I think my EHC died

[slam]

Hey guys. I know, another EHC thread. It's weird, the first start of the day, no problems. I rode to a friend's house about 2 miles away. Turned the bike off and 10 minutes later we went to roll out and nothing. The speedo lights up and needle cycles, press RUN and when I press the START button, I hear the compression releases, the running lights stay on but the headlight goes out. First thing I did today was tried to start her up and first start, no problem. Let it run a few minutes and tried it again and nothing. I checked the right handlebar(everything looks good), took the tank off(nothing seems to be chaffing), battey is strong(it stay on a charger). I took the side cover off, EHC lights up with the key, light comes on when I press the RUN, but nothing. I checked the voltage to the solinoid and it was below 8 volts. That makes think it's the ECH. Later on, I tried it again and was getting 8+ volts to the solinoid, so I plugged it up and she went to start.

I read a few posts today one by Nukeranger because he was having a start probem and thought it was his EHC. I'm tempted to order a PDM to have on hand. If the EHC is done, hey I got 5 years out of it.

Thanks in adavance.

 

[pauldeepsea]

one thing you may want to check is the headlight wiring harness you are going to have to get into the headlight. My original headlight had melted at the pigtail connection causing a very similar symptom as yours.

 

[ringo]

ignition switch itself can cause intermitten issues

 

[Five Five]

Doesn't seem to be an EHC issue. Go back and check your ground and positive cable connection at your starter. How old is your starter and battery

 

[pknowles]

Doesn't seem to be an EHC issue. Go back and check your ground and positive cable connection at your starter. How old is your starter and battery

Agree. Sounds more like A bad battery

 

[07bigdog]

The headlight is supposed to go out when you hit the run button to save the battery.

 

[Nukeranger]

I still have my EHC in my Dog. I haven't had a problem since I re-lugged the positive connections. I still have a WP on the shelf.

Huw

 

[slam]

Doesn't seem to be an EHC issue. Go back and check your ground and positive cable connection at your starter. How old is your starter and battery

Starter is the original and battery is a little over a year old. The battery stays on a tender. I had 13.? volts yesterday. It never dropped below 12.8V.

The weird thing is that the first start of the day, everythings cool ,no problems. The second start is the issue. Turn the key, the speedo cycles, EHC lights up, I press the RUN button and light on EHC comes on but it doesn't do anything.

 

[slam]

one thing you may want to check is the headlight wiring harness you are going to have to get into the headlight. My original headlight had melted at the pigtail connection causing a very similar symptom as yours.

Thanks Paul. I'll try that today.

 

[slam]

OK. I checked the headlight, only 3 wires in there(all looked good and clean). I put the tank back on and fired her up with no problems. Shut her down after a couple of minutes. Went to start her up again and nothing. While she was running, the power LED, the Controller On LED and the Ignition LED is lit on the EHC. The green Controller ON was flashing. I hit the throttle a couple of times. One time when I hit it the EHC lit up like a Christmas tree. Everything but the Compression Reliefs and the PC Linked LED's(Just trying to put down as much info as possible).

Once she wouldn't start I checked the battery(13.18V). I checked the power to the solenoid and it was 5.38V. Doesn't it need to be at least 8V?

I think Ringo mentioned it could be the ignition switch. Could that still be a possiblity?

 

[DRBarnhart]

... Went to start her up again and nothing.

What was lit on the EHC at this point?

Once she wouldn't start... I checked the power to the solenoid and it was 5.38V.

What was the voltage on that green wire once you've hit RUN and are holding the START button?

Dennis

 

[slam]

What was lit on the EHC at this point?What was the voltage on that green wire once you've hit RUN and are holding the START button?

Dennis

The Power and Controller ON LED's came on with the key and the Ignition lit up when I pressed the RUN button.

The voltage on the solenoid never changed. It was at 5.38V when I turned the key on and when I pressed the Run then Start button. I wanted to see if it changed but it didn't.

 

[DRBarnhart]

The Power and Controller ON LED's came on with the key and the Ignition lit up when I pressed the RUN button.

The voltage on the solenoid never changed. It was at 5.38V when I turned the key on and when I pressed the Run then Start button. I wanted to see if it changed but it didn't.

Would I be assuming correctly that you disconnected the green wire when you checked voltage? And used the starter case as your ground for the meter?

If you're sure the compression releases energize when you press the START button about all there is left to do is check the green wire from the starter to the EHC to make sure it has a good connection at both ends (the starter at one end and pin A-1 of the EHC connector at the other). Disconnect both, check for continuity (open, short, chaffs to ground, etc.) and make sure both ends are clean and tight on their connectors.

Dennis

 

[slam]

Would I be assuming correctly that you disconnected the green wire when you checked voltage? And used the starter case as your ground for the meter?

If you're sure the compression releases energize when you press the START button about all there is left to do is check the green wire from the starter to the EHC to make sure it has a good connection at both ends (the starter at one end and pin A-1 of the EHC connector at the other). Disconnect both, check for continuity (open, short, chaffs to ground, etc.) and make sure both ends are clean and tight on their connectors.

Dennis

You assumed correctly. I disconnected the green wire from the starter, but I used the negative on the battery for my ground. I'll check that tomorrow and let know.

 

[DRBarnhart]

You assumed correctly. I disconnected the green wire from the starter, but I used the negative on the battery for my ground. I'll check that tomorrow and let know.

My point of asking that was to make sure your starter has a good ground too.

Dennis

 

[Nukeranger]

Just an update as of today,

I have had enough and can not risk putting the riding season in jeopardy. The problem came back for no reason. The Dog has been sitting in a nicely heated/cooled garage. So, as soon as I pay bills, the EHC is coming out and WP going in. I check/cleaned and plugged/unplugged the EHC connections to attempt to get a smoking gun but nothing. Same old situation. All the EHC lights light up for an abnormal time and the the turn signals blink. That is all I get.

Oh well,

Nukeranger.

 

[stryfox]

Still sounds like it could be a battery. You may not have enough amps after the first start.
I would try a battery first. If the ehc gets low voltage the turn signals are suppose to blink.

 

[Nukeranger]

I am a good way into my WP install and have not run across a reason for my EHC issues. I had good voltage, jumpered my EHC to get it to turn on, and the result was the same.