ECU not working

[ID KX500]

I thought I'd post a 4 stroke issue I'm having with my 09 EFI 450F. With EFI being fairly new not as much information exists as say carburetor problems.
Last fall my 450 quit on me and wouldn't start. I pulled off the tank and examined the wiring,, not seeing anything in particular wrong I put it back together,,,,kick kick it started right up and it was running fine again. So I took it on a longer ride with the wife she was riding the Polaris850 atv. 12-13 miles in and it just quit dead as a door-nail,,,, fortunate for me I wasn't alone,,, we rode back to the pickup and retrieved the bike. Not knowing where to begin on finding the problem I took it to the nearby Kawi dealer for analysis. For a very reasonable fee they said it appears to be the ECU. OEM is around $340. I found a used on ebay for $108 shipped. 

The seller warned me that a person he knew had this problem and blew out a brand new replacement ECU before discovering a wiring short. So just to be safe I checked ebay for a wiring harness. I plan to check the wiring for a short first but I'll most likely just replace what I have with a different one that is on it's way here. I'll post the results and what I find for anyone who may run into this.

I still believe EFI is the cats pajamas. There is a possibility the wiring was compromised by the Christini install.

[Motorrad]

Hmm very interesting.

I know with automotive stuff... if the system isnt grounded EXTREEMLY well.. it drives the ecu stuff insane...

[alward25]

had the same problem on my klx 450, the stator wiring connector gets water in it real easy.  I blow it out after every ride/wash and it does much better.  Something to look at of you have not.

[ID KX500]

Thanks Motorrad and Alex. That is something to look at too. I read of a similar problem (on an efi kx) stemming from the wiring coming out of the stator, it was shorting out there.

[Ims Roll]

had the same problem on my klx 450, the stator wiring connector gets water in it real easy.  I blow it out after every ride/wash and it does much better.  Something to look at of you have not.

not to highjack but what kind of problem was the stator wiring connector when it got water in it?

Personally i would go around your 450 and make sure every bolt on your wiring is tight, be surprised sometimes when EFI acts up and you just tighten a bolt to fix it. would make sure you have no wires pinched that have wore through to expose the raw wire (under the tank area maybe, by the pipe) bare with me i don't own a EFI one.

I'd give that a shot before buying someone else s problem, your issue could be common with the EFI bikes and his harness may have the same issue you haven't found yet.

[Motorrad]

Isn't this the reason they invented dielectric grease. 

[alward25]

Yes Motorrad, it is, but does not always work, for some reason.  Remember my call from Moab?  ya, i was sad .  But that ended up being the main reason.  Running fine for a few minutes and then cut out and die.  Fire it up and die again, fire it up ride a few feet, die again.  Since i took time to check the stator wiring, clean and grease it, problem has not come back.  Also my coil wire sucked, but that was not the whole issue.

[sandblaster]

Isn't this the reason they invented dielectric grease. 

Wait!
I thought dielectric grease was for seals 

[don46]

I had read of some issues with the 09, as I recall wires were pinched between the frame and tank maybe and that the short was internal of the loom. another thing to check would be the fuel pump, it could cause it to not run, I also heard of issues with the 09 fuel pump. I would also look at the tip over switch, make sure it didn't come loose and hanging in the wron angle. I had an 09 but didn't have any problems with it, traded for an 11 and had 0 problems with it, now we have a 12 and 13, they are flawless. You  can check the stator with an ohm meter to see if it is a problem, I would say a staotr problem would be on the low end of my whats wrong scale, even ECU would be low, especially if it runs then quits, not to say it isn't cause that would be a sympton, as soon as it warms it breaks connection and quits. wire harness or connector would be my number 1 suspect.

[ID KX500]

I had read of some issues with the 09, as I recall wires were pinched between the frame and tank maybe and that the short was internal of the loom. another thing to check would be the fuel pump, it could cause it to not run, I also heard of issues with the 09 fuel pump. I would also look at the tip over switch, make sure it didn't come loose and hanging in the wron angle. I had an 09 but didn't have any problems with it, traded for an 11 and had 0 problems with it, now we have a 12 and 13, they are flawless. You  can check the stator with an ohm meter to see if it is a problem, I would say a staotr problem would be on the low end of my whats wrong scale, even ECU would be low, especially if it runs then quits, not to say it isn't cause that would be a sympton, as soon as it warms it breaks connection and quits. wire harness or connector would be my number 1 suspect.

Last summer on my XRL I had the CDI go out the solders break away and when cold it runs then when warm it runs crappy or not at all. So I've had this electrical ghost $**t before. I did get it hooked up at the Kawi shop and the only problem they were seeing was power going to but not coming from the ECU.

This went completely dead immediately and I really do suspect the wiring. When I farmed we'd have an electrical problems that cost ridiculous amounts to repair due to the complication of locating the issue. So I'm very reluctant to take it to someone with out really anymore information than me and say fix it and then bill me. The used wiring harness is most likely better than mine. So I'm going to start out testing it for continuity first,,, then install wiring with old ECU,,,if it works great I have a spare ECU,,,if no start,,,I'll add the new to me ECU. All this with with far less invested than new,,,if new is necessary I'll go that route.

Oh and by the way thanks all for the input it all helps even if it is only to make me laugh.

[ID KX500]

It was the wiring harness......I bought a POS off ebay that was no good,,,so I wasted a lot of time thinking it was something else. A new harness from Kawasaki and it fired,,,thanks to the guys at Carl's Cycle in Boise, Idaho. From what I have read out on the internet this is a highly likely problem if you loose your electrical.