Hi members.
Tried to leave from a friends place. Switched the bike on, pushed the starter button and the starter started spinning but engine did not start and the FI led started blinking.

The bike is just 6 weeks old and I thought, s..t, already the first major problem.
My friend said just open and close the tank. Did that and everything was back to normal. I was shocked.

Did anyone with the FI model had similar problems in the past. Why did opening and closing the tank solve the problem???

 

This might not be applicable, but on a car, if you don't tighten the gas cap all the way, the check engine light will often come on. Re-tightening the gas cap will typically (sometimes it won't turn it off until you've driven for a while.) On a car, it's an emissions thing - if the gas cap isn't tight, then fumes could leak out and kill our planet (*sarcasm intended*). It might be similar on the FI KLX - although it seems a little advanced for a bike?

 

This happens to me on the odd occasion. When attempting to fire up the bike it will fail to start with the FI light flashing red.
I've never resolved the issue by opening the tank but rather switch the ignition off than back on.

I presume you had to switch the ignition off to unlock and open your tank to then fire the bike back up ?

The next time you turn on your ignition, listen out for for a sound, this is something I can only presume being the EFI starting up. Usually if I don't hear that sound its very likely that ill get the FI light flashing red at me.

Hope this makes sense.

 

I switched the ignition on/off several times to no effect before opening the tank. It was the opening of the tank which resolved the issue. My friend said sometimes pressure builds up inside the tank which disturbs the FI. Not sure this is the reason.

 

Sounds like vapor lock. Did you hear a hissing/sucking sound of air as you opened the tank?
If the bike has a charcoal canister and the bike has fallen over...that canister can fill with enough fuel to stop the tank from venting and creates a vacuum after some riding, my first moto problem 20+ yrs ago. Spent a few days riding, stalling, opening the tank to see if I was out of gas, riding, stalling, etc. Then a nice mechanic asked me if I had dropped the bike...and told me about the canister and the fix. Never a problem since for that bike.
Vacuum in the tank prevents gravity from flowing fuel. You can simply disconnect the charcoal filter and let any gas or moisture in it evaporate, then hook it back up and see what happens.
Or you have a pinched vent line. Which can result in the same thing happening. Check all the vent lines off the tank for a pinch or kink.
My examples aside, as both were carb...it still sounds like vapor lock. If the fuel pump is is sucking against a vacuum, it would think it's out of fuel, or there is a problem.

 

On FI bikes you should hear the fuel pump energize for a couple of seconds after the ignition is turned on. If the ECM doesn't see a rpm signal it shuts off the pump until it does see rpm. So you should hear the pump cycle like Pinhead said-that's the first thing you can rule out as a cause of the no start. Opening the cap shouldn't have any effect since vapor lock really isn't an issue on high pressure systems. The cap has a vacuum check valve built into it that will allow air to enter the tank as fuel level decreases and it will prevent vapor pressure from escaping until it gets pretty high.
I think that you 'reset' the ECM when the ignition was shut off and that's why it started. Autos have a monitoring system to make sure that the fuel system is sealed and the OBD runs a test when you start the car-the KLX doesn't have a system like that.
Intermittent no starts can be frustrating to pinpoint so unless you are willing to let the dealer hold on to the bike for a long time to duplicate the condition while it's instrumented you could attempt to rig up a jumper wire so that you can see if the ECM is storing a fault code when it acts up. I had to do that on my SV years ago when it had the same problem-ended up being the Powercommander was taking a dump and needed to be replaced. Good luck

 

Not sure how relevant tHis is - but the FI locks out if you tip the bike over (roll off the stand, lack of talent in the muddy stufff etc). Not sure how I know this.

You have to turn off the ignittion give it a second then turn back on.

Will

 

No did not tip the bike over. Think it must have something to do with low/high pressure inside the tank. So far this didn't happen again. Thought that other members may have had similar problems but this seems to be a unique case.
Thanks for all the replies. If something similar happens to anyone of you FI guys try opening the tank!