broke down and puzzled...

[jhicok]

yesterday on my way home from work my gs1100ez stalled while sitting at idle. ive had it running for a month and put about 400 miles on it, without a single problem at all....untill now. it just died out.. didn't spit or sputter.. almost like i turned it off. all the fuses were good, my relay was clicking on, and i have brand new dyna 3ohm coils.. after about an hour and a half on the side of the road, i gave it one last effort and it decided to start. y'all think it's the carbs? or maybe the petcock? ( it didnt make a difference if it was on or on prime, it still wasnt starting) just don't understand why it would run fine for 400 miles then stall and act up for an hour and a half, but then start back up and run fine without me really messing with anything.. now i'm nervous about ridin it anywhere till i figure out what happened.

 

[spyug]

Sounds fuel related. What was the temperature and had the bike been sitting in the sun as it almost sounds like vapour lock ( check for plugged vent in the gas cap). If it happens again, open the gas cap and or blow into the overflow tubes of the gas tank.

I agree that you will want to figure this out before venturing a distance. It is not likely to be the petcock but more likely to be in the carbs themselves. Have the carbs been cleaned recently? If not, you might consider a strip and dip with new o-rings. I'm always amazed by how much crap comes out of carbs maybe something was plugged.

If the bike sits for a time gas can go bad or you might even have picked up some "dirty" gas at a fill-up. Its a good idea IMHO to run a bit of Seafoam in every tank to keep things stable. You might even want to run about 1/3 of a can of Seafoam in a tank or two of gas as it has been known to clean out dirty carbs. It is not a substitute for a full carb cleaning however.

There is a possibility that you do have a faulty coil too as i've experienced the same symptom. The bike runs fine until the coil heats up then poof...dead. This one can be harder to diagnose so for the time being I'd concentrate on a fuel issue.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

Cheers,
Spyug

 

[kdo58]

don't know if you have the dyna s ignition but this happen to me
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=165044

 

[cowboyup3371]

I don't quite remember the history of the bike but have you ran through your electrics and made sure they are okay? Check voltage at the battery, R/R, and Stator connections and then look at the coils, fuel, etc.

 

[ChicagoBob]

A sudden stop sounds more ignition-related than fuel-related. Coils (even new ones) can fail from heat or overvoltage, and will come back to life when allowed to cool for a while. Next time it happens, check for spark.

 

[posplayr]

A sudden stop sounds more ignition-related than fuel-related. Coils (even new ones) can fail from heat or overvoltage, and will come back to life when allowed to cool for a while. Next time it happens, check for spark.

Agree, and the only two things in the eelctronics that are likely to be temperature related is the coils and ignitor.

Since coils are new , I would try a new ignitor. Next time it does it check for a spark. (whoop I typed the exact same thing ) and a test lite to see if the primary is signaling.

 

[chuckycheese]

Vapor

Vapor

I think Spyug 'hit the nail on the head'. I've had it happen on a couple of bikes and one car and the symptoms you described fit gas tank vapor lock perfectly.

An hour and a half seems a little long but maybe your gas cap seal is really efficient. If it happens again, take off the gas cap and you should hear a big "whooooooosh"! Put it back and it should start right up! If it doesn't, it's something more complicated.

 

[tom203]

I vote for electric problems; after 400 miles maybe a connection has come loose- you did clean all the vital connections for the ignition circuit including the kill switch?? kill switch exposed to weather is a likely problem area.

 

[tkent02]

Maybe the ignition fuse holder is loose? Mine did this yesterday. Jiggled the fuse, good to go. Replacing the fuse panel is next.

 

[jhicok]

ok i'm lookin at the cap area of the tank. i did seal it with por-15, i cant seem to find any breather holes though while im pokin around with a small nail punch. my gas cap does have 2 holes in the bottom so is this how it vents?? the seal on the cap is old and i don't think strong enough to cause vapor lock, but i'm not ruling it out. it was about 45-50 outside when it happened and i had just filled up with gas and the beginning of the ride, so the cap had been off recently and no temperature change before it stalled out. the area on the outside of the tank around the filler hole is a little damp with gas. but if it was a fuel problem wouldn't it have spit and sputter before dying instead of just quit?

i didn't get a chance to check for spark as i was on the side of the road ( i will add my plug wrench to my tool kit fom now on though). all the fuses seemed ok. the coils are on a relay mod. the relay was comin on , and i have a 10a fuse in an inline holder between the battery and the coils that was not blown. i'm using the stock points with the coils, no dyna s.

i had ridden about 20 miles when it quit, and the oil temp read just above 210.

the carbs were just taken apart and cleaned about 2 months ago, and it has not sat unridden longer than a few days since i put fuel in the carbs. i did not rebuild them just a good cleaning. all the parts seemed in good condition and has been running fine untill yesterday.

 

[jhicok]

update...

update...

ok i took it out on a short ride yesterday... it sure enough did it again. sitting at a red light at idle and it just died. once again no spitting or sputtering just cut out. i had gone about 10 - 12 miles and was luckily right next to a gas station. i checked the float bowl on number 1 and 4 and there was plenty of gas in there so should i rule out vapor lock? what was wierd is i also seemed to have spark. once again after about 20 minutes of sitting there the bike fired up and got me home. on the way while cruising on the highway it was misfiring a little bit. also it sounds like it's pushing air back through the carbs sometimes. when the starter is turning over it sounds like its working really hard, but if i turn the throttle open 25% the starter kicks at it's normal pace.. where should i start on this?? always appreciate the help guys

 

[DanTheMan]

You're getting too much fuel if opening the throttle makes it crank easier. Your plugs are probably black. Leaking petcock and float valves occur to me.

 

[chuckycheese]

ok i took it out on a short ride yesterday... it sure enough did it again. sitting at a red light at idle and it just died. once again no spitting or sputtering just cut out. i had gone about 10 - 12 miles and was luckily right next to a gas station. i checked the float bowl on number 1 and 4 and there was plenty of gas in there so should i rule out vapor lock? what was wierd is i also seemed to have spark. once again after about 20 minutes of sitting there the bike fired up and got me home. on the way while cruising on the highway it was misfiring a little bit. also it sounds like it's pushing air back through the carbs sometimes. when the starter is turning over it sounds like its working really hard, but if i turn the throttle open 25% the starter kicks at it's normal pace.. where should i start on this?? always appreciate the help guys

I read your post twice and you never mentioned taking off the gas cap.....surely, you did, right?? If for some strange reason, you didn't, you haven't ruled out vapor lock. There's certainly a good chance that it's not your problem but you might as well rule out the easy stuff first!!

 

[jhicok]

chucky- forgot to mention it but thats the first thing i did. there was no woosh sound.

 

[chuckycheese]

Good

Good

chucky- forgot to mention it but thats the first thing i did. there was no woosh sound.

Well, that's too bad but it's good that you know that now. If your plugs were fouled from too much fuel, I don't think sitting 20 minutes would do much to help. I'm gonna think about this for a bit....I'm guessing it's something pretty simple. I hope so!

I hope you get it sorted out soon; stuff like that can be maddening!!

EDIT: OK, I'm joining most of the other guys in thinking it's electrical, almost for sure. Cowboy suggested you check all your connections; did you do that? I'd be especially suspicious of the ones around the fuse box and make sure your fuses snap in there tightly. I think it would be helpful to have your multimeter on hand the next time it happens and check for good electrical continuity at the fuse box without disturbing the fuses. I doubt it's your coils, even though it could be. POSPLAYR has solved lots of problems for people (a couple for me!!) so you might check your igniter out if your connections seem just right. Good luck and let us know!

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

What you might do is take the ign cover off and ride it with the extra cooling to see if it makes a difference

 

[koolaid_kid]

I had this happen just this year with my GS. Turned out the ignitor was heating up and shutting down (sounds like an oxymoron, up and down). When it cooled down, I could ride again until it heated up, then nada.
Installed Dyna S, papa is happy. Just a thought.

 

[posplayr]

ok i'm lookin at the cap area of the tank. i did seal it with por-15, i cant seem to find any breather holes though while im pokin around with a small nail punch. my gas cap does have 2 holes in the bottom so is this how it vents?? the seal on the cap is old and i don't think strong enough to cause vapor lock, but i'm not ruling it out. it was about 45-50 outside when it happened and i had just filled up with gas and the beginning of the ride, so the cap had been off recently and no temperature change before it stalled out. the area on the outside of the tank around the filler hole is a little damp with gas. but if it was a fuel problem wouldn't it have spit and sputter before dying instead of just quit?

i didn't get a chance to check for spark as i was on the side of the road ( i will add my plug wrench to my tool kit fom now on though). all the fuses seemed ok. the coils are on a relay mod. the relay was comin on , and i have a 10a fuse in an inline holder between the battery and the coils that was not blown. i'm using the stock points with the coils, no dyna s.

i had ridden about 20 miles when it quit, and the oil temp read just above 210.

the carbs were just taken apart and cleaned about 2 months ago, and it has not sat unridden longer than a few days since i put fuel in the carbs. i did not rebuild them just a good cleaning. all the parts seemed in good condition and has been running fine untill yesterday.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=168187

 

[jhicok]

thanks posplayer i was about to thread jack that guy untill i saw you posted on mine. on that pic what side is that hole on right or left as i'm sittin on it?? i sealed the tank and cant find that breather hole at all. i'm gonna have to drill a new one i guess. it might be causing the bike stalls and it might not.. either way i need to correct that oversight.

i did check every electrical connection i can find and they all look ok to me. no obvious corrosion or anything loose.

i ran the bike at idle- 5000 rpm ( held it to simulate highway)in the garage the other day with no problems, so i rode it to work the next night.....MISTAKE! ran fine there but on the way home we walked the last mile.. as soon as i pulled the clutch and the rpm went below 2000 it took a nap. so it'll run just fine sitting there, at the same oil temps as riding, with the gas cap on,and be fine. but i take it out on the road and it'll do it everytime after about 15 miles and the oil temp at around 210-ish.

i think i'm gonna go electrical first and put in the dyna s ( the ds 3-2 is the right one to use with the 3ohm green coils i already have right?) .. if that doesn't solve it then i'm going to rebuild the carbs for real this time and not just clean, i was going to do this soon anyway. i want to do it in steps so i know exactly what corrects this problem so we all get something out of my headache now all i gotta do is smooth over another couple hundred bucks into this bike with the wife, any suggestions on that one hahahaha

much thanks to all,
jeremy

 

[earlfor]

I had the same problem with my 1150 for a while. It turned out to be the ignitor box was going out when it reached a certain temperature. Replacement with a Dyna ignition solved the problem.

Earl