No start

[bill671mac]

I have a 1983 GS1100GL. Bike was running good all day, all year. Got on the express way and it started to bog down . Loss of power. I let up on the throttle and she was still running but rough. I gave her more throttle slowly and she quit. I tried jump starting it with the speed I had but nothing. So here is what I did so far to figure this out. Starter is good. Battery good. Air filter is clean. Fuel flow from petcock good. Suction form carbs to petcock good. I had the carbs cleaned and balanced twice in 2 years years before this happened . But I took them apart myself and all looks good and clean to me. The plugs look good however there fairly new (2 months). I have spark, how strong I don’t know yet. I did a resistance check on the coils, one check out good and the other coils secondary was way off. But I don’t think that would be my issue. Basically I would like some further knowledge before I start digging into this deeper. Any help or direction would be great. Im thinking about buying the Dyna DC1-1 ignition coil and the Dyna S electronic Ignition.

[cowboyup3371]

Fuel level is good? Sounds like you ran out of gas and needed to switch it over to reserve (been there done that too many times)

[tkent02]

The plugs look good however there fairly new (2 months). I have spark,

Then why this?

Im thinking about buying the Dyna DC1-1 ignition coil and the Dyna S electronic Ignition.

Is your tank vent clogged? Pop the gas cap open and see if it runs better.

[bill671mac]

Thanks guys. Fuel level is good and vent. I even drained all the fuel filled with new. Nothing. Why the new Ignition system, I just want to really is all that comes down too.

[azr]

If that's the original electronics in the ignition system that's going to be a very nice upgrade. It's easy to put in and set up. While you're in there you might want to check the voltage getting to your coils and do the coil mod if it's below 11 amps that way your new coils will be firing red hot. A bike dying like yours did sure 'sounds' like fuel starvation. I know you said you have good fuel flow from the petcock but have you opened your float bowl drains to make sure each carb has fuel in it? the fact that you have a bad secondary reading on one of your coils says something. Pretty hard for a bike to run on two cylinders. keep us updated on your progress.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Did you check the spark on all four plugs? How old is the battery? Have you checked for loose connections everywhere? Have you inspected the wiring harness for melted or worn insulation and connectors? Do you have a full 12v at the coils? Are the spark plugs wet after cranking for a while? Is the compression good? Are you using an inline fuel filter?

See if these shed any light...

Testing The Ignition System

Igniter/Signal Generator/Coil Test

Igniter Repair/Testing (2MB PDF)


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Redman]

....... I did a resistance check on the coils, one check out good and the other coils secondary was way off. But I don’t think that would be my issue. ......

Secondary resistance check:
- with or without the spark plug caps?
- how far "way off" ? yes, that could have you dead on side of road.

Before you replace entire ignition system, do look into the spark plug caps. They do go bad, and are cheap and easy to replace. So, tell us if you checked those.

.

[Shwartz]

So if you have good fuel flow, and good spark, have you checked engine timing? I've had timing chains fail. They stretch out,skip a few teeth, which made them run rough and then snap altogether which finally made it die.

[sedelen]

Does the engine turn over?
How do the plugs look? Wet or dry?
Spray a "little" and I mean little, starting fluid in the air box and see if she'll fire. If she does it probably means she's not getting fuel.

[bill671mac]

So if you have good fuel flow, and good spark, have you checked engine timing? I've had timing chains fail. They stretch out,skip a few teeth, which made them run rough and then snap altogether which finally made it die.

I have not checked that. But a very concerning. But I think I would have heard or felt that at the time it shut down. What do you think?

[bill671mac]

Secondary resistance check:
- with or without the spark plug caps?
- how far "way off" ? yes, that could have you dead on side of road.

Before you replace entire ignition system, do look into the spark plug caps. They do go bad, and are cheap and easy to replace. So, tell us if you checked those.

.

It was with the caps.

[bill671mac]

Ok guys, I tested the compression. #1-75 psi, #2-80 psi, #3-80 psi, #4-100 psi. Manual says standard is 113.78-170.64 psi. Limit of 99.5 psi. Added a cap full of oil to each cyclinder and they all went up by 15-25psi. telling me the rings are bad. The carbs are currently off during test, and all 4 plugs out. If I did something wrong please post reply. Its only 17 degrees F out but with that low of psi reading, I dont think it matters. My concern, is that really low enough to keep it from firing all together? Or do I still have a second problem? The singnal generator resistance ckeck was good. For the Igniter unit check I could not get the plugs to fire. I might be doing something wrong. I had the mulitmeter on ohms but i have no * (times)1 range. I tried checking the voltage to the coils but battery went dead from compression test, so another day for that.
Question. If the rings need to be replaced, is that something an average mech can do reasonably. Or would it be a mess. While im in there valves to I guess. What do you guys think?

[Shwartz]

Ok guys, I tested the compression. #1-75 psi, #2-80 psi, #3-80 psi, #4-100 psi. Manual says standard is 113.78-170.64 psi. Limit of 99.5 psi. Added a cap full of oil to each cyclinder and they all went up by 15-25psi. telling me the rings are bad. The carbs are currently off during test, and all 4 plugs out. If I did something wrong please post reply. Its only 17 degrees F out but with that low of psi reading, I dont think it matters. My concern, is that really low enough to keep it from firing all together? Or do I still have a second problem? The singnal generator resistance ckeck was good. For the Igniter unit check I could not get the plugs to fire. I might be doing something wrong. I had the mulitmeter on ohms but i have no * (times)1 range. I tried checking the voltage to the coils but battery went dead from compression test, so another day for that.
Question. If the rings need to be replaced, is that something an average mech can do reasonably. Or would it be a mess. While im in there valves to I guess. What do you guys think?

I won't say that rings are something that I would recommend for someone with very limited mechanical knowledge, but if you've made it this far I would assume that you have to have some level of knowledge of engines. So in that case if you're willing to learn and eager to save some cash then yes you can do them on your own.
However I wouldn't think that this low of reading would cause a "No Fire" condition whatsoever. You'll most likely be slightly burning oil and smelling fuel in your oil during oil changes. You will also notice an engine that is fatigued but a no-start condition is less likely. It most definitely wouldn't have killed the engine during highway riding.

[bill671mac]

I won't say that rings are something that I would recommend for someone with very limited mechanical knowledge, but if you've made it this far I would assume that you have to have some level of knowledge of engines. So in that case if you're willing to learn and eager to save some cash then yes you can do them on your own.
However I wouldn't think that this low of reading would cause a "No Fire" condition whatsoever. You'll most likely be slightly burning oil and smelling fuel in your oil during oil changes. You will also notice an engine that is fatigued but a no-start condition is less likely. It most definitely wouldn't have killed the engine during highway riding.

Thats what I figured. I am a Aircaft Mechanic. I work on private and corporate jets so I have a mechanical knowledge. But I work the airframe basically everything but the engine. And if I do its turbine engines. But I have a general knowledge of reciprocating. Other mechanics at work say I would be better off just having someone do it, or just piece the bike out for parts. How hard could it really be, I think I could. Not sure what I'm going to do. hmm. Start with figuring out the no start I guess.

[tkent02]

Just run it. You obviously have plenty of compression for that, as it was running fine before..
The rings will eventually fix themselves. Or maybe they won't. It doesn't matter.

Did you find out why it quit running yet?