Inconsistent skip

[timebombprod]

Keep having this inconsistent skip with my bike and everytime it slips the idle goes lower, the idle adjustment knob is working but unfortunately keep having to turn it up more while the idle goes lower.

Came here because it seems like it would be an electrical issue if it's not something in the engine internally, I hope not.

What can I check and clean to ensure there is a strong connection all throughout from the battery to the spark plugs?

 

[Brendan W]

Fuse box, ignition switch, kill switch, coil supply plugs.
Check the supply voltage on the coil side of the coil plugs would be my first.
If you haven't done them yet the others need a good clean of all contacts and the pins in the fusebox tail plug.

 

[timebombprod]

Fuse box, ignition switch, kill switch, coil supply plugs.
Check the supply voltage on the coil side of the coil plugs would be my first.
If you haven't done them yet the others need a good clean of all contacts and the pins in the fusebox tail plug.

Will do once in back home

 

[timebombprod]

Could a corroded ignition fuse be the issue?

Still cleaning everything but just curious, I have had the bike shut off completely when pressing the starter button before. Luckily had a spare in the fuse box. Still haven't got to the coils but I've cleaned the connections to those before and they were REALLY bad.

Will update if I find anything as bad as those coilpack connections were.

 

[Brendan W]

Could a corroded ignition fuse be the issue?

Still cleaning everything but just curious, I have had the bike shut off completely when pressing the starter button before. Luckily had a spare in the fuse box. Still haven't got to the coils but I've cleaned the connections to those before and they were REALLY bad.

Will update if I find anything as bad as those coilpack connections were.

Yes. When I cleaned up the box, ign and kill switch, coil plugs etc I got back almost a volt at the coils.

 

[zed1015]

Your inconsistent skip, the engine revs carb problem and now number 2 plug not sparking in you other threads all looks like it probably stems from the same issue.
If plug 2 is intermittent then your " carb and other problems " random rev rise and drop may actually just be that plug occasionally kicking in or cutting out .
It sounds like the bike could actually be running on 3 cylinders most of the time and number 2 manages to fire when it gets a chance or on four and that one dropping out.
Either way you need to solve the plug issue first ( which at the most will be a fresh coil but more likely a bad lead contact or plug cap ) and all the other faults may just go away with it.

 

[timebombprod]

Yes. When I cleaned up the box, ign and kill switch, coil plugs etc I got back almost a volt at the coils.

Nice! Sounds promising, will be working on the bike a bit more tomorrow, just cleaning more things, didnt touch the switches but I cleaned up the fuse box, fuses themselves, and plenty of connections. I'll say that my dash and headlight also seem to be brighter.

 

[timebombprod]

Your inconsistent skip, the engine revs carb problem and now number 2 plug not sparking in you other threads all looks like it probably stems from the same issue.
If plug 2 is intermittent then your " carb and other problems " random rev rise and drop may actually just be that plug occasionally kicking in or cutting out .
It sounds like the bike could actually be running on 3 cylinders most of the time and number 2 manages to fire when it gets a chance or on four and that one dropping out.
Either way you need to solve the plug issue first ( which at the most will be a fresh coil but more likely a bad lead contact or plug cap ) and all the other faults may just go away with it.

I sure hope so, honestly.i think the wires will just be replaced aslong as they're able to be, the old ones seem worn and ready to be retired

 

[Gorminrider]

Your inconsistent skip, the engine revs carb problem and now number 2 plug not sparking in you other threads all looks like it probably stems from the same issue.
If plug 2 is intermittent then your " carb and other problems " random rev rise and drop may actually just be that plug occasionally kicking in or cutting out .
It sounds like the bike could actually be running on 3 cylinders most of the time and number 2 manages to fire when it gets a chance or on four and that one dropping out.
Either way you need to solve the plug issue first ( which at the most will be a fresh coil but more likely a bad lead contact or plug cap ) and all the other faults may just go away with it.

Yes. Being just at one cylinder, it might be the spark plug cap or the spark plug is no good. You could swap the leads from the coil to the two plugs they go to to see if the skip changes to the other plug.

...But I see you are running two threads on the same subject and Brendan has you sorted....

 

[timebombprod]

Yes. Being just at one cylinder, it might be the spark plug cap or the spark plug is no good. You could swap the leads from the coil to the two plugs they go to to see if the skip changes to the other plug.

...But I see you are running two threads on the same subject and Brendan has you sorted....

Yeah I ordered new leads, these were the original ones still had I think glue or melted plastic around the coilpacks. They weren't originally the same subject lol, I dont think the skip is just one cylinder not firing because it sounds like the whole engine misses a beat or something, but it's not every revolution so I dont know what to say.

I'm thinking the high idle is either the carbs need to be synced or vacuum leaks which I ordered all the necessary pieces to fix any possible leaks. The skip sounds internal but I'm hoping its caused by something electrical, I wont know if the skip is gone until i get all these parts. I dont know how to better explain the skip and it's barely heard on video but it sounds like the engine skips a beat and picks right back up.

 

[Gorminrider]

Hmm. Just the caps would do it. I recently changed mine...the bike ran alright but with a rainy day to fill, I thought I hadn't really looked at 'em in a long while, and found they were not consistent..one could not be "repaired" so I said b*gger it and replaced all with new....

BUT another thing that occurred to me earlier in your topic was a sticky valve- a bit bent perhaps and "catching" every so often..or even some bit of crapola floating around in the valvetrain, but this, (which I've experienced myself-argh) would be catastrophic at some point.

 

[timebombprod]

Hmm. Just the caps would do it. I recently changed mine...the bike ran alright but with a rainy day to fill, I thought I hadn't really looked at 'em in a long while, and found they were not consistent..one could not be "repaired" so I said b*gger it and replaced all with new....

BUT another thing that occurred to me earlier in your topic was a sticky valve- a bit bent perhaps and "catching" every so often..or even some bit of crapola floating around in the valvetrain, but this, (which I've experienced myself-argh) would be catastrophic at some point.

I'm planning on getting a spare engine because im afraid its internal, can i check for a bent valve by just taking off the valve cover?

Thing that sucks if it is a bent valve is I dont go past 9500 I make sure to shift at like 9300, guess the engine is tired

I've had weird valve clearance readings on one of the valves before, was .33 then the next few rotations it was back to .07, and this was before I made a video revving the crap out of it. I'm gonna run this engine to the ground and if it doesnt break than I guess I'll just have a second engine lol

 

[Gorminrider]

I couldn't "see" mine as bent until I took them out. You need the whole stem on a surface.. but

I've had weird valve clearance readings on one of the valves before, was .33 then the next few rotations it was back to .07

is curious. Still, I always need to remind myself to wiggle the valve by hand to see if it's loose when when checking it. But I'm not sure if a sticky one would ever show up doing this. ...the valves actually spin in action I think so if this is your trouble, I can see it being intermittent but someone else will know better if it's a possible.

 

[timebombprod]

I couldn't "see" mine as bent until I took them out. You need the whole stem on a surface.. but is curious. Still, I always need to remind myself to wiggle the valve by hand to see if it's loose when when checking it. But I'm not sure if a sticky one would ever show up doing this. ...the valves actually spin in action I think so if this is your trouble, I can see it being intermittent but someone else will know better if it's a possible.

I might let the bike dispute the issue itself, hoping the noise is gone when I get to turn the bike back on. Noise is brand new and I've been able to ride the bike plenty before it came along, and my more abusive days have been over. All is well if something's that bad, I'll come out of it on the upside.

Definitely getting a second engine, and if the noise gets worse, and worse, but still rides, well I'll do the swap and learn the internals of an engine with the worn one, and possibly rebuild if the parts arent hard to come by.

Done so much work on the darn thing I'm not gonna let a blown motor end its journey.

 

[Maddevill]

I'm always surprised at how many people cannot tell when their engine is not running right. Had a friend pull up for a tire change on his GSXR1100. I immediately told him it was running on 3 cylinders. Showed him how to find the cold pipe. Another time a guy brought in his Ducati 748 for an oil change. I knew something was very off. Found front belt had broken, bent valves. I repaired it and he came in and took it for a spin. He came back with wide eyes. Says " Holy cow ! It never had this much power !" He had been riding it for a YEAR as a single.

Mad

 

[timebombprod]

I'm always surprised at how many people cannot tell when their engine is not running right. Had a friend pull up for a tire change on his GSXR1100. I immediately told him it was running on 3 cylinders. Showed him how to find the cold pipe. Another time a guy brought in his Ducati 748 for an oil change. I knew something was very off. Found front belt had broken, bent valves. I repaired it and he came in and took it for a spin. He came back with wide eyes. Says " Holy cow ! It never had this much power !" He had been riding it for a YEAR as a single.

Mad

Lmfao that's crazy with that Ducati, I know the sound broken from the factory but cmon! I always do the water test and they all seem to steam up, i cleaned the grounds for the coilpacks while i was getting the old leads out and there was plenty of corrosion so I'm hoping that with new leads and a clean ground will result with a consistent drone and not any loping noise.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Ian, I was going to ask if you’ve cleaned the power and ground leads to the coils. I just cleaned mine yesterday. Mine weren’t bad enough to cause a problem yet but I’m glad I’ve addressed it. I somehow managed to neglect these when I cleaned the rest of the harness last year when the bike was completely apart.

before:

after:

 

[timebombprod]

Those were actually one of the first things I cleaned when I was having a bad idle, a little while back, and yes, they were filled with so much corrosion it looked like an episode of Narcos. Unfortunately not the issue but fortunately getting parts soon.

 

[timebombprod]

Been doing alot of cleaning of connections since that's mainly what i can do for the bike right now

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I’ve come up with a process I think works really well. I slather the connector with naval jelly. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Rinse with water. A water-pik works really well to flush out all the jelly. Dry with compressed air. Spray with electrical contact cleaner, helps evaporate any water left. Then spritz with Deoxit.