(FCE) Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST1300 - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

[ST Dan]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

ordered the FCE Fri., got it in the mail today (tues), pretty quick shipping....I plan to install it this weekend...

 

[STomcat]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

Post deleted by poster.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

I have run into an interesting problem since installing the FCE. At first all was fine the abruptness all gone for around 150 miles. Stopped and filled up with Chevron gas. After about half a mile rinning in the steady 3000-3500 rpm range (trying to stay in the speed limit) the engine seemed to drop a cylinder and trying to accelerate it hesitated then caught. Thinking I got some bad gas I put in a can of Seafoam. Still the same over the next 40 miles to home. The next week riding to work all seemed fine; however around town no steady speeds. The next weekend all seem fine until we filled up with Chevron again, different station about 10 miles from the 1st) and the same results.

Called Ivan and spoke to him and he wanted me to change the spark plugs as I had over 18,000 miles on them and of course inspect the old plugs. I did that and again stopping and filling up got the same results. Checked the venting on the tank and that was ok. Replace the 5 way vacuum tee for the map sensor and that also ok.

Next weekend I'll unplug the FCE and thry that to see if there is a problem there.

Any Thoughts ??????

Thanks,
Sonny

I started having just this problem over the weekend while riding around the Paonia Colorado area. It's around 5000 ft elevation but I'm not sure that had anything to do with it.

It would run rough at between 4K - 5K then suddenly kick in and just leap. A few times I was standing up briefly to stretch the legs and hit that spot and it jerked my arms so hard I nearly fell off backward.

Every time I would stop for gas or for lunch or for a break, the bike would either run great like it's supposed to with the FCE or it would run crappy like I had water in the gas or was missing a cylinder or two. If I stopped and turned off the engine, next startup was a crap shoot as far as how it ran. It was like this for 3 days over the weekend trip.

I haven't had time yet, but I think I may have a loose connection in the wiring so I'm going to take everything apart this weekend and have a look at it again. When I installed it, I crimped and soldered the connectors to the wiring but am relying on the connector to connector junction for the integrity of how it is hooked into the system. I will also put some dielectric grease on the connections. If I am still having this intermittent behavior I will remove it and then see how it runs.

I'm hoping it's just a connector problem. The bike has 18K on it now and it may be due for plugs, etc. but when I purchased it from the PO last year, he had just had it tuned up at 7K so I'm not thinking it's a plug problem. Anyone else have any suggestions of what to look at?

When it's running like it's supposed to with the FCE, it's wonderfully smooth! But when it's not, it's way worse than it was stock with just that annoying little cutoff in the 3500-4000K region.

 

[FLSTRDR]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

I started having just this problem over the weekend while riding around the Paonia Colorado area. It's around 5000 ft elevation but I'm not sure that had anything to do with it.

It would run rough at between 4K - 5K then suddenly kick in and just leap. A few times I was standing up briefly to stretch the legs and hit that spot and it jerked my arms so hard I nearly fell off backward.

Every time I would stop for gas or for lunch or for a break, the bike would either run great like it's supposed to with the FCE or it would run crappy like I had water in the gas or was missing a cylinder or two. If I stopped and turned off the engine, next startup was a crap shoot as far as how it ran. It was like this for 3 days over the weekend trip.

I haven't had time yet, but I think I may have a loose connection in the wiring so I'm going to take everything apart this weekend and have a look at it again. When I installed it, I crimped and soldered the connectors to the wiring but am relying on the connector to connector junction for the integrity of how it is hooked into the system. I will also put some dielectric grease on the connections. If I am still having this intermittent behavior I will remove it and then see how it runs.

I'm hoping it's just a connector problem. The bike has 18K on it now and it may be due for plugs, etc. but when I purchased it from the PO last year, he had just had it tuned up at 7K so I'm not thinking it's a plug problem. Anyone else have any suggestions of what to look at?

When it's running like it's supposed to with the FCE, it's wonderfully smooth! But when it's not, it's way worse than it was stock with just that annoying little cutoff in the 3500-4000K region.

It was the vaccum lines on mine; 3 were found loose.

Sonny

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

You mean the vacuum lines around the throttle bodies? I did get in there to replace the fuel pressure regulator a week ago but didn't touch any of those.

 

[HeliMark]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

Would anyone that has installed the FCE confirm/deny whether or not you experience the below?:



Thanks!
Jim

I could start going like you said prior to installing the FCE, it really is one's clutch control on the start. But the big difference is slow speed manuevering in first gear. You do not have to use the clutch anywhere near what it use to be to stop the "jerking". I use to just stay in second as much as possible for slow stuff until now.

No explenation other then seat of the pants, but the bike seems to be a little more "doggy" but smooth until about 4,500 RPM. Then it is like lighting the afterburner. I need to look at the vacuum lines, check my air filter and stuff. I have 18K on it now.

-Mark

 

[STomcat]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

Post deleted by poster.

 

[willymakit]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

Where do the hoses come from/go to on the 5-way tee? one goes to to the map sensor, and the others? how does the 5-way tee get "clogged" with debris when there is no flow, only static pressure/vacuum? willy

 

[FLSTRDR]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

You mean the vacuum lines around the throttle bodies? I did get in there to replace the fuel pressure regulator a week ago but didn't touch any of those.

yes, the ones around the throttle bodies.

 

[Marshal_Mercer]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

Now that you have a few tanks of gas under your belt, do you still feel as though the FCE has helped smooth things out? How about those of you riding at altitudes over 5K feet? Any bobbles in power delivery as ComfortablyNumb found?

Marshal

 

[1Fast06]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

I started having just this problem over the weekend while riding around the Paonia Colorado area. It's around 5000 ft elevation but I'm not sure that had anything to do with it.

It would run rough at between 4K - 5K then suddenly kick in and just leap. A few times I was standing up briefly to stretch the legs and hit that spot and it jerked my arms so hard I nearly fell off backward.

Every time I would stop for gas or for lunch or for a break, the bike would either run great like it's supposed to with the FCE or it would run crappy like I had water in the gas or was missing a cylinder or two. If I stopped and turned off the engine, next startup was a crap shoot as far as how it ran. It was like this for 3 days over the weekend trip.

I haven't had time yet, but I think I may have a loose connection in the wiring so I'm going to take everything apart this weekend and have a look at it again. When I installed it, I crimped and soldered the connectors to the wiring but am relying on the connector to connector junction for the integrity of how it is hooked into the system. I will also put some dielectric grease on the connections. If I am still having this intermittent behavior I will remove it and then see how it runs.

I'm hoping it's just a connector problem. The bike has 18K on it now and it may be due for plugs, etc. but when I purchased it from the PO last year, he had just had it tuned up at 7K so I'm not thinking it's a plug problem. Anyone else have any suggestions of what to look at?

When it's running like it's supposed to with the FCE, it's wonderfully smooth! But when it's not, it's way worse than it was stock with just that annoying little cutoff in the 3500-4000K region.

I've also been experiencing a similar issue after the FCE installation. The bike runs smooth for most of the time but occasionally the fuel injection has an hesitation/surging problem in the 3.5k-4.5k rpm range. I've spoke with Ivan about it and he had me try a couple of different units, which yielded the same results. I have made the install in the middle of May and I have now over 2k miles with the FCE. Here are some observations:

The bike is a 2006 California Abs model, about 19k miles on the clock. Plugs and air cleaner changed at 11.5k. Starter valves adjusted at 13.5k.
All the ECU harness crimps have been soldered from the start.
Removing the FCE and reconnecting the ECU harness wiring as stock makes the bike run great as normal, with no hiccups.
The surging problem appears when the motor is at normal operating temperature and kept steady or accelerated slowly in first or second gear in the 3.5k rpm range.
No fuel injection fault codes are shown in the dash.
The problem will not disappear until the engine is shut off and turned back on. It seems that the ECU or the FCE internal programming remains faulty until it is reset by the power off/on.
For most of the time when the FCE is working properly, the fuel injection on/off abruptness is mostly eliminated, the bike seems to run cooler, the motor feels really smooth at all rpm ranges, and the combined fuel mileage is increased by 2 mpg.

I will also take a look at the vacuum lines under the tank and check the air cleaner again.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

I've also been experiencing a similar issue after the FCE installation. The bike runs smooth for most of the time but occasionally the fuel injection has an hesitation/surging problem in the 3.5k-4.5k rpm range. I've spoke with Ivan about it and he had me try a couple of different units, which yielded the same results. I have made the install in the middle of May and I have now over 2k miles with the FCE. Here are some observations:

The bike is a 2006 California Abs model, about 19k miles on the clock. Plugs and air cleaner changed at 11.5k. Starter valves adjusted at 13.5k.
All the ECU harness crimps have been soldered from the start.
Removing the FCE and reconnecting the ECU harness wiring as stock makes the bike run great as normal, with no hiccups.
The surging problem appears when the motor is at normal operating temperature and kept steady or accelerated slowly in first or second gear in the 3.5k rpm range.
No fuel injection fault codes are shown in the dash.
The problem will not disappear until the engine is shut off and turned back on. It seems that the ECU or the FCE internal programming remains faulty until it is reset by the power off/on.
For most of the time when the FCE is working properly, the fuel injection on/off abruptness is mostly eliminated, the bike seems to run cooler, the motor feels really smooth at all rpm ranges, and the combined fuel mileage is increased by 2 mpg.

I will also take a look at the vacuum lines under the tank and check the air cleaner again.

I couldn't have described it better myself. Sounds like you're experiencing the exact same thing as I am but also notice the same behavior in any gear in any RPM above 3500 up to around 6500 when it's absent.

One note: I have a new air cleaner in it as I replaced that at the same time as removing the FPR about a week ago.

 

[adamk]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

It would run rough at between 4K - 5K then suddenly kick in and just leap. A few times I was standing up briefly to stretch the legs and hit that spot and it jerked my arms so hard I nearly fell off backward.

Hmm. I have one of these on order, but am now wondering if I want to install it before my trip in a few weeks. This is all starting to sound too familiar to my 'adventure' with the Power Commander (PC), a few years ago. In my case the jerking seemed to be amplified by the PC to the point the bike was nearly "bucking". Going from throttle off to on at takeoff. I almost dumper the bike several times, once with oncoming traffic!

I'm beginning to wonder if the ECU in these bikes has a programming issue that prevents anyone from coming up with an add on device to "tamper" with the system. Not sure if it is by design, or a bug. I don't know the specifics on Ivan's device, but the PC is installed in-line, intercepts the ECU pulses to the injectors and tries to "adjust" them. With the PC installed there were drop outs in the pulse stream to the injectors causing dead spots where the engine would basically stop, then spring back at the original throttle setting. When the guys from Dynojet came up to Seattle and had my bike on the dyno we tried many PC units which they were taking apart and tweaking. We also talked the dealer into letting me remove theECU from a bike on the floor and swapping it for mine. Same problem.

There didn't seem to be an issue with '03 STs and the PC, just every model year since. Since the part numbers were all the same and Dynojet couldn't determine the cause, they just discontinued the product for the ST. Too much of a liability issue since I had documented the issue on my site. If anyone were ever killed using their product it was a documented fact that there was a safety issue with the PC and the ST.

When I tried the Techlusion device I never had any of these issues, but it was my understanding that it only augmented the pulses to the injectors and didn't actually intercept, modify, then retransmit the pulse stream.

I'm not sure what Ivan is trying to do with his device, but it's all starting to sound a little familiar for the reports from some of the users out there.

 

[adamk]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

I just called Ivan's shop and was told that there were a few issues with <some> shipped FCE units, but that they have been replaced and the problems have been resolved. Is anyone still having these issues?

Ivan is supposed to be calling me back. I'll keep you all posted......

 

[Mellow]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

I wonder if he has a time frame on those orders that had some problems.

I've had mine a couple months now and works great. Did well in SD and have not had any issues at all.

I have yet to ride in higher elevations but everything else is great. I do have a rough Idle I noticed last week but I'm thinking I may have a bad plug as it's only coming from one side... I can feel the air out of one pipe as more constant that the other. If new plugs don't correct that I'll report back.

I've only seen a couple real issues in this thread, some were explained by other things so overall this still seems like a great mod. I sure don't want to have to replace mine as it's no fun getting in that area of the bike... for me.

 

[Throttlejockey]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

I just called Ivan's shop and was told that there were a few issues with <some> shipped FCE units, but that they have been replaced and the problems have been resolved. Is anyone still having these issues?

Ivan is supposed to be calling me back. I'll keep you all posted......

It's easy enough to remove and just plug the wires back in once it is removed.

At least with the non ABS model anyway. I only removed the rear seat and side cover to disconnect the battery to install mine.

 

[LegoMan]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

Mellow's removal would be more difficult because his is connected to his remote brake switch...

 

[adamk]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

I've only seen a couple real issues in this thread, some were explained by other things so overall this still seems like a great mod. I sure don't want to have to replace mine as it's no fun getting in that area of the bike... for me.

I hope this is the case. I'd REALLY like to get the throttle issue resolved on my bike. I'm a little sensitive to the whole process having been through every mod available, and having the 'near death' experience with the PC. I've learned to deal with it over the years through technique but long for the smooth throttle I had on my 1100 and other have with other FI bikes.

Having watched the Dynojet guys scratch their heads and give up with no real explanation of why it worked with the '03 when they developed it, and failed on later models is always stuck in the back of my mind when I see these "solutions" come and go.

 

[Old Vic]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

I have installed Ivan's FCE on my '06 ST (w/abs) and have not experienced the problems recently reported ( major jerkiness, hestitation). I did have TT 59psi FPR which I took off prior to the installation and reinstalled the stock 50psi FPR, but left my Throttle Tamer and Delkevic's on.

I have 42000 miles on the bike with a stock air filter and iridium spark plugs with 10,000 miles on them.

The FCE has eliminated almost all low gear (1st & 2nd) jerkiness and has not exhibited any other unusual characteristics. My biggest concern is possible future problems with the 12 connectors ( 6 male, 6 female) coming loose and/or corrosion. I did solder all crimps, so that mitigates some of the worry.

All in all, it's worth the installation FWIW

 

[1129VLD]

Re: Fuel Cut Eliminator for ST - On-Off Throttle Issue Resolved

Mine arrived on the doorstep yesterday. Maybe this weekend!