Intermitant stall issue help

[steveeeg]

Hello

Have owned my 2019 himalayan for 3 weeks , have done about 700 miles so far , really like the bike ( bike has done approx 5.5k miles so ran in )

However I have a very intermittent issue

Eg have done 200 miles this week 50 miles per day for 4 days @ work

Bike starts fine from cold , give it a couple of mins to idle before riding away , no stalling for first 3 days ( 150 miles )
Today bike starts fine from cold let idle for couple of mins , then when on way home from work come to a junction about a miles away , going down gear box and bike stalls , restarts ok but then stalls again and then starts ok and runs fine rest of the way home , one thing I notice is that when this happens after a run up the motorway idle goes a bit higher than normally does approx 1600 for a few seconds when coming off motorway slip road rather than normal 1200 - 1300 rpm

I have already changed the relays to Hitchcock's one and will fit an iridium sparkplug but not sure what the problem is ?

Most of the time bike runs fine , but don't like the random stalling issue as its dangerous

Any help appreciated on what to try

Thanks Steve

 

[steveeeg]

Just had a thought I noticed that the relays I replaced had loads of white grease on them , have cleaned more of the white grease out by wiping off grease and taking relay in and out a few times and will see if that helps ?

I have ordered some electric contact cleaner and dielectric grease to give relays a proper clean

Seems to be an intermittent fault so worth a try as a starter for ten

Don't think it tight valve clearances as bike starts and runs fine most of the time

Any one had issues on relay with the white grease from factory ?

Cheers Steve

 

[Alan F.]

My Interceptor last June. 50 miles into a ride I stopped to fuel up, cap back on I inserted the key into the IGNITION, turned it, and NOTHING happened, no gauge sweep, no lights.

I pushed the bike into the, shade and set a 5 minute timer on my phone. After 5 minutes I turned the key again and all worked normally again. I didn't wiggle the key, didn't even remove the key. 75 miles back home without incident.

Then I cleaned the white grease out of all relay sockets and connectors under the left side cover, and added a small amount of dielectric grease. I also added some to each fuse contact, and both battery terminals.... which were loose and had been arcing across the gaps.

That was my root cause that day, if you never checked them, do it soon. And if you can't remember the last time you checked
checked your tire pressure.....

 

[Jbellarmada]

I posted the other day on this item. 2022 and 2023 300 and 100 miles. Both having random issues. Both had all relays stuffed with white lithium grease. Huge mess to clean up but seems to have helped. RE needs to address this. Not the correct grease to ever use on plugs and relays. Hopefully your cleaning will do the trick. The wire plugs behind the cylinder are all stuffed with that crap too. The only one I found not greased was the fuel tank plug on the front right of the tank bottom. Added dielectric to it for good measure

 

[steveeeg]

Thanks for your replies, hopefully a clean and some dielectric grease will do the trick
I've read about a lot of owners having stalling issues with royal Enfield bikes who have then sold them , real shame as hopefully after a few quick fixes will be sorted, RE need to sort this in PDI and to be honest it can put people off buying them

Cheers Steve

 

[Overdrive]

Imo it’s unlikely that the relays will cause an intermittent stalling problem, which I agree is a common issue on the early (bs4) bikes.
There is anecdotal evidence that using an iridium spark plug helps, as does removing the evap system (loads on here about doing that) and that’s what I’d do first - cheap and may help.
You say the idle/tick over speed varies quite a bit, so if the above doesn’t cure the problem I’d look at the tps settings, - again, there’s loads on this site about that. Hope it helps.

 

[Dool2]

2019, fit a booster plug!
Get used to riding with your hand ready to pull in the Clutch.
This Fault appears to go away if you can make it through couple of thousand Kms.

 

[steveeeg]

Bikes done approx 6000 miles so run in , EVAP removed as tank was pressurising that sorted it
New relays but did not clean all grease off , will try this first for a week , just did 50 miles after quick clean and ran perfectly no stalling stable idle 1300 rpm hot ,waiting for some contact cleaner to give proper clean
Will fit iridium plug after testing for another week

Cheers Steve

 

[tom_d]

Hello

Have owned my 2019 himalayan for 3 weeks , have done about 700 miles so far , really like the bike ( bike has done approx 5.5k miles so ran in )

However I have a very intermittent issue

Eg have done 200 miles this week 50 miles per day for 4 days @ work

Bike starts fine from cold , give it a couple of mins to idle before riding away , no stalling for first 3 days ( 150 miles )
Today bike starts fine from cold let idle for couple of mins , then when on way home from work come to a junction about a miles away , going down gear box and bike stalls , restarts ok but then stalls again and then starts ok and runs fine rest of the way home , one thing I notice is that when this happens after a run up the motorway idle goes a bit higher than normally does approx 1600 for a few seconds when coming off motorway slip road rather than normal 1200 - 1300 rpm

I have already changed the relays to Hitchcock's one and will fit an iridium sparkplug but not sure what the problem is ?

Most of the time bike runs fine , but don't like the random stalling issue as its dangerous

Any help appreciated on what to try

Thanks Steve

Is there an ECU update for the Euro4 models available in the UK? There is a new update which the US dealers have recently been installing which is getting really good feedback. It addresses the stalling issue, the TPS needs to be returned to stock settings according to my dealer.

 

[steveeeg]

Don't know about ECU update, bike had brake calipers replaced and was checked for other recalls

Cheers Steve

 

[Andyb]

Di-electric grease is a non-conducting grease. Good for sealing around the edges where a spark plug cap pushes onto a plug, but not so good on electrical contacts. Sprays like Craig de-oxit seem to work well on keeping contacts electrically connected while giving corrosion protection.

 

[dabs]

Been using ACF50 on all of my contacts, bi-annually and anytime one's apart, seems to do the job.

 

[Andyb]

Yes ACF50 is also good - nice and thin so a little gets everyplace, lubricates, and too thin to keep contacts apart.

I do wonder what exactly the grease is that RE use on the relay terminals? Presumably it must be di-electric otherwise the terminals could short out.

 

[Alan F.]

Dielectric enough that things don't short out, yes.... But still not the right stuff.

 

[steveeeg]

Used a interdental 0.7mm ( yellow ) brush perfect for getting all grease out of relays ; finished of with a clean with contact cleaner relays are spotless

Fingers crossed it will help

Cheers Steve

 

[wachuko]

Someone also mentioned making sure the connections were not loose. Meaning, inspecting and closing a bit the connectors to ensure the relay’s blades have good contact.

 

[steveeeg]

Thanks checked connections seemed fine , used main bike today as was running late will ride Himalayan rest of the week

 

[Pressureangle]

Though I haven't heard anyone else confirm another event, my hard-start and stalling issue (which worsened from intermittent to permanent no-start) was debris in the fuel pump which I flushed out by reversing the rotation and some carb cleaner. I suspect the debris was fiber from the fuel filter. Amp draw went from 10 to 2- ish and it's never stalled since. If you have the means to measure amp draw on your pump, it will give a clue.

 

[Alan F.]

Pressureangle most multimeters are rated for 10A, what did you use? Just wired in series with the pump's positive lead? Is priming the pump a sufficient test or was there more to it?

Good discovery.

 

[steveeeg]

So far no issues starting ( don't need to use lever )
Just occasional stall when coming to start from 2 to 1
Used my big bike today for work , so much easier to cover miles but not so much fun , back on himalayan tomorrow

Cheers Steve