4 not firing, even with #1 wire attached

[Call Me Ahab]

I played with the idle mixture today. No luck there. However, I believe the plug actually did come out wet, AND I have good spark. I'm entirely lost now. 4 just won't fire!
My boots and wires are original, but if i'm getting good spark, should that be a problem? Going to go test the coil now..

A way to test for an intake leak is to use starter fluid and spray a little bit around the boots. If it pops, revs up or otherwise reacts to the fluid, you've got a leak.

I'm not terribly sure what else to do, myself. I'm still working through a checklist of things that may / may not be wrong. I'll let you know if I learn something new. Good luck, and most of all, keep calm. Don't lose your nerve like me and get impatient... It's likely something terribly simple.

I'll post back again tonight if my next round of tests show anything new. I'm also in the middle of a valve job, so I'm just poking around looking for trouble at the moment.

EDIT: misinformed about an intake leak, removed suspect info while I research the claim

[Killer2600]

I have to ask either of you, has a brand new plug been put in? How old are the plugs on the bike?

A dry plug that isn't contributing is a no-fuel issue.

A wet plug is either a no/weak-spark or too much fuel.

[Call Me Ahab]

I have to ask either of you, has a brand new plug been put in? How old are the plugs on the bike?

For myself, that's a yes - new plug from advance auto. Current plugs are 2 years old. Gap was set accurately. Plug comes out wet / black. Not oily though, as the piston crown looks wet too - but does return to the flat appearance after leaving the plug out foa bit.

[knitt31]

New plugs here also. I checked that first hoping it was the answer. All of my plugs have about two miles on them.

[adam]

wow i have the same issue on my 82 gs1100g. I had it in the shop and ended up paying the guy almost $400 and all he did was the rear brakes, replaced the regulator/rectifier, installed a new oil pan gasket and spent some time trying to figure out the misfire in number one. He never did figure out the misfire but charged me anyway. Oh well payed him for his time I guess. Any way I do plan on getting out the multimeter and check the generator as well as the cdi box and coils. Have you guys did any of those checks yet? I do have spark on the plug but don't know if it is good spark. I have rebuilt the carbs, according the step by step found here http://members.dslextreme.com/users/...rb_rebuild.pdf so I know its not the carbs. It was running great after the carb rebuild then all of a sudden the misfire started. I will let you know what I find.

[Call Me Ahab]

New plugs here also. I checked that first hoping it was the answer. All of my plugs have about two miles on them.

Hey there, I was just curious as to progress - haven't seen anything new for a few days - if the problem is fixed, please let us know what the issue was and how you fixed it! If not, well, I'm sorry. And I'm right there with ya.

Hope all is well, good luck with your continued efforts.

[knitt31]

My carb o-ring kit came in the mail today. I had time to pull the carbs off, and realized the intake boot rings were in real tough shape. Anyways, I'm doing a full teardown and soaking of EVERYTHING the proper way. Hoping the answer lies in my carbs. Though- it may be a long process, as grad school is killing me. Been putting in 16 hour days at school regularly the past few weeks :O

[srg]

My carb o-ring kit came in the mail today. I had time to pull the carbs off, and realized the intake boot rings were in real tough shape. Anyways, I'm doing a full teardown and soaking of EVERYTHING the proper way. Hoping the answer lies in my carbs. Though- it may be a long process, as grad school is killing me. Been putting in 16 hour days at school regularly the past few weeks :O

It took me quite a while to clean my carbs. After I took them apart, I noticed a couple small problems that I had to get fixed. A float pin post was broken, a fuel-mix adjustment screw was stripped...just little things. It probably took me over a month to get them in perfect shape again with the floats all adjusted.

My advice: Be very organized. Don't rely on memory. Label things. And don't rush it!

[Call Me Ahab]

Hey guys, just touchin base here.

My new shims came in today, they will bring all my valves back within tolerance. I'll let you know sometime tonight if this fixes my problem.

Good luck to all of us, this is a weird one

[Steve]

I figured that meant I had a temporary blockage in the carb, so i pulled them off and tore them apart.
When I say apart, I mean I pulled the jets, soaked the bowls/ jets, checked the holes with a needle etc. I never actually pulled the carbs APART and off of the rail. I didn't want to have to retune them.
No such luck there.

How much do you enjoy doing half-way jobs?

Until you take them apart and do it RIGHT, you are going to keep having problems.

.

[Call Me Ahab]

Puzzled. Verrry puzzled. New valve shims in brought me to .1 clearance on all but 1 valve, and that one's .05.

First time firing it up w/ new intake boots and OH MAH GEE the difference was phenomenal, retuning was so much easier... What once took me about 2 hours took 20 minutes today! Must've been leaking like hell up till now! Reset idle and synced, all seemed well...

However, #2 WAS firing for a little while, the pipe was HOT... now, nada. The bike runs very well, throttle response is spot on, no hang or slow return to idle, no dip below idle speed (if there is it is minute). But, so far as I can tell #2 does not fire consistently. Carbs are indeed still clean, no blockages, no leaking bowls, stuck floats, nada.

Brand new intake boots and o-rings, I double checked the airbox boots, perfect condition. New throttle cable (just cuz it needed one). Battery is just fine (as old as it is, and after the research I've done on it, I am amazed). Charging system seems healthy. Strong spark to all plugs. I'll fire it up again tomorrow morning.. but no fire in 2, at least not consistently.

[knitt31]

How much do you enjoy doing half-way jobs?

Until you take them apart and do it RIGHT, you are going to keep having problems.

.

Agreed, doing them right this time around. They are already fully disassembled. Just waiting till I have time to dip/reassemble before I move forward.

[Call Me Ahab]

Knitt, if you're taking them apart again take the time to double check your float levels - this is something I realized I neglected on the 850. 1000 is set right, but that doesn't help me with this

I did go back this evening and check my float levels. While I was at it I blew out the entire carb body w/ compressed air. No obstruction, levels were fine. Back to beating my head on the wall. Tomorrow I'll try interpretive dance, maybe if I can express my agitation in a way that the bike or sympathetic spirits can understand I will make some headway.

[Steve]

While I was at it I blew out the entire carb body w/ compressed air. No obstruction, levels were fine.

Blowing air or even spraying carb cleaner through the passages might tell you that the passage is not TOTALLY blocked, but you really have no assurance that it is open as far as it should be.

Can't tell you how many times that others on the form and I have tried (and tried and tried) to explain that the proper way is to do an overnight soak to dissolve most of the crud (which will also soften up the really stubborn deposits), then flush them out with some carb spray, followed by a blast of air. Unless/until you soften and dissolve all that you can, you will just be chasing your tail.

.

[Call Me Ahab]

Blowing air or even spraying carb cleaner through the passages might tell you that the passage is not TOTALLY blocked, but you really have no assurance that it is open as far as it should be.

Can't tell you how many times that others on the form and I have tried (and tried and tried) to explain that the proper way is to do an overnight soak to dissolve most of the crud (which will also soften up the really stubborn deposits), then flush them out with some carb spray, followed by a blast of air. Unless/until you soften and dissolve all that you can, you will just be chasing your tail.

.

Indeed - I soaked them when I rebuilt them, and I did go through every single passage quite thoroughly... Whatever I did last night seems to have fixed it, I just burnt the **** out of myself feelin #2 pipe!

Drained all the fuel, blew out all the lines, checked all the float levels (they're all okay) and double checked all my coil connections. Replaced 3 with new spades.

Now when I rev the engine from idle it bogs down like its over-rich >_<
I know what I'll be doing tonight... again... Setting my idle mix is getting old.