Bandit Alley
MODEL SPECIFIC => SUZUKI BANDIT 250 & 400 => Topic started by: k4y_d1 on May 15, 2007, 12:24:34 AM
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My b4 won't start this morning.. crank it up several times, and i stopped when the battery showed weakness sign.
Yesterday it started fine...running fine...
Very confusing for me. Can anybody showed me why this' happened? I did open the choke this morning.. also tried to push start it.. but it's not working either.
Thanks...
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do you have fuel? :stickpoke:
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Yes, i think i did have some fuel left in the tank :grin:
I can still see it through the top.
Or was it possible that the fuel was still visible in the tank, but it won't go down to the carb?
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I ran out of gas for the first time last weekend (on the highway! :duh: ). I opened the tank to take a look inside, and I saw some gas in there, but I guess it was at the reserve level. So I guess gas is still visible when its "empty"
Try to switch to reserve and see what happens!
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On a "No Start" always put gas in first, charge the battery next.
No point even looking at anything else until you do these.
Check sidestand & clutch switches, ensure kill switch is ON.
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Look at the rev counter. If it moves while cranking, you've got a spark, if it doesn't move you've found the problem.
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I push start it again yesterday evening after got back from work... And it's running!! After that, turn it off - push starter button, and it started rightaway.
Well...this morning it's happening again... it won't start until I push started it several times... and then running fine again.. :annoy:
Is this something to do with the Sparkplugs? well..last week my b4 was running rich cause of clogged jets..that time i could smelled gas fumes out of exhaust...
Well??? any ideas??.... thanks a lot...
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ensure kill switch is ON.
Yup,.. nailed myself with that one tonight. A sure sign I'm over tired. Sometimes too, the Kill switch will just be a tiny bit off, and be enough to kill everything. The confusing part of course, is that everything lights up, just no vroom..
In fairness, I don't use the Kill switch, ever, so when it gets bumped, it doesn't occur to me to check it, til after the panic wears off.
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Well, if you can't start it, but the starter is working, you need to check for two main things... spark and fuel. Have you looked at the plugs? Are they wet (right after you try to start it, this would also tell you that you have fuel but no spark... ) or carbonned up? That would indicate a rich condition... While you're in there, you can also test the spark, it should be a nice fat blue-white spark...
Here's the other thing,... make sure that your choke cable isn't corroded and stuck on, even a little, that will flood a bike on startup, and you'll have a bear of a time getting it started. (Though a push start -can- get past that eventually) And I've heard of more than on B4 with that problem.
Also to consider: is the battery is being drained over night by something?
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Hi Stormi...
before this happened, I've checked the spark, and it's good - blueish spark..
As for the choke cable, i have replaced it with the new one..so the choke is very smooth now...
Do you mean that it's better to start the engine without choke?
After I could push started it, the battery charges again.. and the next morning it cranked the engine really good, until it weakened cause it won't start...:(
Well, maybe then i have to check the sparkplugs if there's lot of carbon as a result of last clogged jets...and rich condition..
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This sounds like my first spring with Dita, she was a real pain for this.
Here's what we did, took the carbs off, and cleaned them. There was -sand- in the bottom of the bowls!! :shock: So,.. it may have been a clogged starting jet that was doing it, but before that, I would crank and crank and crank, then when the battery was dead, I'd put her back on the charger and go to work. I'd come home and repeat the process.
At the same time we made sure that the spark was good, and the plugs not fouled (from all of the attempted starting). Those plug wires can be a real pain too.
When I start the bike, I usually try to get her running without the choke, then turn it on as she starts to run, of course, your milage may vary depending on your locale.
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One thing I used to do when I lived in VA and also when I owned my GS650 was to run the fuel out of the carbs for winterization (installed a fuel shut off valve). It was the only method I could keep the pilot jets from varnishing up during a long storage period. I still do it to my boat because of infrequent use and have never had a problem. After a long storage period my stuff always starts up like it was new. The alternative was countless hours of pulling carburetors and using starter fluid. A dry carb in storage is a ready carb and a wet stored carb is a recipe for making varnish.
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Seafoam also works wonders. Dita was practically painless this year, to the point where the first start was almost anti-climactic.
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Thanks for the info...
will try to check all those things you mentioned...
Though this morning, i started it without choke and without throttling... and it started...then i gave it some throttle after to get it idled.
:roll: confusing... :grin:
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Thanks for the info...
will try to check all those things you mentioned...
Though this morning, i started it without choke and without throttling... and it started...then i gave it some throttle after to get it idled.
:roll: confusing... :grin:
YAY!! :bigok: :motorsmile: :penguin: :banana2: :banana:
In light of that, I would maybe check to see if your choke is operating smoothly, or if it's seized ( common with the B4) and more than likely stuck on a little, causing it flood incredibly easily when being started.
The method you used today is the same as I use, and sometimes I have to give her a little shot of gas to get her to idle too,.. it seems "normal"
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:bigok: Copying your style...and it worked :clap:
got to the state of "normal" for b4... :p as you said that Stormi.. :lol:
thx again!!
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I'm not sure you want to use Dita as a baseline for normal... unless a bike that throws the odd temper tantrum is "normal" :bigok:
Glad to hear you've got it licked though. Check the choke anyway, see if you can save yourself some grief down the line. That's also a cable you can make for yourself if it's hard to get parts where you are... http://forums.banditalley.net/viewtopic.php?t=1336&highlight=choke+cable
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Hi Stormi...
no problem again with my b4 for the last 2 days..including this morning :grin:
always started...using the same method as you..:p
I checked the choke cable...it's working really fine and smooth.. My mechanic has changed the wire inside the outer cable with the new one... and lube it with WD40.. it's perfect...
but, yes maybe the problem i had yesterday because of the fuel flooding as i opened the choke all the way.
One of my friend said it could be because of the worn petcock also... so the vacuum system didn't work well...
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I have never opened the choke all the way ( well,.. not once I saw how the carbs are set up anyway) You really only need about 1/3 open for more than adequate choking. The lever moves -way- too far. The only thing to check is that when you close the choke with the lever that the slide is going -all- the way back to the end ( on the carbs) and not just most of the way. If it isn't, then you need to adjust it at the lever side. I'm sure your mechanic did that though, if you trust him enough to take the bike there.
To check the petcock, you should be able to take the tank off, and no gas should leak out of it if it's in the ON or reserve position.
There's lots of info in the forum about these petcocks, but the main jist of it is that the petcock works on vacuum pressure and is only flowing gas once you start cranking the engine, and while running of course.
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I noticed small leaking problem from around the petcock lever.. it will leak if i turn it into ON position, but no leak on RES position. Can we fix this leaking problem or do we have to change the petcock?
Also, how will the bike works if I use PRIME position on the petcock? I know it's non vacuum system when i switched to PRIME, but will it work normal or will it flood the carb and make other problems?
Thanks a lot :grin:
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it will work normally.
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I noticed small leaking problem from around the petcock lever.. it will leak if i turn it into ON position, but no leak on RES position. Can we fix this leaking problem or do we have to change the petcock?
Look around in the forum,.. I'm sure I saw something about a rebuild kit that suzuki denies exists...
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As I read this thread I say to myself, "Wow this same shit is happening to me these past two days."
Story: I drove my bike around at school (300 miles away), and when it was time to come home I drove it on a trailer, and brought it home. I then drove it off the trailer and drove around for a bit, then placed it in my garage. Yesterday I tried to start it up and it won't start, it just turns over then a loud backfire." Same thing today.
I checked my plugs and they all seemed fine, and I also have gas. My friend is currently at MMI and I called him, since he wasn't around he couldnt really give me a good answer, so he said to charge the battery. I did that, then drained the carbs because I knew I flooded the shit out of them. It still isn't working.
Any ideas, and if I do have to clean the carbs, what parts do I have to buy. I am on a really tight budget and can't afford to just run it to the shop to get fixed, if it gets to that the Bandit (sad to say) is going for sale.
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You should be able to do a basic cleaning on the carbs without any parts. Replace whatever's worn though for better reliability.
As for the starting problem, does it start if you push start it?
Backfiring is often a symptom of silliy things,.. like a mixed up spark order ( i.e. plug wires on the wrong plugs, etc.) but if you haven't taken it apart at all and it's a new development, I'd check what could have changed during it's trailer ride, i.e vibration related.
The no start could have something to do with fuel not getting to the cylinders, i.e. a blockage between here and there.
What did the plugs look like? carbonned? wet? brown? White? broken? That will often tell you a lot about what the problem is with starting or running...
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As i discussed also with Stormi through PM...
the problem with mine actually more on the electrical side..well turned out that my Battery was in crappy condition though it could still crank up engine when i pushed start button...
At the very end, my battery dead..and only starter relay sounded click click click / rattled when i pushed the start button...
So changed to new battery, and it started fine without problem in the morning...
Like Stormi said to me, maybe you could check based on his charging test...:)
but, knowing that you have backfire then maybe it's other problems different than mine :grin: