Author Topic: EFI Ignorance (on my part)  (Read 3386 times)

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Land Surveyor

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on: December 13, 2008, 06:40:23 am
Kevin, I re-read a previous post on the EFI: http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,981.0.html

Please bear in mind that I try to keep my hands OFF the fuel supply system and have only a basic understanding of carbs, much less EFI. (think of me as typical of the next wave of RE riders)

If my bike says "CHECK ENGINE" and I count the blinks and look it up in the manual, what's the next step? Carb-savvy folk can twist knobs or even take the thing apart to check for damaged parts.  What's the next step with the EFI though?  I realize that's pretty broad.  Just gimme a for-instance if necessary.


Kevin Mahoney

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Reply #1 on: December 13, 2008, 07:07:16 am
This is a First-Class question, one I am sure that others have wondered about themselves.
This is the good news and the bad news. With a carburetor through study and experience you learn that certain symptoms come from certain sources. You use the knowledge to logically make a diagnosis by troubleshooting. Then if it is a carburetor like the Enfield, you fix or adjust what is wrong. With an Enfield you can buy parts unlike many newer carbs so you don't just have to replace it.
  With EFI the entire fuel deliver system and engine timing are controlled by a computer. It measures several different inputs including air temperature, Oxygen levels in the exhaust, throttle position, engine timing, engine temperature, load etc and delivers the exact quantity of fuel for each situation micro second by micro second. The process is so complicated that when a problem appears it is all but impossible to diagnose it in the conventional sense. With no tools you start replacing items blindly until you happen to fix what the problem was.
  With the built in diagnostics or a specail computer tool the system itself will tell you what is wrong. To your point each sequence of blinking lights will tell you which part is defective,. If it is more than one part it will tell you that as well. If you identify the problem part the first thing you do is verify that it is connected properly and if that is good you replace the part. This will save you tons of money blindly replacing parts and it will tell you with no training or special tools how to fix your bike. It does remove some of the "art" out of diagnosing problems, but on the other hand it can help a relatively untrained owner an expert. For the most part EFI is very simple in concept. Most companies make it a mystery.
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Kevin Mahoney
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Chasfield

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Reply #2 on: December 13, 2008, 08:34:42 am
In the world of cars, failure of the "black box" that runs the engine management system can often put an older vehicle beyond economical repair - which has always puzzled me. Why should a crummy circuit board cost as much as a cylinder head? After all, a generic motherboard for a PC can be had for the price of a pizza, and that has way more complexity on it.

However, I digress. Is there any indication of spares parts costs for the Bullet EFI system, in particular in the event of the aforesaid worst case scenario - a dead "black box"?   
2001 500 Bullet Deluxe


Kevin Mahoney

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Reply #3 on: December 13, 2008, 06:00:45 pm
I have not seen any parts pricing for EFI components yet. They will come with a two year warranty which will make it less painful. Oftentimes a solid state device is going to go, it goes early in its life. I guess these will have a lot more vibration and temperature extremes than your home stereo so who knows. I do not know the answer to this problem but it may be that they are covered under the Federal Emissions warranty which all vehicles have. It is longer than two years for certain parts. Do any of you more familiar with such systems know?
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Kevin Mahoney
www.cyclesidecar.com