James:
Does the Field for the alternator also go through that same relay?
Do you mean for the K75, or the K1100? I can only speak for the K75, as that's what I have to inspect directly, and the K1100 wiring diagrams I've found online are maddeningly incomplete.
On the K75, the alternator's only connections are to the battery, and the charge indicator light on the dash, as best I can tell. I'm working from the wiring diagram right now as I'm not near the bike at the moment.
Had a chance to mess with mine today. Started fine. Not once have I had a problem starting just running when I give it gas.
Went to take it around the block and only got to the corner and then started exhibiting the problem. I could hear the pump changing pitch and I also got the Charge light flickering on.
Limped it back home and almost didn't get it to pull up the drive back into the garage.
The charge light flickering alongside the pump sounding different sure makes it sound like you have an electrical issue affecting fuel supply. The fact that the charge light flickers suggests that the issue is more likely to be systemic, rather than something limited to, say, the fuel pump wiring. This makes me think of a grounding problem that would affect the entire bike, or, less likely, a problem with the (+) cables.
Without reading back through the whole thread, have you checked the major ground points - the main battery ground, and the ground under the tank? Using a scothbrite pad or high-grit (say 600) sandpaper on the wires to clean their connectors, and on the ground point itself to remove corrosion can help improve these. (*NO* dielectric grease on these connectors - it's an insulator and will diminish conductivity.)
Pulled the plugs looking for a obvious sign of an ignition issue and they had a brown cast but not wet like they had fouled. Changed a week ago. Darker then I would have like to have seen.
Mine are a bit darker and more brown than I expected as well. That may be just how they are.
At that point we had party to run off too.
Got home and decided to start looking at connections. Pulled the ECM plug. Took a Q-tip and cleaned all the pins on the ECM. took a fine jewelers screw driver and made sure I didn't feel any burned spots on the plug side. I did find one connector that didn't seem seated correctly.
This could be getting close to it. I've been struggling with a different issue that I think may also be electrical-fuel-supply related; engine cuts out (but not suddenly like a bad kill switch), and then comes back, randomly. It was "fixed" for 2500 miles after the last round of work I did, then showed up again last week. I vigorously cleaned a lot of connections and had it out for ~200 miles this weekend without a hitch. The areas I cleaned were: the interior of the ignition switch, which feeds power to a lot of places (including the pump relay's coil, but not the pump's power); the ignition switch connector under the tank; the FI computer connector on the cable; the FI computer pins; each contact on the fuse box; and each blade of every fuse. I used DeOxit for this, which is similar to Stabilant -- it's an effective cleaner, and leaves behind a thin coating that improves connection. I physically rubbed each contact, thoroughly, with q-tips. If any of this had an effect, I suspect it will have been the work on the computer connections. That's something I did the first time (2500 miles ago) and this time (before the 200 mile ride). It may be as simple as that connector needing to be firmed up. One of the fuses, perhaps 1 or 6, would also be a likely candidate.
Checked the connection on the oil and temp sender. One had the wire jammed against the housing in and odd way. Made sure that wasn't rubbing against anything. I as of yet have not had a chance to pull the fairing. I wanted to check the connections on the Hall sensor.
So I decided to fire it off and see if the problem was still there.
It disappeared again. I wiggled everything i had touched trying to get it to come back and it ran fine. Did a couple laps of the block and it didn't miss a beat.
I recall reading somewhere that a bad thermostat can cause some of this, but the exact chain of how that happens escapes me at the moment. The K75's thermostat can be checked by checking resistance across pins 5 and 10 of the FI computer connector at ambient temperature and after running it til the fan comes on, and comparing the value with those in a table that the Google can dig up. It's something like 2.2kOhms at about 70F, and decreasing to very little resistance around 210F where the fan comes on. I don't know if the K1100's values would be the same, or if they're reported on the same pins (probably aren't).
James:
Is the sender for the temp gauge, Idiot light and ECM shared? My gauge seems to be functioning fine. I know on my cars its a separate sender for the gauge.
The K75 has two thermistors in a single housing stuck into the back of the radiator, near the lower-left corner. One connects to the FI computer. The other connects to a special relay in the relay box called the "Temperature Sensing Switch Unit," which activates the fan relay and the dash idiot light. Again, I can't speak to the K1100, but from your description it sounds like you have the temperature sensor in the water pump drain plug. I'm not sure whether the K1100 also has one in the radiator.
Like I have said its intermittent on mine. Its done it 4 times in 4 weeks. I was surprised it did it today.
So either it was some corrosion in the ECM plug or Temp and pressure plugs and its fixed or I'll see it again in a few days.
With no symptoms I will have to wait.
