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ECU Warning Light

S

SeveerNeb

Just got it firing!
Joined
May 30, 2017
Messages
19
Location
Sheridan, Wyoming
I just rode the Big Horn mountain loop with a nice group of friends on July 4th and the bike (2008 Norge) performed excellent. I got back, went to work the next day and rode home in a nasty hail, wind and rain storm with about 65 MPH crosswinds. I left the bike outside since the wife took my spot in the garage. The next day on the way to work (today) the bike just suddenly quit running and put on the screen "ECU" with an image of an unplugged cable with male and female ends of a plug apart from each other. Does this mean my ECU main plug wiggled loose?

I went into diagnostics and there were no ECU warnings. No other warnings either. I'm puzzled. The starter won't respond and it won't show neutral but I can still navigate around in the onboard menu which must mean the ECU is still functioning. I can't find this warning in the book or anywhere else. Ideas?
 
The ECU error is stored in the dash! Unfortunately, you will need to remove the tank to investigate further. It would appear the connection between the dash and ECU is not real good and is probably one of the 2 cables/plugs on the ECU. The ECU is under the headstock and is a PITA to get to. Others have reported corrosion and dislodged plugs on the ECU. Cleaning fluid for electrical connections may come in handy. Cross winds in the order you have quoted could do this - corrosion after you shut everything down.

A long shot would be the ECU connector under the seat, but as I said, it is a long shot.
 
Check the ground connection to the ECU. If that gets corroded you can get this error. Unfortunately in can also permanently damage the ECU. The ECU for your bike is up near the steering head under a flange of the frame. Pretty well protected there, but still possible to have had water cause a problem. While there, remove the ecu connectors and ECU, check for any corrosion, clean with a good contact cleaner and re-assemble. Hopefully that will cure the problem. If not check the dash connector. It is possible the ECU has failed from water damage.
 
SeveerNeb said:
Awesome advice! Is there some sort of diagram that can lead me to the ECU?
Click to expand...

Where the two upper frame tubes come together at the steering head, there is a gusset plate. The ECU is mounted to the plate and is located under that plate. Also you will see two very large wire harnesses going to the ECU. The connectors are a latching type and you need to release the levers to disconnect. Also on install you align and partially insert the connectors to the ECU and the lever draws the connector to the ECU.
 
IMG 3596
SeveerNeb said:
I just rode the Big Horn mountain loop with a nice group of friends on July 4th and the bike (2008 Norge) performed excellent. I got back, went to work the next day and rode home in a nasty hail, wind and rain storm with about 65 MPH crosswinds. I left the bike outside since the wife took my spot in the garage. The next day on the way to work (today) the bike just suddenly quit running and put on the screen "ECU" with an image of an unplugged cable with male and female ends of a plug apart from each other. Does this mean my ECU main plug wiggled loose?

I went into diagnostics and there were no ECU warnings. No other warnings either. I'm puzzled. The starter won't respond and it won't show neutral but I can still navigate around in the onboard menu which must mean the ECU is still functioning. I can't find this warning in the book or anywhere else. Ideas?
Click to expand...

( You never mentioned how you got home :) )

The same happened to me (us) about 2 hrs from home. Since I had just days before reflashed the ECU with one of Todd's maps my initial (erroneous) assumption was that this was related.

My first attempt to clear the error and get the bike restarted was to disconnect / reconnect the battery. No change.

Then, into the diagnostic menu. As you found, No errors presented in either diag list. While I was in the diag menu though I cleared the errors. After this, I found the ECU disconnect had cleared and I was able to restart the bike and get us home.

At home, after turning the bike off I attempted a restart and the ECU disconnect reappeared.

I reviewed the forums here for other examples. Remember that I initially thought this was related to the ECU flash, however at the time that I reflashed the ECU, I had also removed the "O2 Optimizer", which for me involved removing the starter to get in behind and acccess the Optimizer connector.

Most forum suggested solutions involved bad or intermittent grounding issues. So I removed the starter, and cleaned all terminals and connectors that I found down there, using a brass brush attachment to my Dremel tool.

With everything back together, the ECU disconnect is cleared, and following an extended trip yesterday, on return I shut the bike down and it restarted without issue. Did the same the next morning (hot engine/cold engine verification) - no error.

Concluding, though the 'error' reset seemed to clear the ECU disconnect, I have no idea whether this was actually the case. I don't know all that much about these modern bike electronics so the coincidence factor may be at work here.
 
Modern electronics, and indeed software systems, do not always throw an accurate error - what happens instead, the system reports the last thing that went wrong, that it is aware of, and that is what you get! Unfortunately, this is where you must start your diagnostic trail, and hopefully, lead you to the mother lode solution. It just is...

As BG reported, the ECU error showed up, but it was the main earth under the starter cover at fault. What should have been reported is that the earth for the ECU was not good, but systems have no way of telling this unless far more complicated electronics and software are introduced - then it would be a space station and not a motorcycle. The manufacturers will never turn these into a space station, you have to do some of the work.
 
I'm a bit late to this party but that I've recently cleared that error on my 2008 1200 Breva by removing the ECU and cleaning up the earth ring and fastener. They weren't corroded ( neither was almost every other connector I'd previously unplugged!!) but a bit of minor tarnishing, and that was what sorted it out. I also have an O2 optimiser fitted but that hasn't seemed to cause any issues (yet)....
 
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