Out riding last night all was well with the Uly, on the way home on the motorway at 70+ the bike just dies, complete electrical failure, while im sitting there thinking oh cr*p it comes back to life and carries on with no issues... a mile or so later it does it again but comes back again, almost home so just kept my fingers crossed but it died again a mile from home and didnt come back to life, pushed it home and have just gone out and had a look, turn the key and nothing, but the ignition relay buzzes likes it not getting enough power, battery has 13.2 volts sitting. pull the relay a couple of times and turn they key it all hums into life and the fuel pump spins but you hit the button and it dies... have checked continuity and am getting good earth on different parts of the bike etc.. any pointers? was supposed to be heading off to holland on it in the morning so have had to cancel the weekend away

all help appreciated......

i think it may headlight related! just pulled the headlight fuse and can hear a sizzle when turning the key! time to start stripping the lights!

ok not headlights, all removed and when ignition turning on still a crackleing sound from around the engine area, turn the kill switch off and it stops, is this the fuel pump chaffing issue? its not blowing any fuses - just sounds like something is shorting somewhere and the lights dim, seems to go away when lights are on which is confusing matters!

What year is your Uly ?

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Mithered ta death.
92 MB
96 S2T
98 S1W
00 M2
01 X1
03 P3
10 CR

ecu plug being crushed by the seat ?

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Feros Ferio

06 Maz

nope, have had the air box off and the scoop out, fuel pump unplugged and still the same cracklin noise coming from the top area of the motor now and again and the fuel pump not running, then other times it will run as usual but as soon as you hit the button it all dies and the noises come back

frame headstock area is a known problem area where wiring loom gets work hardened and breaks over time when you turn handle bars from side to side, I know that DELW had a intermittent cutting out problem, not sure if its fixed yet or what he did to fix it , although his bike has a few miles on it 06 build with about 50k if my memory working

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Buell Ulysses XB12X 06/08

My issues weren't as dramatic but almost as infuriating.
Had issue with just cutting out (but all electrics still active) whilst on a motorway but able to restart OK. No issues found with the Relays. Did show a Trip/Lean Angle sensor fault so we've disabled that.
Then only starting on one Cylinder due to a Fuel Injector not delivering but could just easily have been the fuel injector connector which I also had to replace as it was brittle.
Then lean running error which unresolved after changing inlet manifold seals, traced to a faulty O2 sensor.
My ECU (which is also an 06) has a slight crack and we're monitoring but have moved it so does not suffer from further underseat pressure, just in case.
Other than that, undergone a clean up and check of all the various electrical connections.
Been running OK since (fingers crossed).
At 57K now and is 14 years since I purchased it at end of next month.

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Buell owners should be committed (but not for life)

Mine is an 06 build, registered 08 and today just got to 10k on a little trip to wales, so should last me for a few more years

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Buell Ulysses XB12X 06/08

if the cracklin is electrical , is it maybe the relays chattering in & out ?
if it's burning it will stink , or there will be some visual indication of burning .
I would disconnect the battery asap , then get investigating , good luck

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Feros Ferio

still no luck... checked and all looks intact so far, the cracklin is definitely not a burning as no smoke or smell, more of relay chatter, checked the battery again and showing 12.7 volts, but every now and then it works as it should and the fuel pump primes as normal as soon as you hit the starter button it clicks and everything dies, stuck the battery charger on this afternoon and it showed 20% and charging and it hasnt moved in 4 hours so im thinking the battery may be duff, its under a year old so under warranty, have a spare that im charging up at the moment so once thats fully charged will test again. The cracklin is definetly coming from the engine area, is there anything in there that could be making that noise? have checked the regulator etc but it seems lower than that, also checked the starter motor side and again all wiring is untouched and the noise isnt coming from that side...

the search continues! I hate electrical issues!

hope it ain't the generator windings test them at the plug

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Feros Ferio

Note to self, start with the simple stuff....

dragged the battery i replaced back in Feb this year out from under my workbench and stuck on a charger and then an optimate for 2 days to try and recover it. Got in from work tonight and showing green on the optimate so just connected it to the bike and it fired straight up.....so just a duff battery after all that!

now i gotta put it all back together again:D

thanks all for the input and listening to my panic stricken ramblings the beast goes on again.... while its slightly stripped i will probably give it a service with some new plugs as i havent replaced them in the last two years and they are looking a bit crusty in there now i can see them!

result

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Feros Ferio