FI code 26

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As a thought !, with my 2 pence through in. From what i have read, The knock sensors may have had an issue , by which the sensors may have broken down inside , causing Fluctuations in voltages & currents which feedback to the ECU ( say a grounding fault,etc.) which can prematurely cause breakdown in contacts ,issues and failures inside the ECU. I have had something similar this before with my VW Passat ECU.

Glad to here you fixed it and fingers crossed it lasts for you.

regards

Tony
so after reading all the posts I could find the questions I have
1 has anyone found a bad knock sensor
2 has anyone damaged their engine running with light on
3 has anyone swapped a new ecm with old and had light come back on
has anyone calibrated or determined the running differences with light on
4has anyone swapped a suspect ecm with known good one and had light come on
5has anyone just ignored light and kept on riding if so for how many miles
thankz
 
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skipcurt

skipcurt

Skip
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so after reading all the posts I could find the questions I have
1 has anyone found a bad knock sensor
2 has anyone damaged their engine running with light on
3 has anyone swapped a new ecm with old and had light come back on
has anyone calibrated or determined the running differences with light on
4has anyone swapped a suspect ecm with known good one and had light come on
5has anyone just ignored light and kept on riding if so for how many miles
thankz
I can't answer all of those Axel but a few I can.
#4 - I swapped out my old for an untested , unverified good ECU and still had the light come on.
#5 - There are several folks on here that have or are ignoring the light. Don B from Texas being one that I know of. Not sure how long he's had the light on but he might shed some light on #2. There was also a guy over in Europe that went through extensive testing to find that all components were fine and has been riding with the light on for quite some time.

After all this I wouldn't even begin to attempt #3. The cycling gods would not be happy.

The sun is finally shining today so I am getting ready to have a nice long ride so I'll post my results later tonight or tomorrow.

Skip
 
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skipcurt

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So I have good news to report. I went out for a 175 miler yesterday and the ride consisted of interstate, local, country & twisties. Peppered in a few short stops for beverages and food and I'm happy to say that the FI light never came on. She seemed to run very good and it was kind of like a re-connection. Sort of like hooking up with an old flame!

I did however look down at that light probably like 200 times but I did get better as the day go later. I'm looking forward to riding confidently again.

Skip
 

737Captain

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Wow what a saga! If there is any good news your trials and tribulations and diligent documentation will undoubtedly help others. Last week my FI light came on for the first time and again twice yesterday. I may be completely off base but I was wondering if it’s possible to get old gas. I always use high octane but wonder how much the average gas station sells and therefore how old the gas in their tanks is. May well be a completely erroneous thought

I’m not looking forward to $1000 ECU.
 

SupraSabre

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Wow what a saga! If there is any good news your trials and tribulations and diligent documentation will undoubtedly help others. Last week my FI light came on for the first time and again twice yesterday. I may be completely off base but I was wondering if it’s possible to get old gas. I always use high octane but wonder how much the average gas station sells and therefore how old the gas in their tanks is. May well be a completely erroneous thought

I’m not looking forward to $1000 ECU.
You can pick them up off ebay for much less!
 

737Captain

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I got the bike to show code 26 then cleared the memory. I still think bad fuel may be an issue so added Seafoam and I’ll see if that stops the problem. Talking to Vinney I think maybe the knock sensor was simply doing it’s job and because the code was still in memory and exceeding 4000rpm for several seconds, maybe 30-45 it simply recalled the code. Does my theory have any credibility or am I tilting windmills?
 

CruSTy

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I got the bike to show code 26 then cleared the memory. I still think bad fuel may be an issue so added Seafoam and I’ll see if that stops the problem. Talking to Vinney I think maybe the knock sensor was simply doing it’s job and because the code was still in memory and exceeding 4000rpm for several seconds, maybe 30-45 it simply recalled the code. Does my theory have any credibility or am I tilting windmills?

The PGM-FI light will come on any time there is a sensor reporting a condition out of range (defined by the software "map" in the ECU). The The light will go out when the out of range condition returns to normal. The code is stored in memory so it can be read even if the condition is not present. It will stay in memory until cleared manually The out of range condition could be caused by a normally functioning sensor detecting in your case an engine knock caused by bad fuel, a faulty sensor or faulty wiring to the sensor or as seems to be the case in the ST1300 sometimes a faulty ECU. I don't think this system is OBD-II compliant so it doesn't do anything sophisticated like the cars beginning in '1996'. You may indeed be tilting windmills.
 
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curious if anyone has determined the actual timing change when the lite comes on
can feel slight performance change when it first comes on
can ride for many miles at steady 4000 no light
few seconds at 4000 in third lite cones on
kept under 4000 no lite in any gear
full throttle pull to 100 from 30 in hi gear no lite
should be prime knock conditions
all very strange
has anyone blown up their bike?
30000 miles on chevy truck with knock sensor code on
no problems
 

CruSTy

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Once the FI light comes on the ECU is using the default sensor program map. Unless there is a major part failure like an injector or the crank angle sensor the engine should run close to normal. OBD-II systems are much more sophisticated at monitoring sensors, learning and compensating for driving modes and sensor failures with a multitude of more codes to tell you more specifically where the problem is.. The odd error you are experiencing sounds like the ECU problem others have experienced. Unless you have a known good test ECU on hand it is worth the time to check for grounding and wiring issues or swap sensors to see if the code switches to the other side.
 
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#5 - There are several folks on here that have or are ignoring the light. Don B from Texas being one that I know of. Not sure how long he's had the light on but he might shed some light on #2.
I haven't had the FI light come on very often, since I'm a conservative rider and seldom ride above 70-75mph (indicated). Anytuing above that is beyond 4k RPM on my ST and that's enough to light up the FI. There is a barely perceptible drop in RPM when that occurs, indicating the ECU is doing its job and the ignition mapping is retarding the ignition timing. I'm assuming that this means there will be no harm done to the engine, just a loss in performance and efficiency until the fault is reset. I intend to try to track down and fix the problem sooner or later so that I can engage in more spirited riding on occasion, but since I don't ride a lot anymore I don't consider it urgent.
 

CruSTy

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so the default program map is a safe backup
ie does no harm?
I don't think I would go so far and to say "no harm". When the FI light is on the ECU is not metering fuel and controlling timing as precisely as it should. This could cause your cats to over heat, poor fuel economy, reduced performance to some degree or another. I would get it fixed or at least give it the "tappet brothers fix" and put some black electrical tape over the light. It bugs me to ride or drive a vehicle that isn't performing correctly especially if my life depends on it.
 

737Captain

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I don't think I would go so far and to say "no harm". When the FI light is on the ECU is not metering fuel and controlling timing as precisely as it should. This could cause your cats to over heat, poor fuel economy, reduced performance to some degree or another. I would get it fixed or at least give it the "tappet brothers fix" and put some black electrical tape over the light. It bugs me to ride or drive a vehicle that isn't performing correctly especially if my life depends on it.
I certainly noticed mpg difference. I always used to average 40/42 mpg now I'm showing35. I'm still going to run a couple of tanks of “good†gas through before embarking on expensive component changed.
 
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when my lite comes on I just hit kill button then fire up again
lite may come on soon or many miles later depending how I drive
 
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skipcurt

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Wow what a saga! If there is any good news your trials and tribulations and diligent documentation will undoubtedly help others. Last week my FI light came on for the first time and again twice yesterday. I may be completely off base but I was wondering if it's possible to get old gas. I always use high octane but wonder how much the average gas station sells and therefore how old the gas in their tanks is. May well be a completely erroneous thought

I'm not looking forward to $1000 ECU.
You can pick them up off ebay for much less!
I wasn't looking forward to $1000 part either. Luckily I found a website that sells brand new OEM ECU's for $720. You certainly could take a chance on a used one from Ebay but you never know what you're getting. I didn't do it because I tried a buddy's extra ECU he bought off of Ebay and I still got the light. Many guys have had good luck by buying used ones though. Let me know if you need the site for the new ECU. I checked it today and it's still the same price .

Skip
 

737Captain

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I wasn't looking forward to $1000 part either. Luckily I found a website that sells brand new OEM ECU's for $720. You certainly could take a chance on a used one from Ebay but you never know what you're getting. I didn't do it because I tried a buddy's extra ECU he bought off of Ebay and I still got the light. Many guys have had good luck by buying used ones though. Let me know if you need the site for the new ECU. I checked it today and it's still the same price .

Skip
Thank you Skip, yes please send me the site. I'm assuming you have had no further issues.

Tony
 
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when my lite comes on I just hit kill button then fire up again
lite may come on soon or many miles later depending how I drive
I do the same thing most of the time. I can ride all day long and never see the FI light if I never exceed 4k for longer than a few seconds.
 
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