• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Weird technical problem with surprising solution

  • Thread starter Thread starter Twisted Wrister
  • Start date Start date
T

Twisted Wrister

Guest
I was zipping along the 401 and every now and then I lost a little power for just an instant. Fuel was at critical so maybe I'm getting the "Feed Me" dance - whoooops! I'm already on reserve! I exited early and topped up. A couple clicks later I started getting that now familiar power loss and intermittent failure of one cylinder. It revives a bit when I twist it hard (low jet to high jet). I suspect my tank has sediments in it and when I run on reserve one of my carbs can stop up. Then it backs up fuel into the airbox which spills out the drain onto the road. It's happened a couple times and I've been fixing it by draining the floats and purging the fuel hopefully along with the obstruction. (yeah i know it's about time for an in-line fuel filter)

But this time there wasn't any spillage and my trick didn't work after dumping 1 and 4. I can't reach 2 and 3 with the bike all at a million degrees so I wandered off for dinner out while it cooled. When I got back it was even worse, I'd lost cyl 3 AND 4. Now this can't be a clog...
I pulled the emergency toolkit and popped sparkplug 3 out. The chamber didn't stink of fuel for some reason and the plug looked 20 years old (6 months)on the outside due to my incorrigible habit of driving all Canadian winter. However, it was a perfectly clean toasty tan/grey on the inside. I held the sparkplug boot in my right, the clutch with my left and pressed the starter with my forehead and got blasted in the mouth with a jet of sooty air from the open cylinder duuurrr. No spark though. Same with 4. What the hell? I examined the coils and they power 1,3 and 2,4 respectively (not 12, 34)and the connections were all fine. double what the hell there's no way they can both fail 50% it's impossible.

I gave up and phoned the legendary Ted Rose and arranged to dump the now useless (except as a loud and poisonous space heater) bike on him.

When I was refastening the tank, I checked the fuses for some reason. The headlight's fuse had some ash in it and looked like a flash had gone off inside, you know - like those disposable flashes for cameras back in the day. The filament looked ok though and my headlight worked. I've never seen a fuse all messed up like that though. Usually there's a clean break right in the middle. I always have spares taped under the seat so I replaced it and the bike ran perfectly. GAHH HULK SMASH!

Total damage: $150 in lost work, (well, not lost just postponed) 12 bucks for dinner, I have to get up early to cancel with Ted and 18 cents for the stupid headlight fuse.
 
Re: Weird technical problem with surprising solution

Trust me on this. One coil powers cylinders 1 and 4. The other coil powers cylinders 2 and 3. Ignition pairs are 1,4 and 2,3. That is cast in stone. :-)

Earl

Twisted Wrister said:
I examined the coils and they power 1,3 and 2,4 respectively (not 12, 34)and the connections were all fine. double what the hell there's no way they can both fail 50% it's impossible.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Weird technical problem with surprising solution

earlfor said:
Trust me on this. One coil powers cylinders 1 and 4. The other coil powers cylinders 2 and 3. Ignition pairs are 1,4 and 2,3. That is cast in stone. :-)

Earl
Click to expand...
Yeah you're very very correct. It just took but an instant to visualize my bike and verify it. It was a brainfart while writing. Regardless my story holds true that 3 and 4 weren't both on the same coil, ruling out a fault on or about the ignition coil.
If you've any idea how a headlight fuse fault nuked my bike though, I'm all ears because I'm still all hulk not understand rarr! stomp stomp at the moment.
 
Once every so often after riding mine and having parked it, I get on turn the key hear a woosh and nothing. No power no electricity no nuttin. This last time I nearly got in a panic since it was a Sunday and a long way from the house. Turned out to be nothing more than a little corrosion on the main fuse. Took it out, cleaned it off and she fired up with the first touch of the starter. Came home got out the Dremel and wire brushed it, used some electrical cleaner and haven't seen the problem return. Electrical problems can be scary especially since just moment before everything was hunky dory.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top