fekking annoying

[aff-man]

Ok last time i rode the bike i had it on the back wheel when she began to splutter (whaich made for an interesting landing) but i wan't tooo worried just thought it might be something minor. Then it cut out once or twice at the lights and i'm thinking hmmm might need to turn the idle up.(this was saturday). Today i go to ride the bike (been home for 2 days loafing about and doing as little study as possible) and i think hmm havn't ridden her for a while so turn off the lights and turn the choke up and start her up. Vroooooooooom first time sweet as. But then something wierd happens it hold revs at about 4k for like 3 secs then momentarily cuts out and then goes back up to 4k (probably jumping itself), does this for a little while then cuts out completely. Start it up again same thing. Getting confuzzeled so decide to see how she rides makes it very very interesting (don't even get to the top of the road without it cutting out half a dozen times) Take her home and make sure all the electrical connections are sweet (unplug replug). Put bike back together and turn her on and she seems to run sweet. Take her to the top of the road yeh sweet get to the first give way corner and mid corner she cuts out (NOT RECOMMENDED as is makes the bike engine brake very hard mid corner) I managed not to bin it but enough is enough i am going straight home (less than 1 mk)but then on the way home she cuts out another half dozen times. So what could it be ,cause i am now about to put the bike in a large incinaratory device.

[MrMelon]

There's gotta be an electrical connection loose in there somewhere!
My tzr was doing the same thing. There was a plug that looked like it was plugged in properly, but wasn't quite seated properly, so every now and then it'd cut out and come back to life.

[Blakamin]

Kill switch???
my cbr did something like that...all things plugged in but 1 wire was corroded off the terminal in the plug.... fixed that and away it went
it looked and felt plugged in....
tug a coupla wires on the terminal block and see if any come off!

[aff-man]

yeh that was my thinking. Does anyone know of that sray in stuff you put on the plug and then reconnect them so they make a good connection.

[kerryg]

Ok last time i rode the bike i had it on the back wheel when she began to splutter (whaich made for an interesting landing) but i wan't tooo worried just thought it might be something minor. Then it cut out once or twice at the lights and i'm thinking hmmm might need to turn the idle up.(this was saturday). Today i go to ride the bike (been home for 2 days loafing about and doing as little study as possible) and i think hmm havn't ridden her for a while so turn off the lights and turn the choke up and start her up. Vroooooooooom first time sweet as. But then something wierd happens it hold revs at about 4k for like 3 secs then momentarily cuts out and then goes back up to 4k (probably jumping itself), does this for a little while then cuts out completely. Start it up again same thing. Getting confuzzeled so decide to see how she rides makes it very very interesting (don't even get to the top of the road without it cutting out half a dozen times) Take her home and make sure all the electrical connections are sweet (unplug replug). Put bike back together and turn her on and she seems to run sweet. Take her to the top of the road yeh sweet get to the first give way corner and mid corner she cuts out (NOT RECOMMENDED as is makes the bike engine brake very hard mid corner) I managed not to bin it but enough is enough i am going straight home (less than 1 mk)but then on the way home she cuts out another half dozen times. So what could it be ,cause i am now about to put the bike in a large incinaratory device.


Well I was going to say it's either electrics or fuel....but suppose that's not much help.

Sounds like it is stopping dead rather than coughing and spluttering and petering out. Is that right? If so it is most likely electrical. And it won't be plugs or coils 'cos 4 plugs/2 coils won't crap out together. Because it's intermittent I'd firstly carefully re-check that all the wiring and connectors are sweet (no breaks or shorts or whatever) including perhaps your engine cut-out switch (does it also have one on the side-stand?). If the problem is still not found I guess it's a matter of trying to isolate which component is the problem e.g CDI or regulator/rectifier. Others will be better able to advise you how to test those.

If it is petering out, running on 2 or 3 cylinders perhaps, and not stopping dead it's another matter.

[vifferman]

Because it's intermittent I'd firstly carefully re-check that all the wiring and connectors are sweet (no breaks or shorts or whatever) including perhaps your engine cut-out switch (does it also have one on the side-stand?)Yeah, I'd agree with Kerry's suggestion. Also check the wires going to the ignition switch - sometimes they can develop cracks or come loose, due to movement of the handlebars or chafing on the headstock or whatever.

[aff-man]

nope definatley electrical i am just a bit worried about how i am going to get to my exam tomorrow.Once that's done i can get a swappa and spend hours finding the problem but i suppose i'll have to see if i can find it tonight while "studying"

[Sniper]

yeh that was my thinking. Does anyone know of that sray in stuff you put on the plug and then reconnect them so they make a good connection.

Try CRC electrical cleaner. Also, you might want to have a check on fuel filter and such if your bike has one, I believe a dirty one can cause problems :shit:

[toads]

hey there aff-man, I know all about what a pain in the ass electrical intermittent problems are, check your ht leads and the feed wires to the coils also. Caleb had this problem with his bike once, they can vibrate loose over time, nip up the connectors and buy some crc electrical contact cleaner. I think your ht leads are new aren't they?, if memory serves me right.

[aff-man]

HT leads???? sorry for being a dumbass but what be them??

[aff-man]

Just about to strip the old gal. :crazy: :yeah: . Hahahaha will check all leads and connections and then some. (great procrastination for exam study). Hopefully find the fault.

[Yamahamaman]

What is the condition/age of the battery. My ZZR400 had similar symptoms. New battery fixed it.

[aff-man]

What is the condition/age of the battery. My ZZR400 had similar symptoms. New battery fixed it.

Nope battery seems fine and if it was the batteryi am sure it wouldn't hold revs for a bit and cut out randomly :angry2: :angry2:

[Yamahamaman]

Nope battery seems fine and if it was the batteryi am sure it wouldn't hold revs for a bit and cut out randomly :angry2: :angry2:
It does however supply the voltage to your CDI. Hit the brakes, brake light comes on, suck volts from battery. Have it checked anyway.

[aff-man]

It does however supply the voltage to your CDI. Hit the brakes, brake light comes on, suck volts from battery. Have it checked anyway.

True hmmmmmmmmmmmmm will see i took all the connectors i could find apart fiddled the wires to make sure they are all secure and put em back seems to run but i have been mislead before.

[toads]

HT leads???? sorry for being a dumbass but what be them??

the thickish leads that go from your spark plugs to the coils

[aff-man]

the thickish leads that go from your spark plugs to the coils

will check em now. Cheers

[FROSTY]

aff man --before doing that -um i had the same problem with mty zxr and it was the carb inlet rubbers sucking in air

[aff-man]

aff man --before doing that -um i had the same problem with mty zxr and it was the carb inlet rubbers sucking in air


Oh you had better not be talking about the manifold seals (ones between carbs and manifold) cause i just spend quite a bit of money getting them replaced. And i don't think it's the same problem cause it doesn't like splutter die it just dies like someone turning of a light switch. But the fiddle with electrics seems to have worked will causiously take her out tomorrow AFTER exam hahahah

[Sniper]

Oh you had better not be talking about the manifold seals (ones between carbs and manifold) cause i just spend quite a bit of money getting them replaced. And i don't think it's the same problem cause it doesn't like splutter die it just dies like someone turning of a light switch. But the fiddle with electrics seems to have worked will causiously take her out tomorrow AFTER exam hahahah

Cool, keep us up to date with whats happening :apint:

[Devil]

Having almost similar problems myself, but not to the same extent. its almost like im losing a couple of cylinders for a second.

When I went to start the bike yesterday, the start kicked over fine, but the engine didnt catch (which is very very unusual, as it always starts first time every time when its cold). Switched it off, back on, same thing, fiddled with the cut switch, tried again, same prob, switched it off and back on, then it went first pop. *shrug*

Im getting sick of this fecking bike.
Its this kind of thing that make me want to go buy a new CB900 hornet when i get my full. Two years warranty, no more old bike problems.

[enigma51]

Devil your problem can be either the carbs or the plugs (spark plugs).

Aff man if you cant find any problems with the cables check the altinater (How ever you spell it) a few years ago I had a similiar problem were it will just die almost like you hit the kill switch on and off. Ended up fiddiling with everything could not get it fixed took it to my local bike shop and all they did was replace the altinater and it was fixed. He gave a explantion of there is a short or something that caused the bike to not get power and therefore cut out.

Good luck and keep us up to date with progress

[Zapf]

Hay aff-man,
This might be a bit late, but I was about to say that you can catch a ride with me. I was tempted to say you can borrow my SV.... heheh.

Well give me a call if you need transport in any form, the Jazz can take most things except a whole bike.

Cheers
Zapf

[onearmedbandit]

I'm going to go against the flow here and suggest checking the fueling side of the equation. Vacuum carbs on the ZXR400 if I remember right? If there is even a slight leak you can get the symptons you've described. I would check the filter first (should be located in the petcock assembly on the bottom of the tank. May require complete removal of your tank.) Next check the fuel line and breather. Finally check inlet manifold seal and also airbox seal. Hopefully you'll find something there. If not, and if its still not sorted, get the carbs checked by a proper carb shop. Vacuum carbs are a reasonably complex and sensitive device to set-up. Hope you get it sorted.

Or I'm completely wrong, but the same check over, short of getting the carbs checked, worked on a bike of mine that had similar symptons.

[aff-man]

arrrrrrrrrr well here is the supposed conclusion of the story. And still fecking annoying. Right so i wheel her out of the garage and of course the faulty problems have left a lot of fuel sitting in the carbs so after a backfire she seems to be running fine. Turn her off get all the gear on and try to turn her on again. press the on button and nuttin. nudda zippo. Si i am really annoyed. So start going through the clips and realise that they all fecking run to more clips in the front fairing after a wiggle of these clips she starts up first go no worries. So i'm thinking cool. I get akm from my house and she dies . Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr so try to start her and nothing , try push starting and nothing. Start getting even more irritated. Then in a blinding moment of clarity i remember that i turned the fuel off to look under the petrol tank and FORGOT TO TURN IT ON AGAIN. So after cursing myself a bit i turn it on and in 5 secs she is up and running and i have had no problems since.

[onearmedbandit]

Thats what you get for going against the flow, the very next post is the 'its running again!' variety, and you're way off the mark. Oh well. Sorted anyway.

[avgas]

ripped all the electrics out through the ignition and cleaned it all. Then filled her up with octane booster and took it for a reasonable ride. Came down to 2 things, the spark plugs and lead had fouled, also water had run in through the air vents and was slowly filling the carbs while i sat at the lights (my air ram tubes were missing at the time). The choke and idle on these things are a bit dicky too so if all else fails try messing with them