Well, gents - this just keeps getting stranger and stranger. I replaced the TPS with a new unit, and voila!-issue cured....or so I thought. 3 weeks ago the bike was running great, no issues at all. Due to work and family commitments, it hadn't even been STARTED until last evening, while preparing for a race this weekend. Issue is back :-( with a vengeance. I had done nothing to the bike while it sat.
Can ANYONE think of a root cause that I haven't addressed in the previous threads? I am at my wit's end and about ready to trailer it to a Kawi dealer to have them sort it out!!!

1. Check the values once again at closed and open throttle.
2. Remove fuel line, hook up a hose to the nipple outlet at the pump, have a catch bottle to capture the fuel as you turn the key on and see if the pump is trickling out or flows well, sans a fuel pressure tool to see if it can hold 44 psi.
3. Swap the OEM ECU back to the stock one you have. Do this first since it's the easiest one to tackle first.

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I thought it couldn't get any stranger...I was WRONG. I swapped out the ECU for the stocker, and the bike fired right up. Once it got to about 150 deg. temp I cracked the throttle and it took right off. I continued to run it up through the rev range, opening the throttle as though I was launching - and no issues; ran like a champ. I shut the bike off, swapped the flashed ECU back in, and it still ran fine just as it was a few minutes before! Keep in mind this was the DAY AFTER I had experienced the issue, and the only time I touched the bike was to swap the ECU.

I will test the pump as you suggest Hub, but it seems to me that it would still have the issue if the pump or TPS were at fault. The only difference in the test between stock ECU and flashed ECU (that was readily apparent) was the KTRC indicator on the gauges flashing with the stocker back in.

* Last updated by: redzx14racer on 6/8/2019 @ 10:15 AM *

"the KTRC indicator on the gauges flashing with the stocker back in."..perhaps it's telling you there's something happening with the KTRC?Maybe why it wouldn't run above 3K?Flashing icons and such usually mean a situation.Have you pressed both dash buttons and held to check for codes?Think that's how that works?Sounds like maybe there's something happening with one of those ecus...IDK.All pins intact?

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 6/8/2019 @ 1:28 PM *

I'd pass on the fuel pump. Sounds more like telemetry. I'd check the stampings on both ECU's to match part numbers. If different, there is the k-skid code pop. If match, back to dialing in the TPS to open/close spec numbers.

* Last updated by: Hub on 6/8/2019 @ 3:34 PM *

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Thanks fellas,
I think I will read up on the KTRC system; I ignored it since I have the Guhl/Brocks 2 flash. It's not supposed to matter what position the KTRC is in with their flash.

The 32 code still comes up for the sub-throttle sensor; it is the only code the bike is indicating. The flies have been removed so I am not too concerned about that. I got some bad advice this winter, and wired the secondary files open. As a result, I may have stripped the plastic gear that drives the secondaries. According to Kawasaki, the entire throttle assembly must be replaced if this assembly goes bad. Not going to happen, unless I can't fix this issue.

All pins on both ECUs are intact. I will check the Guhl-flashed ECU for P/N match. I suppose it is possible they did not send me back my own ECU. I will focus on the TPS settings next. Hub, What the hell is a "k-skid code pop" - doesn't even sound like English to this old guy!

KTRC = Kawasaki TRaction Control.
K-Skid = Kawasaki Skids [out of control helper so it won't]... means the same thing.
Code Pop = Go ahead, tamper with a computer bike's wiring and codes will begin to pop up.

I got some bad advice this winter, and wired the secondary files open. As a result, I may have stripped the plastic gear that drives the secondaries.

If you physically opened the sub shafts, did not unplug the sub's gearbox, then yeah, the box will grind those teeth off. There's your code spit.

Code spit = Bad advice.

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Thanks Hub,
I will begin a search for a replacement drive unit; maybe I'll get lucky and not have to buy the whole TB assembly.
Bad advice = big troubles :-(

* Last updated by: redzx14racer on 6/9/2019 @ 8:02 AM *

I did take apart a motor drive to see inside. Ground the rivets off, split it apart and found no timing marks per say; inspecting for gear damage. Riveted the unit back up. You might want to check that out first. It sort of saves itself if you hear it ratchet and then stops. No matter the gear slots mismatching, the unit just moves in either direction and self aligns... as long as the shaft is correctly positioned as in; it only assembles one way. So that's why I think it may be OK. Not saying it is with it being physically locked, just wondering if it disabled itself from damage and therefore pops a code saving the teeth.
The down side is having to take it apart spending that much downtime messing with it. The season is here so it's more a winter project.

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Crazy thought, but what if he just takes out whatever he installed that is binding the secondaries in the open position? Might the system still work if it is "released" that way?

As for why the engine SOMETIMES appears to respond ok and other times does not: Could it be that when the engine is still cold, the secondaries' ability to respond is irrelevant since the ECU won't allow them to open when the engine is cold. But once the engine is heated up sufficiently, the secondaries' inability to respond triggers the error report?

Just asking . . .

Jim G

JimG: I removed the wire holding the secondary throttle plates open a long time ago; that did not solve the problem. I then removed the secondary throttle plates, and that also did not solve the problem. After reading what Hub had posted yesterday, I looked online for used throttle bodies (off wrecks, etc.) and found one w/o injectors for $70.00. I will swap it out with mine and cabbage parts off of the existing TB to make it complete once it arrives, and will see then if the error code (and the problem) both go away. I suspect the code is somehow interfering with the ECU signal to the injectors or the spark timing to send the engine into 'limp' mode. If this doesn't work I am fresh out of ideas... Thanks!

I understand. Unfortunately, replacing the throttle bodies assembly with a used assembly will introduce other, new issues. For example, do you have a vacuum gage setup to properly balance the 4 cylinders' idle and throttle cracking settings? On an engine as strong as the ZX-14, these settings are critical because the engine spends so much time at very small throttle openings.

Jim G

Might the system still work if it is "released" that way?

Yes. However, if the gears are hanging up the stepper motor, this says 'out of spec' when the motor sort of hangs up within so many milliseconds. Seconds wise, you see it on the dash within that time. Because this telemetry works in milli's on the K-skid, or sensor failure, it's not about to kick in within a second that the back end is coming around or the front end is lofted about to flip over within a second, right?

Sync wise, you just use only two hoses for the 1-2 and 3-4, meaning, use any two combos of 1 and 3 to sync both banks, or 2 and 4 to sync both shafts that have the blades machined on the one shaft. It's not like they are 4 independent blades you sync up.

So air screw wise, you close down the 4 air screws, sync the two shafts first. Then hook up the other 2 hoses, open the air screws a 1/4 turn, start the bike and sync the air screws with the sync tool. Want to run richer, turn the air screws down to 1/8th turn out and sync the screws = Balance for smooth running. Of course the book won't tell you this, because it uses vac off the throttle body to run emissions. Some of those air screws are closed down... Wink-Wink,

Subthrottle wise, with sub-blades installed, the engine runs smoother.
Subthrottle blade wise, the engine does not know if the subs are in play or not. Only the intake air pressure sensor knows for sure, meaning, it's an air gate are the subs. Without the subs in place, the IAP sensor's vacuum on the wafer calls the shot on the fuel demand... no subs needed either way.

What pops a code:
1. Wire out of connector.
2. Connector not connected.
3. Sensor out of spec/short to ground.

So we choose; sensor out of spec. Can't be a short to ground or it would blow a fuse.
Does the ECU go to backup and save the engine from damage? Yes. So you sort of neutered the FULL Power Potential of the bike when [certain] codes popup.

* Last updated by: Hub on 6/10/2019 @ 8:53 AM *

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Thanks Hub, for describing an understandable way of synching the throttle bodies. I've copied and pasted into my ZX-14R maintenance folder.

Jim G