Crazy idle speed and sputtering

[geotiger]

Hey all,



I am having some problems with my 2005 with ~6050 miles.



One day last week when going home, I was stopped at a light and the idle was up at 2000 rpm then a few minutes later it dropped back to normal which is ~1000 rpm.



Then a couple days with no problem.



But then this morning the bike started idling weird at a light, going from 1000-1500 then to about 750. The light turned green and when I took off the bike started sputtering a bit while I crossed the intersection and then straightened out.



Let it set a bit (about an hour) then rode back to the office and it was idling back at 2000 rpm and sputtering when I took off and in third at about 30 mph the bike cut out then came back up.



Wondering what thoughts are on here, I have not had this problem until last week.



TIA,



Nate

[Jim S]

Unsure mate, but the local Triumph dealer tells me it's common. When I discussed servicing with him he pointed out the EFI is very tetchy and needs to be set up by Triumph on their computer or it will give the symptoms you've just described.



I'm unsure of the cause, possibly the throttle position sensor? Have you adjusted the play on the throttle cable recently? Mine was adjusted at the service by a local (non) Triumph dealer and was very hunty, when I discussed this with the mechanic he said the only thing he had done was adjust the slack on the throttle cable, I screwed it back to the play it had previously and it appears to be ok now? This somehow alters the reading on the throttle position sensor and upsets the EFI.



Sorry that's all I can come up with at the moment, I'm reletively new to Triumphs so still learning! Hope it helps. Otherwise it's off to "the man" at Triumph to pay his pieces of silver  :roll:

[geotiger]

Jim,



I spoke with the dealer in Albuquerque, NM and he said he has seen several come in with the same symptoms.  He said it is usually just a reset of the computer and everything should be sorted out.



Just a side note, last night going home from work, I noticed the temp gauge was not working and the bike was running bad.  Then it started running better and the temp gauge came back to life....weird.



Anyway, thanks for the reply.



Nate

[Jim S]

That's what the dealer told me! Hmmm, I'm not sure about that!



Oh well, the temp guage? That sounds like an electrical fault somewhere? I've an issue with my fuel guage, when I fill the bike it goes to the bottom and the warning light comes on!



Weird things these Tigers!



Best of luck mate. Let me know if the dealer plugging in his gameboy does the business, just for my peace of mind.

[geotiger]

Jim,



Appears to be a faulty coolant temp sensor.   The reading goes from the sensor to the ECM which decides what the temp gauge reads, when the fan goes on and off, and how rich/lean the mixture is.  



The ECM light showed "low coolant temp" which we figured that is what was causing the temp gauge to be sporadic and which caused the stalling as the ECM was trying to dump fuel to richen the "cold" engine.  



It seems to be sorted out now, but only time will tell.  Also, I had them install the off-road FI map even though I have the stock silencer.  The bike now seems smoother in all rpm ranges.



Thanks

Nathan

[german]

The coolant temp sensor work together with the throttle sensor, you can check the ECU black connector in the pin B3 and E3 the throttle position, in mi can 3.65 ohms idle , as soon as I have the elec diagram I will show you.

[Hayes]

Geotiger,



how is  the tiger running now ? I have an 05 with 6300 mi, I just started experiencing the same erratic idle speed that you described in your post, mine also does not idle down quickly during shifts.



A new coolant sensor and a remap corrected your problem ?

[geotiger]

Geotiger,



how is  the tiger running now ? I have an 05 with 6300 mi, I just started experiencing the same erratic idle speed that you described in your post, mine also does not idle down quickly during shifts.



A new coolant sensor and a remap corrected your problem ?

Hayes,



So far I have put about 500 miles on the bike (6500 miles) since the service and coolant sensor change.  As of now I have had no problems.  



Mike (service manager at PJ's in Albuquerque) thought that my idle problem may be a bad intake manifold gasket.  He said he has seen a couple Tigers that had bad idle and they replaced the gasket and that solved the problem.  



I am not sure if my idle speed going up and down was caused by a faulty coolant sensor or not, but I have not experienced any weird idling since the switch and the coolant sensor works as normal and no more stalling issues.  



You might want to check the intake gasket idea first, especially if you are not experiencing the cutting out and temp gauge problems like me.



Sorry if this is confusing :roll:



Let me know what you find out.



Nate

[Jim S]

I know from experience a pin hole in a air intake on any injection can cause hunting, that would explain the air intake gasket, although as you have proved this thermostat issue seems to be your problem. Agreed, the temp would alter the mixture and idle speed of the bike. It all sounds logical to me.  Good to learn of these things for the future though, as the bikes become older and people do their own servicing this kind of info will prove invaluable. Thanks for the updates guys.