suspected fuel management problems on my 2003 1500

[joestapleton]

Good morning,

about a week ago a was out riding here in Toronto, Canada and my 2003 1500 FI Nomad suddenly chugged like I ran out of gas (but the tank was full) and suddenly died. Oddly enough, the bike still had power, would try to start but just wouldn't turn over unless serious throttle was given followed by blue smoke out the pipes (mostly the left pipe)

I replaced the plugs on the side of the road. The bike started, went for about 20 feet before the engine died again. This time some oil began leaking out the front of the motor where the exhaust pipe feeds in.

Yesterday, a friend did some preliminary tests and sprayed some oil into the cylinders where the plugs were removed and wouldn't you know it but the bike started like new with no smoke out the exhaust or oil coming out of anywhere. He thought maybe he loosened something that may have been ceased. I took it out on the highway for about half an hour and it ran great in every gear with great power. As soon as I got off the highway and came to a red light it did the exact thing it did a week prior and the engine stopped and would not turn over until significant throttle was given.

There is a power commander in the bike and we retraced the set up to ensure nothing came loose and everything is fine. Doing a few more tests, when the plugs are removed and you start the bike gas is sneezing out the front cylinders (but not the back)

I would appreciate any suggestions before I dish out the big bucks to a mechanic.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

You might try unhooking the Power Commander and hook the bike back like it originally was and see what happens. If it starts and runs good it is the Power Commander. If not it may be the original electrical control unit. Not real sure on this type problem. I am sure others will be along and offer their help.

[macmac]

Terms: turn over is turning the engine with the start motor. Fired up or runs means the engine did start. Power is what you get when the engine makes more RPM to move you and the bike forward.

Why these terms is a point of topic is I don't understand what happened to your bike yet.

Next, are you sure it was oil that ran oput from pipe number 1 and not dirty gas?

The blue smoke says oil, but I hope not. Adding more oil as your friend did, could help if it was dirty gas.

What did the sprak plug look like? was it wet? What was it wet with ? Gas or oil?

Is the engine oil lever full? Open the cap and smell in there and see if it smells of gas.

Lean the bike over hard and get some of that oil and feel it, and smell it.

If the level is high I suspect gas in the oil, and that would be from a bad PC III map. The last thing you want is the condition called gas/oil.

I am not fond of the PC III a bit on Nomads. I think it is way over kill for a bike that has no O 2 sender.

It may be a while befire we make it back to chat, so in the mean time disable the PC III and get the bike run ning with out it. See how that works.

[ringadingh]

Sounds like it may have been some bad gas, it would also be a good idea to clean the throttle body.