She no go

[Simon White]

Well, I've gone and had another try. Results are as follows:

Kill switch (I assume you mean the Off/Run switch on the right bar) - definitely appears OK.  If it's turned off, the bike doesn't even kick over.  Same result with the clutch/sidestand lockouts.  All of them stop the starter motor running, not just the ignition.  Is this not the case with other GPZ's?

My battery's about 18 months old, but seems pretty healthy.  Just to be sure, this morning I was jump starting it from my car, so no problem in that area.  I was concerned last night with the voltage drop, which was why I ended up leaving it.

Ignition leads may be a problem (AFAIK they're original), but wouldn't explain it running fine in the morning and not firing at all in the afternoon.  Up till yesterday, the bike's always started after <1 second on the starter.  The only issue I've had was with bad fuel, but that didn't stop it, just made it run really badly.

No alarm cutout fitted, so it isn't that.

At this point, I'm going to run with the flooding option.  Can't really see how it could effect all cylinders at once, but I guess anything's possible.  Later this afternoon, I'll pull the tank again, and work my way through the plugs/leads/whatever.

Thanks for the advice - if anything else occurs to anyone, let me know.

Simon.

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ped <pedmail at dbmail.dk>
> To: gpzlist at micapeak.com
> Subject: Re: She no go
> Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:57:50 +0100
> 
> 
> Hi Simon,
> 
> With # 1 and 4 plugs clean and dry it shouldn't be a flooding problem. Even 
> if # 2 and 3 had been flooded at least # 1 and 4 should fire up. On the other 
> hand when it caught briefly it shouldn't be an ignition problem either...?
> 
> Randy already suggested it's a flooding problem, giving the smell of gas. I 
> tend to agree with him, but there may be an ignition problem also. This could 
> also result in a smell of gas. I'll give you a couple of hints as to the 
> ignition - maybe one of them will work.
> 
> - are you sure that your kill switch is in the "run" position? (Happened to 
> me once :-[ ) Maybe the switch needs a little contact spray.
> - are you sure your battery is in good condition? It may be able to crank the 
> engine for some time, but the voltage required to ignite may be too low. This 
> may be combined with:
> - aging spark plug cables. This issue has been mentioned on this list before 
> and also in the German GPZ 1100 Forum. Aging spark plug cables may cause 
> rough running and starting problems.
> - the side stand switch and the clutch switch may need cleaning and a little 
> contact spray. A combination of malfunction in the two switches could cause 
> no ignition
> - have you installed an alarm with ignition cut-off? There could be a fault 
> in the alarm or the wiring (also happened to me).
> 
> Hope this helps.
> 
> Ped
> '96 "Black Stealth" GPZ
> Denmark

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