Arggg.......frustration

[satchmo]

Alright. More questions for you experts.

As many of you know, I rebuilt my carbs last week and manually synched them.

It's a 1977 gs550 by the way.

Now here's the full story.

About a week and half ago, I decided it was time to do some work on the bike. First I wanted to make sure it would still run, so I charged up my battery, popped it in and went to start it up. Well, it took a while, a long while, but she started. (note the long while it took - means it ran my battery down a bit)

So I figured that the changes I did last year were still working (changed the coils, points and condensers).

However, I had some unsightly stains on the carbs that weren't there before, on my carb bowls and what not, so I knew that my carbs would need some work.

So I hooked up the Keyster carb kits and with the help of Keith and others, rebuilt the carbs, replacing the jets, resetting the float heights, replacing o-rings etc. I manually synched the carbs.

Well, I popped them back in today, replaced my sparkplugs (the old ones were all fouled) and tried to start it.

Now here's some more info. While putting my carbs back in, I must of hit a wire or something because a bolt I was putting in to the side of the airbox sparked and blew my main fuse. When I finally got the bolt in, I made sure it wasn't pinching any wires or anything.

Well I got it all back together, new main fuse, primed the carbs and tried to start it. No dice........... the starter turns over, and the bike sounds like it used to when it was cold, but it just wouldn't fire up.

Good news is that the main fuse hasn't blown again. There's fuel in the carb bowls (I checked). Now after trying to start it for a while, I decided to check for spark. My spark was very, very weak, which I attributed to my
battery being low. So I brought it in, and sure enough it was reading 11.84 volts on the meter. Probably from trying to start the bike for so long.
I couldn't tell if the new plugs were wet, how can you tell?

So here's the question. What the heck should I do?

ps. I'm recharging the battery as we write.

Satch

[Anonymous]

Charge the battery overnight and try in the morning. You might also want to have some starting fluid around to coax it to life tomorrow.

[earlfor]

Re: Arggg.......frustration

Alex, 11.84 volts is a very dead battery. Measuring the voltage at the terminals and showing 11.84 is one thing, but when you engage the starter circuit, the amperage the starter and ignition will draw will pull that 11.84 down to nothing. Charge the battery until it reads 12.7 or 12.8 (a full battery charge) and then try restarting the bike again. You can also try starting with the petcock set to prime. (sometimes that will make it a little easier)

Earl

My spark was very, very weak, which I attributed to my
battery being low. So I brought it in, and sure enough it was reading 11.84 volts on the meter. Probably from trying to start the bike for so long.
I couldn't tell if the new plugs were wet, how can you tell?

So here's the question. What the heck should I do?

ps. I'm recharging the battery as we write.

Satch

[wrench]

I just checked my battery, sitting here in the basement,
12.68v charged it about 2 months ago, its not on a battery tender so i hope that reading is ok?
John.

[dwarf8]

I just checked my battery, sitting here in the basement,
12.68v charged it about 2 months ago, its not on a battery tender so i hope that reading is ok?
John.

Ya, John.
You're right on.
The average wet cell battery holds between 2.1 and 2.2 volts per cell for a total between 12.6 to 13.2 volts fully charged.
Thank you Mr. McSharry (high school physics)!

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Charging the battery should fix you up. I think you should check and see if you damaged the insulation on a wire. After a while, the exposed copper wire can oxidize and give you a poor connection.

[satchmo]

Aight.

Charged the battery to 12.54 volts, stuck her in and fired away. No dice......... the starter just keeps going and going until the battery's worn down again.

Everything seems to be happening, just won't catch. Fuel is getting to the plugs, because I can smell it when I take the plug out. I've got spark - well a weak one to be sure, but once again I didn't check it when the battery was fresh, I waited until I'd been cranking for a while. (battery now reads back to 11.8 volts)

Speaking of batteries, it's distilled water that one adds to top up the the cells right? A couple of mine look a bit low.

So what should I do? add the water, charge up the battery, and then immediately see what spark I get?

Satch

[Anonymous]

Satch,

I'm assuming you still have the points. Take em out and clean contacts with emery board or 400 grit sand paper. Replace and check gap. I'm kinda bettin' you've got some corrosion there. I just helped a friend start a Fiat that they were trying to start for 2 weeks! I came in with my multi-meter and found the problem in 10 minutes. The points, although they looked perfectly fine, were corroded and did not conduct when closed! Damndest thing I ever saw but, it does happen.

If the resistance across the points is not absolutely zero when closed, the current will be too low through the coil and will cause a weak spark.

Good luck.

[satchmo]

I'll check out the points, but they were brand new last fall when Earl helped me put 'em in..


Thanks for the input.

Satch

[Anonymous]

That's exactly what the guy with the Fiat told me.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

I would try charging again. I too, thought about the points but I remember you said they were new and correctly gapped.
A week and a half ago, the bike was very hard to start. Now since you've rebuilt the carbs, it won't start at all. First of all as basaraj said, I would quickly check the points and make sure they're clean. They can get a little corrosion just from sitting. I also think you should check for possible pitting to one of points. When you shorted that wire, it may have gone through one of the points and pitted it.
Then I would double check the choke action. Did you tighten the choke shaft arms that lift the plungers? Can you see the plungers lift? Next, turn the idle screwknob up a few turns. The throttle valves may be closed too much. This would make the jets draw a rich mixture and wet-foul the plugs. With wet plugs, the spark will track down the center insulator instead of jumping the gap. Also, did you return the pilot and side air screws to their original settings?