working on and successfully developed are two VERY different things.

We ARE talking about the designers and creators of the PC here. I think the only differences were the pin-outs from the ECU and codes. If the programmers can develop the code structure and the engineers can create the proper pin-outs for the cabling, it's a done deal. They've done all that already and now they are using the test subject bikes to tune and create the maps. The PCIII is already ready for application, they just need to tune them and get some solid maps to release for it. It's my thinking that they want a variety of bikes from stock to piped to different air filters so they can create the maps for download from their site. That's MY take on the whole thing. The only thing you're waiting for is the availability announcement, which should come very soon.

So does anyone have there old PC II laying around they would want to part with for a decent price as they appear defective? I'd be interested in looking it over and seeing if I can find anything out about whys thats happening.

So you want to take one apart? Or do you just want to run a "broken" one until it really breaks so you can see what it does?

[TURK]

THE PROBLEM WITH THE PC IS IT CAUSING THE CDI TO THINK THE BIKE HAS A LEAN MISFIRE THUS TRIGGERING THE LIGHT IF YOU GET WITH DYNO JET THEY CAN HELP BUILD A MAP TO KEEP IT FROM HAPPENING OR USE TO I HAVE BEN OUT OF A DEALERSHIP FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS THINGS CHANGE

[Rales]

So does anyone have there old PC II laying around they would want to part with for a decent price as they appear defective? I'd be interested in looking it over and seeing if I can find anything out about whys thats happening.

So you want to take one apart? Or do you just want to run a "broken" one until it really breaks so you can see what it does?

To be honest a little of both as I do have an electronics background. I would be interested in seeing if its part of the electronics that are failing or something else. If its true above about the CDI causing the check engine light then I would wonder if a little tuning would help to clear that up. Which I do have a WB o2 and some other resources.

My question is how would a CDI box know if there is a lean misfire or not?

[Rice_Burner]

This weekend Anson and I put on a new set of Micron slip-ons. She sounds vera niiice! In addition to that we re-installed the PCII and remapped it. I have not seen any signs of the FI light coming back on. There is still a little hitch going from fully close to open, but part of that may be due to my riding partner. I tend the hit the throttle a bit harder when I ride with Anson. We looked at the map that was in the PC before replacing it. It looked very different from both the stock map and the map we chose for the slip-ons. I don't have a lot of experience with Power Commanders, but just seeing how different the starting map was got me thinking. Is is possible for the PC map to get corrupted? :icon_think:

RB

[CBRBob]

When I put a PC2 in my 99XX back in 2000, I used a Dynojet map. I had the light come on a few times but never had rideabilty issues. Just cycle the key on and off and it would go away for a day or so. I notified Dynojet of this and what they said was I was using an old version of the tuning software. The latter versions recognized the limitations that the 1st gen of FI XX's had and what would trip a code and would trim the available maps accordingly to not trip codes. I used the nes software and had zero problems since. I also had a custom map made in 2004 and still no problems.

[Squareman357]

When I put a PC2 in my 99XX back in 2000, I used a Dynojet map. I had the light come on a few times but never had rideabilty issues. Just cycle the key on and off and it would go away for a day or so. I notified Dynojet of this and what they said was I was using an old version of the tuning software. The latter versions recognized the limitations that the 1st gen of FI XX's had and what would trip a code and would trim the available maps accordingly to not trip codes. I used the nes software and had zero problems since. I also had a custom map made in 2004 and still no problems.

Hmm that's interesting. I, too, downloaded the newest available software to my laptop from Dynojet prior to loading the new map into Derick's PCII. I wonder if that would have anything to do with it? Guess we'll just have to play it by ear and see what the results are and if we need to reload, either I'll ride down to him or he'll ride up to me and we'll reload.

[CBRBob]

Hmm that's interesting. I, too, downloaded the newest available software to my laptop from Dynojet prior to loading the new map into Derick's PCII. I wonder if that would have anything to do with it? Guess we'll just have to play it by ear and see what the results are and if we need to reload, either I'll ride down to him or he'll ride up to me and we'll reload.

FYI, If you use Dynojets maps and load them with a Palm, you will get the FI codes back as the Palm software does not trim the maps. They trick is to load the map into the XX with the updated software, then download it back FROM the XX and save it. The newly saved map can be loaded with a Palm without problems.

[prs]

Hmm that's interesting. I, too, downloaded the newest available software to my laptop from Dynojet prior to loading the new map into Derick's PCII. I wonder if that would have anything to do with it? Guess we'll just have to play it by ear and see what the results are and if we need to reload, either I'll ride down to him or he'll ride up to me and we'll reload.

FYI, If you use Dynojets maps and load them with a Palm, you will get the FI codes back as the Palm software does not trim the maps. They trick is to load the map into the XX with the updated software, then download it back FROM the XX and save it. The newly saved map can be loaded with a Palm without problems.

on my newly installed turbo with pc3 usb, i get the light after a boosted pull. sometimes it makes the bike so it won't take more than half throttle without missing, and it will run rich at all throttle levels. only fix i know is to turn the bike off and restart. don't know what causes it.

[Helvet]

on my newly installed turbo with pc3 usb, i get the light after a boosted pull. sometimes it makes the bike so it won't take more than half throttle without missing, and it will run rich at all throttle levels. only fix i know is to turn the bike off and restart. don't know what causes it.

I can't tell you what causes it, but I can tell you what happens.

The EFI-unit is calculating some big problem in the injection. To prevent any damage to the engine, it will run in "safe"mode untill you disengage the contact. After that, everything is reset, and you can try again. In some cases the bike will stay in safe-mode untill you take the battery out for a few seconds. Then it will be reset.....

How to prevent it, I don't know..... Maybe with the new PC3 they are developing for the 1999 and 2000 models....