Adaptive memory what is it?

Smeegles · Post by **Smeegles** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 4:14 am

Hi again guys.
As I have posted My bike was playing funny buggers and they found fault in the TPS.
When they changed the TPS to a new one they purged the fault codes but they didn't purge the "adaptive memory" so the bike with the new TPS was still exhibiting the same problems.
After taking it back they disconnected the battery for a few minutes then reconnected it thus clearing the "adaptive memory"
forcing the bike to relearn all its settings.
My questions are:
How does purging the memory actually make the bike all of a sudden run well again? Is it because it is forced to get inputs from the sensors all over again?
Is it a good idea to disconnect the battery in future if one is to replace a faulty sensor?

What is the purpose of adaptive memory?

I've tried googling and came up with some results though I'm not happy with the explanation as I didn't understand it well and it refers mainly to cars.
(btw the bike is running better than it has ever run, crisp throttle response etc. but I'm still not confident till I have ridden it for a week or 2 and it doesn't exhibit these symptoms again.)

Gromit · Post by **Gromit** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 5:46 am

'Adaptive memory' - it's what women have

mdouglas · Post by **mdouglas** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 11:46 am

The ECU stores the feedback it gets from the Lambda sensor and modifies the fuel maps accordingly. In this way, over time the bike can adjust for the bike bedding in and to adjust for your style of riding. All modern fuelling systems do this.

When something has been faulty, the ECU does it's best to adjust for the new feedback it has been receiving. When you fix the problem, the ECU is still trying to compensate for the old problems. It takes time(miles) for the new improved feedback to slowly overwrite/displace the old nonsense and to get thing running sweetly again.

The best way to deal with this is to disconnect the power and to allow the volatile memory that stores this ECU data to erase itself. Whne you reconnect. the bike starts off with default fuel mappings which generally feel pretty good.

You should also do this when you fit some new, performance altering part e.g. new air filter, exhaust etc. It's not essential as if you do enough miles, the ECU will take care of itself. The resetting is just a way of getting their faster.

When you do a reset, the first thing you need to do is teach the ECU where full throttle is. You do this by opening the throttle fully twice before you start the bike. In this way, the ECU is able to determine the voltage that equates to full throttle opening.

Smeegles · Post by **Smeegles** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 2:05 pm

Thanks for that explanation.
Apparently though the first generation motronic don't require the full throtle twist after a computer reset according to the technician.
The bike is running very well though.

theseadog · Post by **theseadog** » Sun Jun 11, 2006 12:07 pm

Smeegles wrote:Thanks for that explanation.
Apparently though the first generation motronic don't require the full throtle twist after a computer reset according to the technician.
The bike is running very well though.

Well I'd beg to differ with him, I've got a 98 and it definately DOES require the two twists of the throttle, otherwise it runs like a russian taxi.