[Outlaw]

A remote IAC should work just fine. There are potential issues of hose routing, and restrictions which I haven't ruled out.

The way the throttle bodies for the GL1800 are designed, the throttle plates close all the way. There is no stop or adjustment on them. The air needed for idle then bypasses the throttle plates via the built in IAC in the throttle bodies. I would rather have been able to use that. However, I was not able to fit the throttle bodies to the manifold in the bike with the IAC in place due to the frame crossmember right behind the throttle bodies. There wasn't enough clearance.

This is one of the theories I've been thinking of. It was one of the first things that came to mind when I had this problem. However, I can hear the air coming through the IAC (via the airbox) when I close the throttle. There is a possibility that not enough is getting through I suppose or that the restriction is just too much added load on the motor to idle... I assume that would be just because the fuel mixture isn't tuned correctly.

I'm not too awfully concerned about the idle issue right now. I'm more concerned about how difficult it is to start the bike. Once I get it to the point where it will start reliably, I can work on tuning the idle... Right now it only starts when it's at operating temperature... It tries to start when it's cold, but it just dies right away.... But, I'm not giving up. I will prevail!

.

 

[OldNewbie]

I would say that the idle concern IS directly related to the no start cold given that there is no provision for the throttle to be opened by the ecu then all the air for fast idle speed and to get enough air for the enriched cold start mixture will come thru the idle air valve.
witness a GM 3800 car or a throttle body injected truck cold start and there is a huge sucking noise due to the bypass air quantity

 

[Ansimp]

Definitely sounds like you need the IAC for cold start.

 

[Outlaw]

Yes, you need the IAC for cold start. During cold start the IAC will be opened a lot, if not all the way. Mine is and I can hear the sucking sounds you are talking about. On this particular setup the IAC needs to be opened at least a little bit even when the bike is at operating temperature in order for it to idle.

Getting the settings right for the idle air control is part of the tuning process. That being said, if this were the only issue, then I would be able to start the bike by holding the throttle open a little bit. I've tried that, and it makes some difference, but not consistently, and the only time it helps start the bike is when the engine is already at or near operating temperature.

There are a lot of variables to be considered, and I'm narrowing them down one by one. It will just take some time. I've been distracted from working on it lately by other things. I'm sure I'll get it eventually...

 

[Patrick Doss]

Any more updates?

 

[Outlaw]

Any more updates?

Worked on it today. I've got it starting better now. I'll work on it again tomorrow. I hesitate to say it's fixed, as I'm not 100% sure what the problem was. I suspect that there were several little problems working together, and everything just managed to come together today. I'll know more when I go out to start it tomorrow morning. I did let it set for several hours, and went out tonight to start it. It fired right up....

 

[hummer5205]

I am curious as to why your rpm gaudge is not working ?

 

[Outlaw]

The tachometer is no longer working because it's normally controlled by the stock ECU. The stock ECU is no longer controlling anything on this bike. Well, that may not be exactly true... It's still hooked up for the most part, and I don't know what all it controls. But, it no longer controls any of the engine functions.

The crank position sensors, coolant temperature sensor, air intake temperature sensor and the coils are connected to the MegaSquirt now. Since the ECU doesn't know how fast the engine is turning, it can't tell the tachometer(which isn't connected any more either).

I have been trying to focus on getting the bike running. After I have it running reliably and it's well tuned I will turn my attention to the smaller things. Like, the tachometer, and cruise control.

You may have also noticed that the headlight is not working. I pulled the fuse to reduce draw on the battery while I'm doing all the starting, and leaving the key in the on position when the engine is not running. I usually do that when I'm making adjustments to settings in the MegaSquirt. Things like VE table settings, timing changes etc etc... Doing all of this stuff on a laptop is pretty cool. I've still got a lot of learning to do, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. One really nice thing is that with the data logging features there isn't a lot less guesswork as to what is really going on.

Now if I can just figure out this intermittent starting problem... Yes, it's back to NOT starting again... I must have started it 50 times the other day while I was trying to tune it to idle. Total running time was probably close to an hour, and of course I had it up to operating temperature. (the first time) In fact I got it up to about 211 degrees. The fans were kicking on. (this is a good thing because at least I know they still work )

There have been some times when this project has been very frustrating, and I wonder if I'll ever be finished with it. Now is one of those times. But, I can't give up, and I know that I'll get it eventually.


Sorry for the long post. I guess I got carried away..



.

 

[Outlaw]

Update:

UPDATE:

I've been trying to diagnose what seemed to be an intermittent problem with the bike on and off for quite awhile now, and I FINALLY figured it out!

Actually, it turned out to be several problems working together. First and foremost, I had a couple of settings wrong in TunerStudio. Lesson learned: Don't believe everything you read on the internet. That was part of my problem, and the other "fix" turned out to be a 1/2 watt 10K Ohm resistor. It turns out that there was quite a bit of noise on the VR sensor circuit, and that was causing the problem. I was able to get the bike to run that way, but only with the wrong settings for ignition input capture and spark output. The latter causing a problem with the coil driver I was using.

The bike IS running now, and I expect that this particular problem won't be rearing it's ugly head again. There are still a host of other problems however, as this thing seems to be determined to fight me every step of the way. For instance, I had to take most of the plastics off again to test/diagnose and when I did I found yet another fuel leak. Good thing I found it. Obviously, it wasn't leaking when I put all the plastics back together several months ago.( Turns out I bought some bad fittings ) Another problem (unrelated to this project) is that I just noticed a blown fork seal. That's probably from the bike being tied down in the trailer for several months while I was on vacation. ( I took it with me, thinking that I would have time to work on it... I did, but not much )

So now the bike is back to running, but not great. I expect it's going to be a long road to getting this thing tuned, as I am basically starting from nothing. It doesn't idle, but the good news there is that I actually did have it idling for several minutes when it was cold, so I know that is just a matter of tuning. The fuel leak has to be fixed, of course. And, I'm going to wait on the fork seals until I have the engine running well enough to be able to ride the bike. A lot of the tuning is going involve data logging while riding the bike, and then making adjustments. Then doing it again, and again and again.... until it's just right.

 

[Bellboy40]

Alright, progress at last! :claps: You are right, it will be a lot of tuning and trial & error stuff because this bike has never seen a fuel injection system before. A lot of wrinkles to iron out. But knock out one problem at a time and sooner or later it will be golden.

 

[Outlaw]

Well, I worked on it this afternoon, and it didn't take much. It's idling!


I took the video as kind of a last minute thought, and I was kinda winging it with the narrative. I'm not very good at that kind of thing, so I said one thing and meant another. The two gauges at the bottom left of the screen are AFR (Air/Fuel Ratio) gauges, not EGR correction. I have no idea why I did that...


http://www.youtube.com/embed/Rpn1Qqbs8nE?feature=player_detailpage


Ok, I've tried editing this a dozen times... and I still have no idea why the player embeds successfully sometimes, and not others... Guess I'm just going to leave it as a link....

 

[ThatsMyWing]

very impressive! ive just spent the last two hours reading this entire thread. And you're not a pro? haha. If you're not professional I don't know who is. Or, you have large Kahuna's to attempt something like this I don't know which it is, but I am impressed, as most others are too. Also, there's not a doubt in my mind that this will pay off.I. just think of the business possibilities that can evolve from this. I know this probably is not your goal but I think just about everybody with a GL 1500 would love to be EF I, I know I would. Keep up the good work man

 

[nico]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to on board video of a ride when you get it running smoothly.

 

[Ansimp]

Good to hear that you are getting closer to your final goal :claps::claps::bow:

 

[dj norm]

Thanks very mitch for sharring this great ambition of yours Bravo !

 

[ob1jeeper]

SCHWEEEEETNESS Doug.... Just plain old fashioned SCHWEEEETTNESS...

Congrats on this VERY important milestone......

 

[Outlaw]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to on board video of a ride when you get it running smoothly.

Well, it's not running as smoothly as I would like and the idle isn't as dependable as I would like, but I just couldn't take it any more and I had to go for a ride. So, I got my friend Jim to follow me in my pickup just in case, and I headed out to our local park. It's not even close to being tuned, and I've got a long way to go with it. I think it died 3 or 4 times, and at one point I was a little worried if it was going to start. (It was loading up during deceleration, and that was causing it to die. Then it was hard to start because it was flooded) There are several issues, and it will still be a project for a while yet, but I am getting there.


So, of course, I made a video so everyone can see me making a fool of myself. It's been over a year since I've ridden this bike, and you can tell in the video.

 

[Indianawantsme]

Great first ride for the only fuel injected GL1500 in the world that i know of.
??????

 

[nico]

Amazing to see it go down the road. Thanks for that. Hope you get it sorted out soon. Must be nice to have that park so close by too.

 

[Ansimp]

While you are still testing and tuning it may be advantageous to provide an injector circuit cutout with a handy switch on the dash/bars. That way it is really easy to start when flooded if you stop the injectors firing.
Enjoyed the video!!