Thermal issue help needed

[fordmano]

Hello all,

And again I am in need of tech help. Usually I can figure my own problems out but I have a stumper this time.

Scenario: bikes seems to have no telltale issues it just dies when at idle randomly as far as I have noticed so far.
1999 I/S about 60K on the clock.
Idle setup to about 1050rpm due to high output alternator not charging enough at 900rpm for my likings.
Has not died at highway speeds.
Voltage is about 13.9 at road speeds above 1,600 rpm
Bike never feels abnormally hot, idiot light never comes on unless the bike dies or during startup.
Dies in gear or neutral with clutch pulled in or not.
Dies with all accessories on or off.
400watt amplifier under fairing it has been there almost two years stereo, bike dies with stereo turned up or down or off.
This is a die like the kill switch or key is turned off I have wiggled and messed with both doesn’t die.
No sputter no rough running oil level is good, coolant level is good, battery is almost a year old was installed at the same time as the high output alternator
Bikes starts back up instantly when start button is pressed.

I have replaced the alternator already and also the Itnition Control module, I found a ground stairs that had broke but this was a non stock ground I added many years ago it went from frame to motor to battery. A few months ago I replaced the headlight switch control handle bar assembly I have also now replaced the kickstand safety switch I have a new kill switch handle bar control but I want to order the new throttle cables for that.  

New items installed:
Alternator
Ignition control modules
Battery
Kickstand safety switch
Ground wire
Left side headlight High/Low switch

I have a set of Dyna3000 coils I could swap in if it turns out to be coil related sure wish I could find a new Dyna3000 Ignition Control module to compliment the dyna coils but I know those are extinct.

This morning I had it sitting up on jack stands in neutral with kickstand up and no accessories turned on was scraping some hunk of from around the valve cover gasket and shortly after it got to full operating temp it just died and I hit the starter button and it immediately started back up. Seemed like it was warm enough to kick in the fan. So is there anything on the Fan circuit that would short out the ignition and kill the engine? I am leaning toward the actual Key switch, I have a new one just ran out of time to install today.

Thanks in advance!

Thanks,
Matt

[Pete]

That is a puzzle. Since it shuts off so clean, I would suspect electrical/switch that is common to all cylinders. Such as kill switch, ignition switch, bad ground, etc.

Real puzzle - good luck.

[indybobm]

But since it starts roght away without any problem, that would seem to indicate that it is not in the start button circuit. There are splices between the start button circuit and the ICM that powers the ICM, but that does not make sense either.
I would disconnect the connector to the ICM and make sure all pins are firmly seated in the connector, especially pin #6. Pin #6 is the 'Shutdown If Not Grounded' from the side stand. A bad connection there would remove the needed ground from the ICM.

Good luck

[Jess from VA]

Battery connection loose?  Ground to bike?

Even if seemingly tight, remove clean and lube and retighten.

[gordonv]

Except for happening so often, I was first thinking about the random dying that seems to happen to Valks. But your's is too often.

My second thought is the main harness connection.

Has the bike gotten wet any time in all this? But being in CA....

[Bighead]

Except for happening so often, I was first thinking about the random dying that seems to happen to Valks. But your's is too often.

My second thought is the main harness connection.

Has the bike gotten wet any time in all this? But being in CA....

Random dying? Had my '97 for 21 yrs now and has never died on me? Dont understand what you are saying. Have also had my '99 for 7 years now and same thing never died on me?

[gordonv]

I've had 3 different Valks now, all IS, and 2 of them have died while driving. Just a stutter. Not a complete, roll off the road type of issue.

If you do a search, it is a re-occurring theme, and has happened to others also. No known reason, and so intermittent that there is no way to figure it out. Except for the OP posts.

[fordmano]

Thanks guys, I have had that odd random at road speeds stutter more like the key bounced off and back about 3 times over a 4-5 year period and that was 5-6 years ago or so.  This isn’t that at all.

I had this drop dead style a number of times on the same day all at idl. Except one time I was in second gear making a low speed right turn and she dropped dead I pulled the clutch and eased it back out and she bump started no problem.  Yes I got stuck in a few miles of commute traffic in a very light rain but that was two weeks prior to this issue starting and it had been dry and the bike had been ridden more than 6 days between then to this issue.

So I have now installed the new kickstand safety switch, new alternator, new Ignition Control Module, new key switch, fixed ground wire, verified coil leads are firmly attached, checked all fuses are good and firmly seated, cleaned and re oiled the K&N air filter, replaced the High/Low headlight switch assembly, verified the battery is good, verified the new alternator is pushing 14.2+ volts at idle with nothing turned on, alternator is pushing 12.7+ with every accessories turned on, high beams turned on radio turned up loud, turn signal on and brake lights on with fan cycling off and on and it still didn’t die now. How can I verify at all if the key switch was actually the problem. My local mechanic feels strongly that the early 80’s to mid 2000 era Honda’s have less than Superior soldering on the internal circuits of the ignition switches.  It actually died idling yesterday before I changed the key switch and sitting in the yard at the point when with the temp I expected the fan to come on, after installing the new key switch today it didn’t die after letting it run to full temp and having the fan cycle off and on multiple times and I let the bike go from cool to full warm temp with fans and wiggling wires and tye key switch and still no die. Maybe that fixed it?

[Bagger John - #3785]

Check the bank angle sensor. I've shut mine off via aggressive cornering.

Another thing to think about: RF ingress into the harness due to a nearby high-powered radio transmitter.

You're supposed to run Part 95-specified power levels in the Class D (Citizen's Band) Service, but Billy BigRig and his cast of idiots often run many times the legal limit. Such ingress into a non-shielded wiring harness (such as the Valk's) can cause momentary faults with the ICM.

I've had it happen several times to one of my Concours 14s (2012 model). The other (2008) seems fairly immune. Each time I observed it, a nearby semi truck was transmitting on the CB.

High-powered ham radio or public service/public safety transmitters can also cause the issue, and resonance of the harness (length of the wires) plays a big part in which frequency bands can induce the condition.

 

[fordmano]

Thanks for the ideas. I really doubt it is realated to RF but I guess anything is possible. I do not have any CB or broadcast type of radio equipment on the bike and it stalled even in my back yard where there is no RF broadcasting Around my house that I am aware of.

The bank angle sensor, I guess it could be an issue I did have a parking lot tip over about a month before this started. Although I let the bike go through the entire warm up cycle with multiple cooling fan cycles each time now that I have swapped the ignition switch it did not drop dead after idleing for better than 15 minutes. I think the bank angle sensor is fairly pricey and a bear to swap out or am I wrong with that statement?

[fordmano]

Thanks for the ideas. I really doubt it is realated to RF but I guess anything is possible. I do not have any CB or broadcast type of radio equipment on the bike and it stalled even in my back yard where there is no RF broadcasting Around my house that I am aware of.

The bank angle sensor, I guess it could be an issue I did have a parking lot tip over about a month before this started. Although I let the bike go through the entire warm up cycle with multiple cooling fan cycles each time now that I have swapped the ignition switch it did not drop dead after idleing for better than 15 minutes. I think the bank angle sensor is fairly pricey and a bear to swap out or am I wrong with that statement?

[fordmano]

Bike is all back together and hasn’t died while idleing in the yard. BUT now it has what sounds like a vacuum leak type of miss in the right side. And also the start button isn’t starting every time it’s pushed I have never had that before so I guess that has to come apart and since I have a new killswitch start button control set I might as well wait for tye new grips and new throttle cables to show up. I have not taken it for a shake down run yet.