Joined May 2008
684 Posts | 0+
Falkirk, Scotland
Me again, not been around for a while. Bike has been laid up again for about 12 months and in that time it was started and ran maybe 2 or three times to begin with but about 4 months into that hibernation period I (stupidly) stopped firing it up every now and then. Just didn't have time due to work and other pressures. Anyway, the damn thing completely refuses to start now. I went through all this over a year ago when the year previously I did exactly the same and didn't ride the bike at all. At that point I had to purchase a new battery, fit new plugs and then drain all the fuel out of the tank in case it was contaminated. Eventually, it started and ran. I took it out once for a journey of around 25 miles then put her back up on the stands and covered her up. That was last May iirc, and here I am again. I know, I'm an arsehole.
So, I've purchased yet another brand new battery which has been properly charged and fitted. I've just fitted new plugs as well. The old ones were not too bad looking but after my cranking attempts they looked slightly wet from the fuel I assume. I've not drained the fuel out yet as I was hoping not to have to do that but it could well come to that. So here's what's happening so far:-
Ignition switched on, good volts on the battery. You can hear the fuel pump prime for about 3 or 4 seconds. Operate the cold start lever all the way back, thumb the starter and it just turns over and over. Tried with the cold start lever all the way off and the throttle open wide. Still the same, turns over, won't fire. If remove the air filter housing and look down the throttle bodies, when I press the starter for a second or so there is a single, short spurt of fuel fired in there and then it stops, no more fuel being sprayed whilst you crank it. Is that correct and is what is supposed to happen??
Checked fuses, all good. Relay was brand new last year too, an uprated Yamaha one. Diag mode shows -1, which is the TPS needing adjusting so no error code being thrown. So I wheeled the bike out to alongside the car, connected it up to the car via jump leads and tried jumping it from there (without the car engine running of course). Same -turns over like a good 'un but won't fire. The strange thing is that after all this cranking I would have expected a strong smell of fuel, but there isn't. Sticking your nose down the exhaust cans you still can only detect a faint whiff of fuel. Left can smells slightly less than the right one. I've went around the loom and other connector blocks in sight and unplugged then plugged them back together in case anything was loose. I've also noticed that there's no neutral light on the dash. I've bypassed the side stand switch, did that years ago but could the neutral switch affect the ability for the bike to crank but not fire up?
Now I'm not sure what to do. Drain the fuel once again and throw some fresh Shell V-Power Nitro petrol in there? Then try? I'm going to pull the plugs again and see if they are fouled through flooding. Any other suggestions - apart from 'Why don't you bloody ride the thing more than once a year then you wouldn't have this problem?' :dunno
So, I've purchased yet another brand new battery which has been properly charged and fitted. I've just fitted new plugs as well. The old ones were not too bad looking but after my cranking attempts they looked slightly wet from the fuel I assume. I've not drained the fuel out yet as I was hoping not to have to do that but it could well come to that. So here's what's happening so far:-
Ignition switched on, good volts on the battery. You can hear the fuel pump prime for about 3 or 4 seconds. Operate the cold start lever all the way back, thumb the starter and it just turns over and over. Tried with the cold start lever all the way off and the throttle open wide. Still the same, turns over, won't fire. If remove the air filter housing and look down the throttle bodies, when I press the starter for a second or so there is a single, short spurt of fuel fired in there and then it stops, no more fuel being sprayed whilst you crank it. Is that correct and is what is supposed to happen??
Checked fuses, all good. Relay was brand new last year too, an uprated Yamaha one. Diag mode shows -1, which is the TPS needing adjusting so no error code being thrown. So I wheeled the bike out to alongside the car, connected it up to the car via jump leads and tried jumping it from there (without the car engine running of course). Same -turns over like a good 'un but won't fire. The strange thing is that after all this cranking I would have expected a strong smell of fuel, but there isn't. Sticking your nose down the exhaust cans you still can only detect a faint whiff of fuel. Left can smells slightly less than the right one. I've went around the loom and other connector blocks in sight and unplugged then plugged them back together in case anything was loose. I've also noticed that there's no neutral light on the dash. I've bypassed the side stand switch, did that years ago but could the neutral switch affect the ability for the bike to crank but not fire up?
Now I'm not sure what to do. Drain the fuel once again and throw some fresh Shell V-Power Nitro petrol in there? Then try? I'm going to pull the plugs again and see if they are fouled through flooding. Any other suggestions - apart from 'Why don't you bloody ride the thing more than once a year then you wouldn't have this problem?' :dunno
