Engine cut off on freeway

[S107]

6th gear doing about 85-90. Engine cuts off but I still have electrical power, tach, headlight and hazards still working. There was no "sputtering" or slow loss of power, it was as if the engine cut off switch was hit. After merging to the shoulder from carpool lane (scary stuff) I took the key out , put back in and the bike started right up. Took side streets home (about 20 miles) with no problems. Any ideas? BTW this happend about a month ago on the freeway but about 2 seconds after the loss of power, the engine kicked back in while still moving. thanks.

 

[Motogiro]

Sounds like the fuel might be shutting off. Could be a bad/intermettent fuel pump relay or fuel pump. Lift tank and check all connectors. Do you have anti theft that might control the fuel pump relay?

 

[SirIsaac]

Also could be a bad sidestand switch or lean-angle sensor switch. The sidestand switch is closed when the stand is up, so a loose connection or failing switch will make the ECU think that you just put the stand down and kill the engine. Not sure how the lean-angle switch works.

 

[S107]

If it was fuel related wouldnt the bike have started choking and eventually stop? Kickstand issue- last time the bike kicked back on after a few seconds. If im not mistaken the bike shouldnt kick back on... or will it? Sorry for the noob-ness.

 

[mxgolf]

I accidently hit my emergency shut off switch once and that was weird. Couldn't figure it out for a few minutes. Then I saw the switch was off. :spank: I'm not sure if that's what you did but possibly that's what happened.

 

[mduhon]

I have had this happen 6 times to me now, however not on the freeway. 5 of the times was on a slow left hand turn and the last one today was on a straight away. All i have to do is flip the kill switch off then back on and then it works just fine with no problems. I have been thinking it was the kickstand switch because it was always on left turns before today. When I talked to the shop about it they said it could possibly be a dirty throttle body and that I should clean it. Not sure if this is the cause but this is what I was told today. Just wanted to share

 

[cowboytk]

i had the same thing happen to me, sitting still waiting to turn left at a light..i was in neutral and everything..it just shut of..and with a quick flip of the kill switch off and then back on it started with no other problems.

 

[RJ2112]

6th gear doing about 85-90. Engine cuts off but I still have electrical power, tach, headlight and hazards still working. There was no "sputtering" or slow loss of power, it was as if the engine cut off switch was hit. After merging to the shoulder from carpool lane (scary stuff) I took the key out , put back in and the bike started right up. Took side streets home (about 20 miles) with no problems. Any ideas? BTW this happend about a month ago on the freeway but about 2 seconds after the loss of power, the engine kicked back in while still moving. thanks.

I'm betting on the 'Kill" switch going bad. Try wiggling the cut off switch side to side, and see if you can recreate the issue. The circuit is 'hot' any time the ignition key is turned on. The switch operates a relay. If the contacts are dirty or corroded, and the circuit breaks, the main power is cut off.

 

[mduhon]

Well I'll give that a try! Thanks for the info!:thumbup:

 

[SirIsaac]

Kickstand issue- last time the bike kicked back on after a few seconds. If im not mistaken the bike shouldnt kick back on... or will it? Sorry for the noob-ness.

If you're rolling down the road and the sidestand switch has an intermittent problem, I don't see why it would not kick back on, i.e., kind of like bump starting it at whatever speed you are going.

The kill switch also sounds like a possible culprit - it has to be on to supply power to the coils. If the coils lose power, the engine quits right away, then should come back if the switch made contact again if you were rolling.

 

[tomari]

i had the same problem once and it was my fault, i didnt turn the key all the way to "on" and when i hit a bump it turned slightly to off and killed the engine.

 

[S107]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. About a month ago i pulled the throttle side housing to clean the starter button connection. Maybe something came loose on the kill switch. I'll be tearing down the bike today and hopefully find the problem. Im leaning toward the kill switch now. Thanks again.

 

[gwaihir]

I don't know if you are aware that there has been a recall notice issued, certainly here in the UK, for the replacement of the Throttle Position Sensor (T.P.S). I quote from the letter I received from Yamaha.

"It has been found that under certain circumstances, the idle speed of the engine may become intermittently unstable. In rare cases, this may result in the engine stalling where the machine is stationary or even in certain circumstances , when travelling at low speed."

I got the letter at the end of October, just after I had put the bike away for the winter. I'll be taking the bike to the Yamaha dealer to have the work done as soon as I put it back on the road next year.
I suggest you check with your local Yamaha dealer if the recall for this problem applies to your bike.

 

[mduhon]

I thought the same thing when my bike was cutting out. I took it to the dealer and they looked up the vin # and saw the recalls had been done. However thats when the dealer said it could be a dirty throttle body or injectors are clogged. This is just what I have been told but haven't be able to confirm anything as of yet. I will post when I find out something if anyone is interested.

 

[S107]

please do. Well i started the bike up yesterday and it turned on for about 3 seconds then cut off. So now im almost certain its a fuel problem. Now what do I look for when trying to pinpoint the problem?

 

[youngy]

Could be water in the fuel.

Try a cupful of meths (denatured alcohol) in the tank. This boils off the water. If it doesn't work then no harm done but it could save you having to drain the tank and stat ripping into things.

 

[S107]

ok so i pulled everything out and didnt see anything suspicious. Pump and relay look good and didnt see any hoses damaged. Rode around the block a few times with no problems. IF the fuhat el pump was bad, would it be possible that it would continue to work again? Once a fuel pump is done, is it done for good?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

The fuel pump, generally when it quits, its shorted out and won't come back to life. The bike quitting like you turned it off with a switch, does not sound fuel related.

With the symptoms the bike has, It sounds like the side stand switch as noted above (or kill switch -which you already checked) could be faulty.

I would remove the side stand switch and clean it. Its bolted up with 2 screws and can be cleaned while still attached to the harness (don't have to lift the tank to find the other end). There's one spring in there and it won't shoot away on ya.. Clean the contacts real good and re-assemble with Di-lectric grease. Might take you 30 minutes total time to clean and re-assemble. Its good preventive maintainance in either case..

Depending on your riding conditions (lots of rain, etc) crap will get in there and cause havoc...

Good luck..

 

[S107]

thanks for the info, I will take care of that today. I did start the bike up (few days ago) and it cut off about 2 seconds after. Bike was in neutral. Would a bad side stand switch kill the enigine while in neutral? Thanks again for all the help.

 

[youngy]

If it's in neutral the sidestand switch shouldn't affect it.