Hey guys,
Strange one. I decided to take the bike out for a run on Friday after work. I went to get some fresh fuel. Topped up with my usual Shell premium...
15 minutes later, the 'FI' light illuminated on the dash. Bike lost a bit of performance mainly at low revs. Taking off from stationary required more throttle than usual and bike felt a bit lifeless. Revs a bit higher than usual when cruising.
I was freaking out, so I rode to the nearest bike garage as I was under the impression that if I switched off the engine, I wouldn't get it back on again, but afterwards I read on here that there's two types of FI error, so I got the one where the engine continues to run. Turning the key off and on again cleared it, but 5 seconds later it came back on, even without starting the engine.
Probably silly of me, but I decided to carry on. After 10 more mins of riding, I noticed the light flicker a bit, then finally went out....It hasn't come back on since Friday and FULL power is back again. So i've absolutely no idea what that was all about and can't get the error code as I can't replicate it.
Any ideas what it could have been?
Cheers :cheers:
Hi Dan,
The F1 faults clear as soon as ignition is turned off unless you have a permanent hard fault I think, the problem with intermittent faults is you have to lift the seat to bridge out the dealer plug to get the code up.
A couple of options, get a dealer mode switch and secure it outside of your seat - I've been meaning to mount mine under the helmet lock or carry a spare key and with the engine on bridge out the dealer switch with a paperclip or suitable piece of wire. Pins and codes will be on here somewhere.
To guess what your problem might be - I had a PC3 fitted to my bike which was doing similar things it turned out to be worn pins on the LH large grey connector under the LH side cover - I stumbled on the problem accidently when I used contact cleaner to clean the plug which swelled the O ring, I removed the O ring and the fault never came back. Doing a pin tension check and changing the pin out and replacing the O ring would have been the proper repair.
Cheers,
Rick
Hi
@RickC,
Thanks for your input. I will give everything a good check under the covers to see if I can spot anything.
Really annoying me that I obviously won't be able to get the code now, so may never know what actually caused it.
Hi guys,
Checked under the panels etc at the wiring over the weekend, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I think I need to start taking more pieces off.
An interesting thing - The light seems to only come on when it has been raining or when i've washed the bike, then gone 2 miles approx. So I believe it's water getting into where it shouldn't and causing a short circuit. Never comes on when we've had a good few dry days.
Hate these kind of problems :evil:
Dan - as you say it does sound like a dodgy connection somewhere where water is getting in. Personally I'd check/do the following:
- squirt of contact cleaner down the ignition switch
- take off the RH handlebar switch and give the kill switch a squirt of contact cleaner
- headlight off, take both the ignition and the RH handlebar plugs apart, squirt both with contact cleaner and plug them back together
- take clutch switch off - on the underside of the switch you will find a pin hole, squirt contact cleaner in through that pin hole (as best you can)
- LH panel off, take the big grey plug apart and squirt with contact cleaner. Likewise the white plug that's there
If none of that solves the issue, then it's rare - but not unknown - for water to get into the ECU / ECU plug on occasion. So seat off, tray over the battery off, lift the battery out and pull out the ECU, remove the plugs (or plugs - depending on which model 14 you have) squirt with contact cleaner and re-assemble.
If all the above fails, then would suggest wash the bike in sections, checking (by switching the ignition on) when the FI light comes on - at least then you will have narrowed down the locailty
While you're near the ECU, clear the drain hole for the tray, I think it's the front left corner & about 3mm diameter.
Hi guys,
Many thanks for the advice.
Makes it easier now that I've got key points to look at.
While i'm in there, do you think it's wise to cover the connections in WD-40 before re-assembly?
Mines a k2 model by the way.
Cheers :notworthy:
not being funny but both my wife and i went through this a few months ago,after filling up at blackpool with shell both bikes would not idle,and they ran very hot,both cut out a couple of times, fans came on,(mega hot) the gsx would run okish but the hornet had to be drained,after 2 days i put the crap in the lawn mower(THAT WILL RUN ON NATS PISS)wouldnt even start,so my advice is dont buy SHELL its SHITE,
@saggy0000 Please moderate your posting language, thank you. This is a public forum read by many including wives and children.
And for the record I for one, being an avid user of both Shell Optimax and BP Ultimate over many years with performance cars and my bikes have never had an issue, in fact in tests carried out by Which (not based on one tankful of fuel) Shell Optimax came out as one of the best fuels available for performance and economy.
I suspect the garage you filled up at may have had issues with its tanks, and possible infected fuel which caused your issue. That does not mean that the overall petrol supplier is "not good"
Reviving a post since 2k17, let's see how this will go :)
Hey y'all!
I believe I have had the same issue last weekend!
Water gets into the 4th cylinder when washing the bike on the central stand and kills it. I rev it a bit post washing, it boils away, we gucci.
Happened to me twice already. Just need to ride 5 minutes and the water vaporizes.
No FI light, no nothing when I start the bike after I wash it. Just sounds like poopoo because it is running on 3 cylinders. :boogie2: :boogie:
Last time however, I was riding peacufylly on a hot day, after washing my bike, and 10km into the ride, the FI light came on.
NOTHING CHANGED ON THE BIKE'S BEHAVIOR, so I just rode it home and cycled the ignition. Didn't know I had to switch off from the KS instead and read the code. Lesson learned.
Through the great wisdom of AI, apparently, it might be a small Voltage spike that the ECU registered and just popped the FI light as there might have been some condensation (from the water vapour?!?).
My ask in this thread would be, what do I do in this case, how can I shield myself from such misshaps in the future?
If I had to guess it was a C28 error as I've never noticed any difference in the running with one flagged & it resets when you switch the bike off. Thing is C28 is the STVA flagging, but it's probably one of the TPS or SPS with a dodgy section causing it as the ECU uses the signals from these to work out the STVA position.
Exactly what Hooli said. Personally I doubt very much that water is getting into one of the cylinders, more like the STPS is no longer watertight, it does hang off the end of the throttle body, and the water is getting in and causing issues. Not uncommon for the o-ring in there to fail.
Check webike japan, their oem sensor prices are much more reasonable than your local stealer.
Aha!
Ok peeps, maybe I'll inspect them and install some new seals there.
Thanks for the tip!
Quote from: imweirdimnotsocial21 on Thursday, 25 June 2026, 09:49 PMAha!
Ok peeps, maybe I'll inspect them and install some new seals there.
Thanks for the tip!
more like you'll need a new sensor to stop the C28 code and FI light.
Quote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Thursday, 25 June 2026, 11:18 PMQuote from: imweirdimnotsocial21 on Thursday, 25 June 2026, 09:49 PMAha!
Ok peeps, maybe I'll inspect them and install some new seals there.
Thanks for the tip!
more like you'll need a new sensor to stop the C28 code and FI light.
I would not rush to do this. It has happened only once, I dont even know if it was C28 or any other code.
I'll inspect, and I'll act accordingly.
Your queues were already very helpful !