PCX choking under load sometimes

[eshroom]

We suspect the issue may be linked with rain, but not sure. So if left in rain, then the next day it may have more trouble. It'll happen on one journey, then the next journey, either same day, or day after the bike will run perfectly.

A lot of the time the bike runs perfectly, but sometimes under load, the engine cuts out, so in order to keep moving I need to be very light on the throttle. At it's worst the engine itself will cut out altogether and be hard to restart.

I am getting error 12, which is an injector error, if I erase the error it stays erased until the next time the issue presents itself.

I have bought some fuel system cleaner and am running it through in case it is an injector issue, but the randomness in when this occurs makes me think it may not be injectors. Someone on reddit had error 2 and was told by the stealers that it was a ecu issue.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[Coasting]

I've had a few Error 12's. They would occur every few days - and only started to occur after the bike was stripped down by the dealer for a mid-life valve clearance check. Dealer had the ignition off at the time, but battery still connected - and his theory was that the ECU recorded it as an injector fault because he had to disconnect it as part of what he was doing - and it was remembering the fault even though the fault was no longer present ... and it just "reminds us" of it every few days.

In my case he reset the fault and that was the end of it. Even at the times it occurred all I had to do was turn the ignition off and on again and I could start the bike.

So I guess my first thought is "are you actually clearing the Error 12"? Or are you only thinking that you've cleared it because you can start the bike afterwards after powering off the ignition?

If you do have the fancy bit of kit - and it is actually being cleared properly - and it keeps returning then I'd probably look more at the injector (although I really have no idea of what conditions need to be present for the ECU to flag it).

If you're not actually resetting the error then it's appearance every few days is to be expected according to my experience.

Other than that, well outside of my expertise. I had a car do something similar once - turned out to be a distributor breaking down under load - guess it could be something in the ignition breaking down if worked too hard resulting in it getting too hot. Hate problems like that - the usual way to fix them is to make a list of possible suspects - rank it by likelihood / cost / accessibility - and start replacing - unless you can get a heads up from someone with experience in that area.

Personally I'd think it's more likely to be electrical than fuel; would expect a fuel issue to be more persistent. Again, personally, I'd strip a few panels off - go over things like HT leads and other connectors very very carefully - and if nothing found probably take it to the dealer with great reluctance (knowing that they'll no more than me, but not a hell of a lot more ... and be set on maximising their income).

[eshroom]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, code is definitely being cleared correctly and it remains cleared until the problem recurs. I think it must be electric too, but really hope it's just a blocked injector. I'll see how I get on with the engine cleaner. There is also a very light ticking under medium loads, it goes away under full load or when decelerating or idling. This is the second PCX I've owned, the last one never gave me any issues (or funny sounds), despite being much higher mileage.

[Coasting]

Valve clearances been checked recently?

[eshroom]

No idea. Bought it from Honda used with full dealer service and fresh from a service just before the lockdown, and put less than 600km or so on it since. Unfortunately with lockdown, the bike's warranty expired with little or no use, so I didn't pick up on any issues....

[Coasting]

Not sure on your laws but in my parts you'd have an excellent case for getting the dealer to put it right regardless of the warranty status on the basis that it's fairly obvious that it had a serious undisclosed issue when they sold it to you - so they've in essence sold you a lemon (deliberately or not makes no difference).

Risk needs to transfer to you at some point, but it's not reasonable for you to assume all risk immediately; you handed your money over in good faith and they've sold you a product that you wouldn't have bought if you'd known about the issues.

Might be something to have a quick chat with a lawyer about - or a dispute tribunal if you have such services.

[Mel46]

eshroom,
Please go into your profile and add your general location so that we can direct your questions based on that. This is an international forum and Honda has modified their bikes to meet requirements for each area. We can give you advice based on each of our environments and laws but it would probably help you more if someone in your general region could advise you based on their experiences. Thank you, and welcome to our forum.

Coasting,

I would ask the same of you. It helps us help everyone if we know more about the riding areas (regions).