Johnny Rascal
6th February 2015, 16:37
Hi all,
So I'm having some electrical problems with my first bike (2009 Suzuki VL250) and would like some advice/wisdom before I go and take it back to the shop. So a little back ground on the bike, I've owned it for about 6 months now, it's got about 39,000 kms on the clock, and I hadn't had any issues with it other than needing to replace the battery and plug a hole in the rear tire due to a pesky screw. That was all until a couple weekends ago. I had ode it down to Pukekohe from central Auckland, with no issues, to go see family. When I went to leave the bike wouldn't start, so we bump started it and that seemed to be fine, then I went to the gas station to top up and after shutting the bike off, it wouldn't start back up again. So I bump started it again but only got a few meters until the engine started puttering out, no throttle response, like when you run out of gas, only the electrical system was also flickering on and off, rapidly. I pulled over and started looking at the basics, checked the battery had power, that was fine, there were no fuses blown, no visual signs of corrosion on wiring points and no other signs of visual damage. Now I was perplexed as there was just no power going anywhere, so I reluctantly called the AA to see if they could have a look, they performed the exact same tasks I had done and said they couldn't figure out the problem. I had them tow it up to a Suzuki dealership in Central Auckland who managed to get it running again. Their diagnosis was that there was massive corrosion around some solenoid points which they replaced, they also topped up my oil and clutch fluid at no cost so was happy about that, only had to pay for an hour of labor. :)
Now, on Waitangi day, I was eager to take her out again. I'm cruising along fine on the north Western, on my way out to Murawai and all of a sudden the same issue pops up again, electrics go off for a few seconds, then come back on again, this happened for a bout a minute before the electrics just gave up on life and then the engine slowly puttered out. Luckily I was able to pull into a construction lane and park safely. Now I go into "angry man" mode as I had just paid to get my electrical "issue" "fixed". I calm down and start looking over the basics again, battery is fine, no blown fuses, I disconnect the connections I can see and reconnect them to ensure everything's snug. However, this time I also remove the spark plug caps, then unscrew the spark plugs, front one first, then same with back one. I put them back in and place the key back in the ignition, then viola, everything comes back on. I was able to ride back to my flat in Mt. Eden and have a beer or two to calm down and re-plan my weekend.
So now to my question to the wonderfully helpful folks out there on the world wide web. I've spoken to a couple people who have more biking experience than me and one suggestion was that the spark plug caps may need to be replaced. This sounds reasonable as the bike hasn't had a service since I bought it, and who knows when before that. The oil levels are fine and the clutch is well lubed, but from my limited mechanical knowledge I do know spark plugs need to be replaced after a lot of usage too, however would the symptoms described above be the result of either old spark plugs or a faulty spark plug cap? Would spark plug issues cause the electrical system to cut out and die like that? I have a fair bit of electrical system knowledge but not so much vehicle mechanics knowledge and the electrical system looked fine to me, at least from what I could see using my limited tool kit on the side of the motorway. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'd hate to have to take it back to the shop, I really don't like paying people to do work I could easily do after a little bit of self-education. (I work in IT so I know all too well how technicians are adept at BSing and taking money from those with limited knowledge on their subject). If any more clarification or explanation of my bikes symptoms are needed don't hesitate to let me know. And again, thanks for and advice and sagely wisdom.
So I'm having some electrical problems with my first bike (2009 Suzuki VL250) and would like some advice/wisdom before I go and take it back to the shop. So a little back ground on the bike, I've owned it for about 6 months now, it's got about 39,000 kms on the clock, and I hadn't had any issues with it other than needing to replace the battery and plug a hole in the rear tire due to a pesky screw. That was all until a couple weekends ago. I had ode it down to Pukekohe from central Auckland, with no issues, to go see family. When I went to leave the bike wouldn't start, so we bump started it and that seemed to be fine, then I went to the gas station to top up and after shutting the bike off, it wouldn't start back up again. So I bump started it again but only got a few meters until the engine started puttering out, no throttle response, like when you run out of gas, only the electrical system was also flickering on and off, rapidly. I pulled over and started looking at the basics, checked the battery had power, that was fine, there were no fuses blown, no visual signs of corrosion on wiring points and no other signs of visual damage. Now I was perplexed as there was just no power going anywhere, so I reluctantly called the AA to see if they could have a look, they performed the exact same tasks I had done and said they couldn't figure out the problem. I had them tow it up to a Suzuki dealership in Central Auckland who managed to get it running again. Their diagnosis was that there was massive corrosion around some solenoid points which they replaced, they also topped up my oil and clutch fluid at no cost so was happy about that, only had to pay for an hour of labor. :)
Now, on Waitangi day, I was eager to take her out again. I'm cruising along fine on the north Western, on my way out to Murawai and all of a sudden the same issue pops up again, electrics go off for a few seconds, then come back on again, this happened for a bout a minute before the electrics just gave up on life and then the engine slowly puttered out. Luckily I was able to pull into a construction lane and park safely. Now I go into "angry man" mode as I had just paid to get my electrical "issue" "fixed". I calm down and start looking over the basics again, battery is fine, no blown fuses, I disconnect the connections I can see and reconnect them to ensure everything's snug. However, this time I also remove the spark plug caps, then unscrew the spark plugs, front one first, then same with back one. I put them back in and place the key back in the ignition, then viola, everything comes back on. I was able to ride back to my flat in Mt. Eden and have a beer or two to calm down and re-plan my weekend.
So now to my question to the wonderfully helpful folks out there on the world wide web. I've spoken to a couple people who have more biking experience than me and one suggestion was that the spark plug caps may need to be replaced. This sounds reasonable as the bike hasn't had a service since I bought it, and who knows when before that. The oil levels are fine and the clutch is well lubed, but from my limited mechanical knowledge I do know spark plugs need to be replaced after a lot of usage too, however would the symptoms described above be the result of either old spark plugs or a faulty spark plug cap? Would spark plug issues cause the electrical system to cut out and die like that? I have a fair bit of electrical system knowledge but not so much vehicle mechanics knowledge and the electrical system looked fine to me, at least from what I could see using my limited tool kit on the side of the motorway. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'd hate to have to take it back to the shop, I really don't like paying people to do work I could easily do after a little bit of self-education. (I work in IT so I know all too well how technicians are adept at BSing and taking money from those with limited knowledge on their subject). If any more clarification or explanation of my bikes symptoms are needed don't hesitate to let me know. And again, thanks for and advice and sagely wisdom.