washed bike, now won't start

[jonko]

Hi barfers,

Hoping for a little advice. I washed the bike yesterday, and now it doesn't run. Unfortunately, I was pretty liberal with the hose. I could have perhaps shorted something or got water somewhere I shouldn't have. It was running perfectly fine before that.

This morning, I was able to start it, but it felt like it was out of gas. It slowly got worse until it completely died. When I crank it now, it turns over a couple times before dying.

I'm thinking maybe I could have shorted the fuel pump, or got water in the fuel, or got water in the air filter (would it cause these symptoms?) I'll check the filter, and drain the carbs. If the carbs fill back up, does it mean the pump is ok?

Well, I would appreciate any advice. Bike is 98 cbr 600.

Thanks all!

 

[nakedape]

Is it FI? Coil leads wet? Sheaths around FI wires and electric fuel pump wires can hold water and or moisture in a temperate climate for along time, shorting charges. It happened to my civic.

Take off the tank and get out the blow dryer. Don't cook anything, just wave it over moist areas and check for condensation in and on the outside of coil wires. You may have run down/wet down the battery area too, so take it out and charge it off the bike.

If you have compressed air, blow out plug holes (pull off leads first and look for spray). Crud can accumulate and hold voltage robbing moisture in all sorts of places. Check airbox for puddles...

Have you checked signals, headlights and brakelights for function? Sometimes they give a clue, but the no start thing is surely plug/coil/FI dampness and the weak battery due to multiple start attempts with high resistance. Let us know...NApe

 

[jmonte35]

just let it dry and you should be ok happens to my buddys 1000RR sometimes when he washes his bike....if not start by checking fuses you may have shorted something also. We could never figure out the exact reason but letting it sit for a day did the trick it started up just fine.

 

[PageMillPlaya]

dont wash your bike with a hose. use some hoes

 

[slydrite]

Have you tried drying it?

What about unwashing it?

 

[lilfazer76]

lol. got pods those might be water logged.

 

[jonko]

Hi all,

Just an update. Here are the things I did to diagnose the problem.

1) Check air filter. Looks dry and clean.

2) Check plugs did spark test. They seem to be firing ok. The plug looks kinda funky. Too rich? (I really don't know how to read plugs.)

3) Drained one of the carbs. Seems like the carbs have fuel and the fuel is clean.

4) Tested the fuel pump. Shorted the relay and the pump is getting 12V. However, I could NOT hear the pump turn on at all. I did not disconnect the hose to test fuel delivery.

So a couple questions. If the carbs are full, does that mean the pump is working? Will the pump turn on even if I didn't disconnect the hoses? I should be able to hear it right? My feeling is the pump may be malfunctioning. If that is the case, would water cause my pump to fail? Any other ideas?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[elskipador]

the fuel pump will pump until the proper pressure is reached. if its unplugged from the carb it will just keep pumping. when hooked to the carbs it should pump for several seconds, then stop when pressure is reached. once running the pump will pump, then shut off, then pump, over & over again as the bike drinks fuel. from the look of the plug its rich. how old is the gas??

 

[killakeyes]

Fuel cutoff switch? petcock?

 

[jonko]

Elskippy, the pump did not turn on at all when supplied with 12v and hooked to the carbs. The fuel is new enough (at most a month), unless it was very contaminated. It was running fine before this happened. It was literally overnight.

killakeyes, not the petcock, and not the fuel cutoff. I bypassed the fuel cutoff when I was running the fuel pump test.

Going to look into swapping the pump. Thanks all!

 

[jonko]

well, i swapped the pump. Everything seems to be working fine now. I rock!

Thanks all!

 

[YanaBanana]

:applause :eboy :thumbup


I forgot to tell you when I sold it to you that it may go into shock if/when ya wash it! :rofl (wasn't used to it often)



I kiiiiid! :later

Yana:banana