Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Twolanerider]

John,

Got the installation completed this evening.

[jdk20723]

1) Idle and throttle cables.  With the new throttle body they were short when run in their stock location.  About 1" short.  Rerouted out of the hole through the fairing they were routed through stock and through the same hole with the handlebar and brake line.  The hole was large enough (barely) and this allowed plenty of cable length to get them hooked up.  Is this something you've run in to before?  Since it wasn't a documented change just wondering if this was an oddball or not?  I realize this isn't a Thundermax question but it's not worth a separate thread to ask about it. Same cables as before?  Shouldn't really be an issue as the cable boss on the ThunderMax throttle body is in the same location as stock......OK to re-route them as necessary; most important thing is that they are adjusted properly.  If not, a false TPS home position can result and throw the map off.
 
2) The little sticker warning to always pull the ECM fuse before ever unhooking the battery.  What happens when that doesn't get done?  Because we all know that sometime it's not going to happen.  So what happens.  It just runs rough for a bit before straightening out.  The back tire goes flat in alliance with the ECM?  Or what?  Is it a big deal or just a nuisance?  The setup sheet and the supplied little warning stick all say not to do it.  Nowhere is it discussed what happens when it gets done anyway.  With ANY electrical component, you always want to avoid "Hot Swapping", or unplugging the devise before unpowering it, as sloppy connecting or disconnecting can spike the electronic components inside and possibly damage them.  Really, pulling the fuse will do it, but we also mention the battery cable as some folks have had difficulty locating the fuse box.
 
3) The setup sheet mentioned an accessry Y cable for the data port that could be purchased.  Would using it allow the dealership to read standard error codes without using the SmartLink software?  If so it'd be worth carrying one with just to keep from getting impatient while listening to some tech whine and bitch about all this "not stock" stuff when potentially needing service someday.  Best to just carry the SmartLink CD and communication cable with you as the system has its own diagnostics page(s), and any experienced tech should be able to determine a sensor problem by viewing the sensor values and comparing them to the H-D specs.  The 'Y' cable is mentioned as our Dry Nitrous system (NADS) picks up power and communicates through the same port.  Our system does not interface with H-D's scanalyser.  Thanks, JK

[Twolanerider]

Referencing #2 above then: So pulling the fuse and going through the cycle of switch on and off for three times when the battery is disconnected is not, then, specifically necessitated by some difference in the component system?  Pulling the fuse is just an extra level of insurance in case you throw an arc bring the battery cable back to the battery?

[jdk20723]

Any time battery power is interrupted the "home" settings for the IAC motor and TPS are lost and must be re-learned by the ECM.  These settings allow the bike to start and idle properly.  That's what the 3 on/off cycles are for.

[Twolanerider]

Any time battery power is interrupted the "home" settings for the IAC motor and TPS are lost and must be re-learned by the ECM.

[Twolanerider]

JK, just thought of one more potentially even more clarifying question on the whole battery/fuse/cycle-the-ignition thing.  Does cycling the ignition switch on and off with the ten seconds in the on position in between accomplish the reset anytime; or only after a power disconnect?  

If going through that cycle works anytime it wouldn't be a big deal if some 19 year old in a shop who had taken the seat on and off read the directions or not.  When you got out to the bike later you could run the sequence, just to be on the safe side, and not have to worry about it or screw with taking the seat back off.

[jdk20723]

Each and every time you turn on the ignition, the computer compares the the home position settings to the settings it "learned" during the initialization process.  The stock system and the ThunderMax keep learned settings through a "stay alive" wire that has a very low current draw.  This way, it can compensate for normal wear and tear on the throttle shaft and throttle stop.  If the power was interrupted and the initialization process was not re-done, the world wouldn't end.  The bike would just run roughly as the IAC and TPS would be out of whack.  Shutting the bike off and re-starting it enough times would eventually work its way back to where it should be; it would be more of an irritant than a major issue.  You'd be thinking, WTF, it ran fine before......

As a side note, all of our throttle bodies are put on a flow bench and the blade setting is adjusted to a spec of air flow "leaking" around the closed throttle blade.  The setting screw is then sealed with epoxy to discourage adjusting it as changing the blade setting alters the airflow and upsets the AFR, especially at idle and the first few degrees of throttle blade movement where the percentage of air flow increases are the greatest.  Mose issues with an EFI tune-up are in this area; as the throttle opens further, it's much less of an issue.  Because the TB's are calibrated in this manner, and the CNC processes we employ for porting, combustion chamber machining, piston and camshaft design are very stable and repeatable, it's pretty much the choice of exhaust systems that dictate how much tuning will need to happen after we've made the map.  If the exhaust system is a match to one of the several popular staples we map to, usually very little tuning is needed.  

If the exhaust is not a match (similar style but different brand), some tuning can be expected.  This is where the AutoTune really shines as it will very quickly make the adjustments necessary to bring the tune-up in line.  And the factory throttle bodies are not calibrated to anywhere near as tight a spec, which would explain why some guys have had great success just bolting on the ThunderMax and riding while others found it necessary to do some tuning-- the throttle body on the no-tune bike was probably quite a bit closer, blade setting-wise, to the one we mapped with than the other bike was.  Again, the AutoTune can handle these differences easily.

Regarding the cable differences, I suppose the combined length of the manifold/throttle body might be a little bit longer than the stock unit due to the larger overall diameter of the unit, but I've never held them side-by-side to see.  Sometimes, ya gotta do what ya gotta do to make it work; not unusual in this business.  As far as the MAT sensor harness goes, I've done a fair amount of these myself and have yet to have one that was long enough to fit without the extension....but if you didn't need it, fine.  But I can only imagine the wrath I'd be hearing if you did need it and didn't have it......

Glad to hear you got it together and it put a smile on you face.  Did you send my cams back yet?  I'm just sayin'........

Thanks, JK

[Twolanerider]

As far as the MAT sensor harness goes, I've done a fair amount of these myself and have yet to have one that was long enough to fit without the extension....but if you didn't need it, fine.

[Twolanerider]

By the way, thanks for the further explanation on what goes on in the setup after loss of power.  I'd assumed it would a nuisance issue as opposed to a significant one.  But it's good to read it from the source.