A Good Start....

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Scootalli
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Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:13 pm
Current Ride: T Max 530

Re: A Good Start....

Post by Scootalli »

I think this is a common problem with the TMax, the engine light comes on for very minor things and then it wont go out without a reset via a laptop...

I spoke to Yamaha about this as mine did it once when nearly new and we decided that it is best to:

When starting
Press button once to turn machine on.
Wait fully for the dials to sweep and stabalise and all instruments come on
Press and hold start to start bike and release when properly started.

Rushing the above can lead to the engine light come on, or it not starting fully, or spluttering and cutting out causing a temporary 'fault' and the bike engine light staying on.

The Yamaha man said he didnt know for sure, but seemed to think this might cause temporary minor problems that leave the light on...

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Data
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Current Ride: 2016 Vespa GTS300ie abs asr
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Re: A Good Start....

Post by Data »

It's largely the same for most bikes these days. The Burgman 400's and 650's from 2010 onwards require that you let the bikes ecu fully "boot" before pressing the starter button. Failure to do so forces the ecu to load a basic ignition and fuelling map rather than the "full cream" version learned by the bike. In addition the throttle position sensor may not be in the correct place before boot up, again causing code issues. This has the effect of throwing up false code lights on some machines. Same in modern cars. Don't rush the start up process.
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

MrGrumpy
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Re: A Good Start....

Post by MrGrumpy »

I usually switch it on, and wait for my 'Welcome Back' message from the dashboard, but sometimes I fumble it and go straight to start - but this has never given any problems before. There again, I usually switch the bike on so that I can unlock the steering and stand, wheel it out, switch it off whilst I fumble around putting the topbox on and closing the garage door - then switching on and starting. So my initial switch on might prime the electronics - who knows. It seems that if there is a minor glitch, the light goes on and stays on, which is annoying and confusing - and could be problematic as you might get used to the system 'crying wolf' all the time, and ignore the light if there is actually a serious problem!

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Data
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Re: A Good Start....

Post by Data »

Yes, switching on to unlock then switching off again will certainly prime the fuel pump. But turning it off again will shut the boot process off so it would have to start the process again. On that point of turning it off after unlocking it...that's fine but I'd be careful not to switch off before the boot process has completed, even if you don't start it. Doing so can potentially cause an ecu glitch. It's like shutting down your desktop computer as it's booting up using and holding the on/off button. It can cause a file corruption in the boot software. In the case of the bike, in the ecu. This it seems can be caused by a small voltage spike especially if the fuel pump is still priming. It shouldn't happen, and mostly does not happen but when testing ecu software for various engines this is what we found can happen. If it does happen the ecu can in some cases need re-flashing to correct the issue. Some ecu software is more prone to this than others and some manufacturers often include a safety backup boot set of instructions for the bike to follow, and it will automatically overwrite any corrupted files after start up. But care still needed.
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

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muddyfox
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Re: A Good Start....

Post by muddyfox »

Got to agree with the "Welcome on Board" message and giving the dials time to sweep. Always did it on my X Max. Never had a single starting problem in 4 years ownership. Sold it recently and the new owner phoned me up two days later complaining the engine light had come on and refused to go off. Despite my wanting to tell him it was not my problem my "fellow biker" mode kicked in and upon questioning him he admitted he thought I was daft when I told him my start up procedure and for the last two days had just turned the ignition on and hit the starter button. £64 labour charges at the local Yamaha dealer proved my procedure was correct.
Muddyfox (Nottingham)
Ride safe

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EvilRacer329
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Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2019 6:35 am
Current Ride: Yamaha T-Max DX

Re: A Good Start....

Post by EvilRacer329 »

I always wait for everything to fully boot, but maybe I'm being a little over-cautious when starting. I tend to press and hold starters until the engine catches and then let it go right away to avoid grinding sprag clutches, and if the engine's stone-cold and hasn't run for a couple of weeks it then sometimes coughs and dies. And that, of course, floods it, making starting even harder afterwards. I guess it's the side-effect of a small engine with a lightweight flywheel. I'll try keeping the button held down a little longer, see if that pushes through the initial spluttering in these instances!

Nick

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EvilRacer329
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Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2019 6:35 am
Current Ride: Yamaha T-Max DX

Re: A Good Start....

Post by EvilRacer329 »

Quick update on the starting issues, went to fire up the T-Max as par of the house move last week and despite being on the Oximiser for a week it could barely trip the starter relay. Took some serious jump-starting to get the thing going, so basically that battery is toast. Yesterday I installed a new Lithium Iron Shido replacement - LTZ12S. It's the same size, but 1kg vs the original's 3.5kg, and after charging up with a Lithium-specific Optimate charger the T-Max is back to spinning up instantly on the button, zero problems. I guess the issues I was having earlier were just the fact that the dying battery couldn't quite spin the engine over fast enough to get properly going!

In any case, I've now got enough chargers to keep all my bikes permanently plugged in, so hopefully that should be the last of those sorts of surprises.

Nick

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