Before I spend a fortune on a new EFI Controller....

[Chuck3d]

I want to give a massive Thank you to all the people on this forum that helped me with their input and troublshooting.

I also must acknowledge Curtis from Wild Steed Worx. wildsteedworx.com for the hugely informative and directional emails that he has replied to, to help me get this bike back to having a spark.

So as a catch up and in case this might help someone with the same issue later on down the road this is what Curtis found:

Indeed the relay for the coil, O2 and fuel pump do come on for only a few seconds and then it disconnects from the circuit. It is then that the EFI (VFI) takes over and supplies power to the coil in the fashion that is needed based on maps pre-loaded in the EFI.

My map (or box file) had somehow become corrupted and the EFI showed signs of needing replacing. Not a cheap idea. After trying a few box files (via the ProTune software and Curtis), he suggested that I contact S&S and ask for the file for my particular SN#, year, size engine and model of bike.

I contacted S&S and spoke to Robert T. and he indeed emailed me a box file that he thought would work on my bike. The first file he sent did not load to the EFI. I contacted him back and he immediately sent me another file. I loaded that to the EFI and now I have not only spark, but also the stepper motor (I think a stepper motor) sound that I forgot I was missing in the first place.

I still have a ton of buttoning up to do, as I have taken most of the electrical components out of the circuits to check for faults. But at least I'm one step closer to a real working Bulldog.


Again, my many thanks for all the suggestions and help that I got along the way. I warned you that I had a ton of questions when I posted my New Member Post.

And I'm glad you all didn't make me ride this bike all summer.

 

[Jersey Big Mike]

I want to give a massive Thank you to all the people on this forum that helped me with their input and troublshooting.

I also must acknowledge Curtis from Wild Steed Worx. wildsteedworx.com for the hugely informative and directional emails that he has replied to, to help me get this bike back to having a spark.

So as a catch up and in case this might help someone with the same issue later on down the road this is what Curtis found:

Indeed the relay for the coil, O2 and fuel pump do come on for only a few seconds and then it disconnects from the circuit. It is then that the EFI (VFI) takes over and supplies power to the coil in the fashion that is needed based on maps pre-loaded in the EFI.

My map (or box file) had somehow become corrupted and the EFI showed signs of needing replacing. Not a cheap idea. After trying a few box files (via the ProTune software and Curtis), he suggested that I contact S&S and ask for the file for my particular SN#, year, size engine and model of bike.

I contacted S&S and spoke to Robert T. and he indeed emailed me a box file that he thought would work on my bike. The first file he sent did not load to the EFI. I contacted him back and he immediately sent me another file. I loaded that to the EFI and now I have not only spark, but also the stepper motor (I think a stepper motor) sound that I forgot I was missing in the first place.

I still have a ton of buttoning up to do, as I have taken most of the electrical components out of the circuits to check for faults. But at least I'm one step closer to a real working Bulldog.


Again, my many thanks for all the suggestions and help that I got along the way. I warned you that I had a ton of questions when I posted my New Member Post.

And I'm glad you all didn't make me ride this bike all summer. View attachment 96868

That's great news.

Please share those box files with as much info about them and your VFI as possible. Might help the next guy.
Was you VFI an old one with a 9 pin serial port rather than USB?

 

[Chuck3d]

Here is some more information about the updating of my VFI. Curtis did most of the work, I just pushed the buttons that he told me to:

My VFI is the older 9 pin serial port not the newer USB. I watched the YouTube video from S&S about the software and connecting to the VFI. It's not as involved as I thought it would be and they don't go over what to do after connecting, but it was worth the 10 min to watch.

Tom (the guy from S&S giving the information in the video), shows the pin configuration that your serial cable needs to properly connect with the VFI. I work at a company that uses that type of com port cable to load firmware to PCB boards, so having one and removing the proper pins wasn't an issue. And I used a USB to COM port adapter to connect to my laptop. Just make sure you note the COM port that the computer assigns to the COM port. You'll need that when in ProTune. The software need to know what COM port to look at when searching for your VFI

After following the video and connecting to the VFI, the first warning screen I got in ProTune II, was the notification that "This is a secure ECM. The data or feature you are requesting cannot be accessed in this ECM".

I deleted the two files that I tried to load first though the ProTune II, but here is a screen shot of the error I was getting on my laptop
.

When you run the ProTune II and make sure you note the SN and information in the bottom right of the screen in case you need to call S&S for your specific BOX file. Here was mine:


When you get the right BOX file to load, the ProTune software will show you that it's loading, deleting old maps and then will reset and show a screen to turn your ignition off for at least 15 seconds to reset the base map.

**The zip file is the BOX file. Just change the extension from zip to box. Please remember that this was for a 2007 Bulldog with a 117 engine.