Kawasaki gpz1000rx .

**ladreborn** · 13th July 2007, 19:16

Guys , i have a intermitant problem on this bike , driving me nuts , At times and for no reason at all it will drop a cylinder and run on 3 , i have being taking it to a bike shop and leaving it there for them to look at , this morning same happened , yet , when they went to check it out , it fired up on 4 !!!!! this is the 5th time it has happened , any thoughts ?
cheers

**miSTa** · 13th July 2007, 22:03

I'm no expert but I'll offer a few thoughts...same cylinder everytime? How healthy is the spark on each plug? Coils maybe, swap coils - does the problem stay on the same cylinder or follow the coil? HT leads and plugs? Igniter on the way out?

I take it the problem has just started? Did you change anything before it started?

**ladreborn** · 14th July 2007, 18:59

Howdy , bike has new plugs , new leads , new battery , its pointing to coil hey ? do iridium plugs make a huge difference ?, i guess before u throw them in , u,ve got to know that coils etc are good .

**FROSTY:Me** · 14th July 2007, 19:36

Try swapping the coils left to right see what happens

**roadracingoldfart** · 14th July 2007, 21:42

Originally Posted by ladreborn

Guys , i have a intermitant problem on this bike , driving me nuts , At times and for no reason at all it will drop a cylinder and run on 3 , i have being taking it to a bike shop and leaving it there for them to look at , this morning same happened , yet , when they went to check it out , it fired up on 4 !!!!! this is the 5th time it has happened , any thoughts ?
cheers

When you encounter your "intermitent "problem what do you do or what happens to make it run on all 4 again. Do you let it cool off , change the fuel tap position etc ?? Is it also the same cylinder that goes down ??
Anything to allow us to make a more informed diagnosis.

**ladreborn** · 15th July 2007, 11:10

On , one occasion a few weeks back , i,d been for a 250k run on sunday , found it harder to start on the monday morning then it started , running like a dog on 3 , rode to bike shop , they looked at it next morning , Fired up on 4 , then this week , from cold start , fired up on 4 , few seconds later dropped one , rode to bike shop , left it there , when they got there 30mins later , started it , well , back on 4 !!!!! there was a little fouling on num 4 plug , but damn all he said , he couldn,t remember , but thought last time he looked it was num 2 , do they run off same coil ? 2 and 4 ?
cheers

**T.W.R** · 15th July 2007, 12:02

Originally Posted by ladreborn

On , one occasion a few weeks back , i,d been for a 250k run on sunday , found it harder to start on the monday morning then it started , running like a dog on 3 , rode to bike shop , they looked at it next morning , Fired up on 4 , then this week , from cold start , fired up on 4 , few seconds later dropped one , rode to bike shop , left it there , when they got there 30mins later , started it , well , back on 4 !!!!! there was a little fouling on num 4 plug , but damn all he said , he couldn,t remember , but thought last time he looked it was num 2 , do they run off same coil ? 2 and 4 ?
cheers

One coil for cyl #1 & #4, the other coil for cyl #2 & #3

There is the possibility that it isn't electrical at all and could be fuel related & most likely moisture in the carbs, it only takes one small droplet of water around the jets or emulsion tube to upset things

**ladreborn** · 15th July 2007, 12:54

So how would it only effect say one or 2 cylinders ? in this case #2 and 4 ? -------------------------emulsion tubes ? were are these ?

**JimO** · 15th July 2007, 13:04

hi toysky i dont think its fuel im not a expert but would say it would have to be electrical

**ladreborn** · 15th July 2007, 13:08

u think they are worth a try ? , poointing to coils /coil / or ignitor hey ?

**JimO** · 15th July 2007, 13:18

beats me, i bought a new bike because i dont have the time or knowledge to tinker with it

**Max Preload** · 15th July 2007, 13:23

Iridium plugs don't fire better... they just last longer.

First order of business is to establish exactly which cylinder is dropping. You can do this a number of ways, but the most reliable and simple method is by measuring the exhaust headers with a non-contact temperature sensor. They're not cheap, but perhaps you can borrow one. You could also use a timing light to establish if the cylinder going down is electrical - when it's down but the HT is still firing it could point to fuel. But the trouble with that is the spark could be shorting to earth somewhere other than the plug earthing electrode which will still indicate firing.

What are the supressor caps like? Have you measured their resistance?

Also, if it was a coil, you'd get 2 cylinders dropping, not just one.

**T.W.R** · 15th July 2007, 14:02

Originally Posted by ladreborn

So how would it only effect say one or 2 cylinders ? in this case #2 and 4 ? -------------------------emulsion tubes ? were are these ?

Right lets do a process of elimination:

You have: 1)New Plugs, 2) New HT Leads, 3) New Battery

You have an intermittent firing problem on one maybe two cylinders

The Ignition coils, IC igniter unit, & pick-up coil haven't been touched.

If the pick-coil or the IC igniter unit fail it's usually a total fail

If a Ignition coil fails 2cylinders will drop simultaneously.

Simple check for the coils is to check each plug is sparking individually (if the leads aren't numbered then number them 1st) remove all the caps from the plugs. With a sparkplug you know is good place it in a cap (start at #1 thru to #4) earth it on the cylinder block & spin the motor over on the starter. If the system is working the plug will spark on it's firing stroke (hopefully a light blueish spark) & repeat across the other caps.

From what you say about the times when it drops a cylinder it doesn't lead to a problem of major proportions because it isn't breaking down under load, it's been doing when the bike is sitting running.

The emulsion tube (needle jet holder) sits in the heart of the carb, the main jet screws into it's base and the Jet needle runs through it.

Any bits of contamination in the carb bowl get drawn through the jets (either the primary or main jets) any moisture in there also becomes a droplet of water and will block jets partially or completely causing misfires or complete failure of a cylinder to fire. As the problem is happening when the bike is started then there is a good chance the primary jets are fouled.

With the age of the bike there is a high chance of contamination in the carbs and if there isn't a in-line filter in the fuel line from the tank then there is a higher chance of contamination.

**ladreborn** · 15th July 2007, 14:17

Well theres alot of food for thought there , the strangest thing is it fixes itself after 10-20 minutes lol , then may not return for a week or 3 . but i,ll look at all your points , i,ve just being out there with crc , cleaning elect connects , filling up battery levels etc they were up and down abit , a couple by a inch ,? oh yeah i do have a in line filter

**ladreborn** · 15th July 2007, 14:37

Is there a good product i can toss in tank with gas , to perhaps unblock , clean in carbs ? as they were off , a month or 2 ago , and i was told they were ok but ?