Electrical Problems (Er-1)

[FOURminusTWO]

Hello everyone!

Fairly new FZ6 owner here who just purchased the bike back in August. I have been having a rather problem free run up until a few weeks ago when the bike refused to start after sitting in the rain for a day or two. The bike displays "Er-1" when trying to start it up. The bike will start turning over but not actually fire up. I have looked up the code and see it is an electrical issue. Although I have been able to start the bike, it's not consistent and the error still pops up in diagnostics mode even if it ends up starting.

I started digging around a bit. The previous owner had installed what I think is the naked FZ6/1 headlight and the post 2006 or 2007 meter to the bike so I decided to start there since I know there was probably some bad electrical connections made during that swap. Well after a few days of tearing away electrical tape and redoing some connections, I realized neither of these components need to be plugged in in order for the motorcycle to start up. Therefore, I know none of the work the PO did was the issue.

It almost seems like temperature may be having an effect on whether it starts or not since I've had a lot more success starting up the bike when it has been a warm day. When it's cold/wet, it will never fire up from what I can tell.

Some other things I've looked into at this point:

• Battery: 12.3 V
• Spark plug: Looked good

Here's something interesting with the spark plug: I pulled out the spark plug from cylinder #1 and held it against the frame to test if it was indeed sparking. Right before pulling the spark plug, the bike wouldn't start. However, during my test with the spark plug, the engine fired right up to my surprise. Alright... I place the spark plug back in and the bike continues to fire up from there each time I try to start it. Well I tried this again the next day when the bike wasn't starting again to make sure it wasn't by luck it starting sparking again. It ended up sparking and the engine fired up the 3 cylinders with spark plugs still in them. I place spark plug #1 back in and try to fire her up. No go this time. The bike didn't end up starting afterwards.

I'm pretty lost as to what the issue could be at this moment and I'm hoping to get some help from you all. I'm hoping to get some opinions from you all before I start purchasing new spark plugs, battery, etc. When I get time, my next step will be spray different parts with water until it stops working.

Thanks!

 

[Motogiro]

:welcome: to our great forum!

Sometimes ER-1 can pop up when ever there is a low voltage problem with the battery. A healthy battery would look more like 12.8 standing voltage. You should be seeing 13 + when the engine starts and is above 2000 rpm. What is the voltage at the battery during the crank cycle? You can get an average value using a meter but to see what the ECU is seeing you'd need an oscilloscope.

With the one plug out it sounds like you're getting a better cranking speed with higher voltage because you're not not compressing #1. This allows a higher voltage and current for starting.
There may be other issues that keep the bike from optimal performance. Secondary coil wires, plugs, bad fuel, and fuel delivery are some other culprits to possibly contend with.

As an added note the ER-1 is still valid and could mean there is a lack of signal from the ECU but most ER-1 codes we see here are accompanied with and seem to exist when there is a voltage problem. It is not a wrong code for the situation because if the voltages drop during the crank cycle the ECU defaults to , "zero state" during many of the clocked signals.

Let us know what you find and we are here to help!

 

[FOURminusTWO]

Interesting. Didn't think about the lack of compression and how that would affect the voltage and current through the system. Luckily, I do have an oscilloscope available to test out the voltage during the entire cranking process.

I will look into this tomorrow night. The battery voltage does seem a bit low now but if I remember correctly, it was sitting at about 12.7 V a day or two back. I think all the cranking and just running the electrical system without starting the bike maybe resulted in the drop to 12.3 V. I do hope the issue is the battery though.

 

[Motogiro]

If you can, give it a trickle charge over night. You can jump start the bike from a car battery but just don't have the car engine running when you jump the bike.

Great on the scope!

 

[2007Z6ALL-LED]

do you have the good ground on the bike? I even grounded the bike through second wire...although it sounds stupid but I would ground the bike through the second wire.

Thx,
jh

 

[Motogiro]

do you have the good ground on the bike? I even grounded the bike through second wire...although it sounds stupid but I would ground the bike through the second wire.

Thx,
jh

True! :rockon:Always check the commonly overlooked. The connections at battery terminals.

 

[FinalImpact]

Fwiw: a dmm with a Min/Max function will work too. Of course if its not starting and you crank and crank, and your meter dips under 9vdc, that may point at battery health or a general lack of it...
In short if the ecm voltage gets too low it cant function and the shows on hold.

Did you see wbat type of battery is i there or how old it is?

 

[FOURminusTWO]

Sorry, I'm a bit confused over the grounding question. Does someone mind rephrasing it possibly?

I haven't pulled out the battery just yet because at this point I'm just going to go ahead and replace it. I have no clue how long it's been used so it's probably for the best to just replace it. It's pretty much completely drained at this point anyways.

I'll make sure to give an update once I receive a new battery.

 

[Motogiro]

Sorry, I'm a bit confused over the grounding question. Does someone mind rephrasing it possibly?

I haven't pulled out the battery just yet because at this point I'm just going to go ahead and replace it. I have no clue how long it's been used so it's probably for the best to just replace it. It's pretty much completely drained at this point anyways.

I'll make sure to give an update once I receive a new battery.

Doesn't hurt to start with a new battery but why spend the money if ]you don't have to. As an alternative you could fully charge the battery and have it load tested. The highest rate of failure in a charge system seems to be the battery so there's a good chance that you're correct but there's no technical way to prove that that's what the problem is until you've done the tests. Make sure that you fully charge the new battery. They require a minimal charging time once they've been put into service which will relate to the life of the battery.
Let us know what you find.[emoji4]

Sent from Moto's Motorola

 

[FinalImpact]

Sorry, I'm a bit confused over the grounding question. Does someone mind rephrasing it possibly?

I believe he is stating that by using an additional jumper cable from the Battery negative to the engine case you can isolate a "bad ground issue". So, clamp a jumper at the Battery Neg Terminal and a bare metal engine bolt to add an extra path to conduct energy.

An alternate method is to allow it to crank and feel the cables. When ever a cable warms from conducting energy (like turning the starter motor), it can indicate a bad connection. So, feel the connection, make sure its not hot or warm, verify they are clean and tight and there is no corrosion.

Also - rider style and how you use the vehicle can impact battery health. In short if you end up idling in traffic for say 15 minutes of a 30 minute commute, you would be a good candidate for charging in the evening. If you run freely at 50+ mph and up for an hour and battery dies, there may be something wrong with your charging system.

 

[FOURminusTWO]

Update:

I received a new battery and installed it last night. The bike started right up. As a quick test, I went into diagnostics mode to see if the error was still popping up but it seems to be gone. Hopefully it was just the battery and not the charging system but I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Thanks for the help all!

 

[Motogiro]

Update:

I received a new battery and installed it last night. The bike started right up. As a quick test, I went into diagnostics mode to see if the error was still popping up but it seems to be gone. Hopefully it was just the battery and not the charging system but I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Thanks for the help all!

You can put a voltmeter on the battery. Look at the static voltage then start the bike and look at the voltage with the RPM above 2000 RPM and see if the voltage is over 13.5 VDC. That will give you some indication that the charging system is operational.