carbs flooded i think. question

[boathead]

i am a mechanical dunce, so please be kind.

i think i flooded the carbs, and the bike won't start now. i get an odor of gasoline.

i let it sit all day, and still won't start. i don't want to kill the battery on attempts, so i am hoping that you guys have some suggestions?

i thought maybe draining the carbs, but am unsure how to do that. and the petcock is stuck in the reserve position, so i am reluctant to take the tank off (unless it is vacuum driven and no gas would come out??)

please help. i've only had the bike a week, and it has run just fine till this morning.

oh yeah, it's an 82 gs650G

[Narcoleptic_Snowman]

check a spark plug to see if it's wet, or really black and nasty, if it is wet and or black and nasty clean it off with a wire brush, and check the other ones.
my bike likes to randomly not start sometimes too, but I can usually get it to start by opening the throttle just the tiniest bit while cranking it over to get it moving.

[boathead]

i've been opening the throttle on my start attempts. i'll have to try and check the spark plugs tomorrow when it is light outside. in the meantime, any other suggestions while i sit inside tonight?

[almarconi]

Normally you do not need to touch the throttle when you start the bike. I usually apply choke and hit the start button, the bike should fire right up.
Did you check you fuses? When you crank the engine does it sound like it is trying to start?? I've had a petcock fail and no gas was getting to the engine so it would not start. On a carbureted car if you flood the engine you can usually hold the gas pedal to the floor and crank the engine. I imagine the same principal would work with a bike.

[Narcoleptic_Snowman]

oh, and your petcock should still be vaccuum operated while it's in reserve, if it's not, you may have found your problem...

[boathead]

thanks for the replies so far....

i got the petcock to move...it was just a bit stuck. i now have it to "on". no go. i switched it to prime, no go. switched it back to on.

no, the bike doesn't seem to be trying to kick on. just the starter is cranking.

haven't checked fuses. i'll look at that in the morning. i did run out with a flashlight and checked two of the sparkplugs..the far left and far right. they seem ok.

that is where i stand as i sit and stress. i was excited about this biking stuff, but money is so tight that i could only afford an older bike. i guess i need to learn as i go along as problems arise.

please keep the suggestions coming.

[TheCafeKid]

thanks for the replies so far....

i got the petcock to move...it was just a bit stuck. i now have it to "on". no go. i switched it to prime, no go. switched it back to on.

no, the bike doesn't seem to be trying to kick on. just the starter is cranking.

haven't checked fuses. i'll look at that in the morning. i did run out with a flashlight and checked two of the sparkplugs..the far left and far right. they seem ok.

that is where i stand as i sit and stress. i was excited about this biking stuff, but money is so tight that i could only afford an older bike. i guess i need to learn as i go along as problems arise.

please keep the suggestions coming.

If youve only checked the far left and far right plugs, youve only checked that you are getting spark from ONE coil, as they are on the same coil. You need to check 1 and 2 or 2 and 4 or 3 and 1 or etc. Basicly, 1-4 fire from the same coil, and 2-3 fire from the same coil. If you are only getting spark from one coil that MIGHT be why its not starting. But you need to check.

[boathead]

i only checked visually. to check if it's sparking, do i take the plug out, and hit the starter, to see if a spark is coming out?

[Narcoleptic_Snowman]

ok, really basic stuff here, you need three things to get ignition, fuel, air, and spark. so, to check the fuel, pull the drain plugs out of the float bowl (the bottom part) of the carburetors. if there's fuel in there check your plugs, if your plugs are wet you know there's fuel getting into the cylinder. next check your air box. check the condition of the filter and make sure it's in good condition and oiled. I would pull the airbox completely off to make sure you don't have something blocking the ports to the carburetors. if all that checks out, then we check for spark. To do this, pull the spark plug touch the end of it to the engine and crank it over for a second. You should see a nice bright blue spark.

but I would still start with the plugs like I said before, if they've been fouled (black and nasty) from too much gas they won't spark properly and bad spark=no ignition.

also, real quick, pull the hose off the petcock. there should be NO gas pouring out while it's in either on or reserve. if there is any gas that's probably why you're having the problem to begin with.

and when you crank it over with the throttle open, don't open it very much, I mean, barely off idle will usually get it. sometimes you need to open it more. if you open it too much it usually will just turn over endlessly til your battery is dead.

[boathead]

thanks so much for the basics, snowman. i'll follow through tomorrow on your suggestions.

i will say this: on my left plug, it was not wet at all. in fact, it looked white, and dry, and sort of cake like.

[boathead]

any you guys are amazing. i've learned more tonight than i would have thought possible.

[Narcoleptic_Snowman]

this is really kind of a silly question, but I've done this many a time myself, are you sure there's gas in the tank? I ran down my battery completely once because I didn't have any gas... eh, I'm a slow learner.

[Joe Guilbeau]

Most vacuum petcocks have two rubber hoses going to them.

One is to supply the gas from the tank to the carbs.

The other is to provide vacuum from the engine as it turns over.

Disconnect the vacuum hose from the engine, and disconnect the gas line from the petcock to the carbs.

Now, apply a negative pressure to the vacuum line...yes, wrap your lips around it.

You should see gas being delivered to the can you set up to catch the gas as it departs the hose.

By the way, you are not lighting a cigar while you are doing this, are you?

Now you have part one of the equation solved... either available fuel or no available fuel.

Check spark by pulling a plug and reconnecting the wire to it after it is pulled from the engine. Now would be a good time to look at the electrode to see if it is wet with fuel and all carboned up. If yes, then spark is probably an issue as well.

To check, hold the threads to a ground... not the gas catch can!

Crank the engine, you should see spark at the electrode. Strong spark.

Now you have solved the second part of the equation, either you have or do not have spark.

Finally the third part, since you have done the above, we can all assume that you are breathing air, so the 79% or so of oxygen should not be an issue.

After this, it is simply a matter of checking all the spark plugs to see the electrodes (they should all look pretty much the same) a nice light brown powderish look is great. A wet, charcoal look is not so great. No Spark, plenty of fuel.

A white bright finish is not so great, way too lean.

Others will chime in on the specifics.

[boathead]

go figure....my attempts to start the bike drained the battery down....so this morning i bought a battery tender, and hooked it up.

after a bit, the bike started right up like a champ. i am so relieved.

thanks to all for the input. i truly learned alot. if emphasized that i probably should get on with learning my bike while it is actually running and not when there is a sense of urgency.

am going to buy a service manual tonight if i can find one.

[Narcoleptic_Snowman]

no need to buy a manual, Basscliff has one at his site for free!

check it out

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/