Bike wont drive in the rain now...

00sanchez · April 28, 2012, 08:17:01 AM

Ok, so I let the bike sit in the rain today while waiting to do my license test. It usually starts with minimal effort, but it really didn't want to start; however, when it did start, it would die if the choke was off. When I would try to ride at half choke, it would die under load. I let it idle for about 2 minutes, and I was able to fully release the clutch, but as soon as I tried to give it any throttle, it would sputter and die. I also noticed it was popping in the carbs during idle.

I have a k&n lunchbox, and when I installed the breather from the valve cover exhaust hose, I routed it up towards the front of the bike because I was worried it would put pressure on the air filter and either cause a leak or mess up the filter itself.

One of these days I will have a bike that runs.

00sanchez · April 28, 2012, 09:35:49 AM

Btw, stuck about 45 miles from home right now. Any quick replies with some things I can tweak would be great. It will accelerate by using the choke, but the throttle will make it sputter and die.

shonole · April 28, 2012, 09:49:30 AM

Quote from: 00sanchez on April 28, 2012, 09:35:49 AM
Btw, stuck about 45 miles from home right now. Any quick replies with some things I can tweak would be great. It will accelerate by using the choke, but the throttle will make it sputter and die.

Water in the hose? Do you have access to any basic tools, so you can take the tank off?

gsJack · April 28, 2012, 09:54:52 AM

The only times I've ever had any trouble with any amount of rain on the bikes (4 Hondas and then 2 GS500s) it was due to water shorting out the plug wire/wires. Sparks take the easiest routes to ground and a little water can help them find shortcuts. On the Hondas it was water in the hollow plug caps after they got a little old and worn and drying them out would get me going again.

On the GSs I've only had water trouble with my 02 GS when it had a loose in the coil plug wire. Plug wires are screwed into the coils and then bonded in place and can't be turned if still tight, I had a loose one and made it home locally on one cylinder first time. Check your plug wires to see if they are still tight in the coils, you can reach them near the coils with the tank on and try to turn them. If they turn tighten them up, right hand thread. Just tightening them can get you going if that's the problem.

shonole · April 28, 2012, 10:16:18 AM

Quote from: gsJack on April 28, 2012, 09:54:52 AM
The only times I've ever had any trouble with any amount of rain on the bikes (4 Hondas and then 2 GS500s) it was due to water shorting out the plug wire/wires. Sparks take the easiest routes to ground and a little water can help them find shortcuts. On the Hondas it was water in the hollow plug caps after they got a little old and worn and drying them out would get me going again.

On the GSs I've only had water trouble with my 02 GS when it had a loose in the coil plug wire. Plug wires are screwed into the coils and then bonded in place and can't be turned if still tight, I had a loose one and made it home locally on one cylinder first time. Check your plug wires to see if they are still tight in the coils, you can reach them near the coils with the tank on and try to turn them. If they turn tighten them up, right hand thread. Just tightening them can get you going if that's the problem.

Now that I think about it, that makes the most sense. Definitely check your plugs.

00sanchez · April 28, 2012, 10:49:56 AM

Thanks for the ideas, guys. I had it parked under a staircase in an apartment complex and let it dry out for a while. She was still bogging with throttle, but after about 2 minutes, the bike is back to normal conditions. I'm going to attempt to ride her home now. I did check the plug wires and they were tight to the coil. The right boot to the plug seemed a bit loose. Maybe condensation got in there? I didn't use any grease when I changed the plugs. Anyway, I'll check back here once I get her home. Time to rip it apart again

Maybe next week I can do my license test. I did run the course a few times when she was still acting up without throttle. I did everything pretty well. I missed the last cone the first time, but I slaughtered it the other two times I tried.

Thanks for being there yet again.

mondo · April 28, 2012, 04:56:34 PM

+1 on this problem - was just about to post about the same thing. got a 1998 and she has the same symptoms after a few minutes of riding in rain.

new plugs, new boots, not sure about the wire, which is still tight into the coils. was told to use dielectric grease - where should i be applying? i'm guessing that the coil housings should be waterproof?

love this bike in the dry, and i commute 100km daily with it. once i solve this problem, i can get rid of my 200cc scoot which is my rain machine.

00sanchez · April 28, 2012, 07:35:56 PM

Oddly enough, mine's a 98 as well. I'm going to work on it tomorrow and I'll post updates for you. My dad is an electronics genius, so I'm going to have him troubleshoot with me. Any ideas that come up would be great, but it's going to be a spark problem for sure.

mondo · May 02, 2012, 05:38:24 AM

Hosed the bike down yesterday - bike starts bogging when the left hand coil assembly is sprayed. Replacing it may be the best course for me.

Checked pricing and OEM coils run at around 130 at Suzuki and $100 at bike bandit with $40 shipping. Can I get aftermarket coils for the GS, and if so, where should I be looking?

Funderb · May 02, 2012, 06:59:49 AM

why not just trim the plug wire and re install it with silicon sealant? or just seal it up entirely? I wouldn't replace it unless it was a bad unit.

Darkzy · May 02, 2012, 09:10:51 AM

don't know if these are any help or where he posts to (i don't know where abouts you are)

UK Ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUZUKI-GS500-E-Ignition-coils-/140745111234?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item20c50ff6c2

mondo · May 02, 2012, 10:58:58 AM

Quote from: Funderb on May 02, 2012, 06:59:49 AM
why not just trim the plug wire and re install it with silicon sealant? or just seal it up entirely? I wouldn't replace it unless it was a bad unit.

I was told that the wire and the coil are in one sealed unit. Can the wire actually be pulled from the coil?

If I were to seal the unit entirely (which probably makes the most sense), how would I go about doing that?

adidasguy · May 02, 2012, 11:56:50 AM

Wires do spin in the coil. I believe they screw into the coil. The cap screws into the wire. All I have spin a little in the coil end. Try screwing the wire in tighter and the cap to the wire.

Maybe check for corrosion all over the place. any connector could be corroded and short out when wet. Ignitor, connctions under the seat, stuff in the headlight bucket....

gsJack · May 02, 2012, 12:27:31 PM

There's a little brass screw in the coil hole that the plug wire screws into, it is in the center of the hole and screws into the metal center core of the plug wire when you screw the wire in. The wires are then bonded in place after being screwed in tight. If you can turn the wire at all you have a potential trouble spot for wet misfire. Both my bikes, 97 and 02, came with bonded in tight plug wires I could not turn trying as hard as I could. They must be tight or fixed/replaced.

Never had trouble with the 97 wires for the 80k miles I rode it. After I developed a loose plug wire on the 02 at about 48k miles and had a cylinder cutting out I went over to the 97 and grabbed the plug wires and easily pulled them both out, lucked out on that bike not having trouble while I was still using it.

The coils and plug wires are sold as a unit tightly bonded together and were about $70 back then and are about $90-100 now depending on where you get them. Replacing them would be the best solution I guess but I elected to just replace the wire. I got a 6' length of wire from Dennis Kirk for a few bucks and haven't used it all up yet. I snip off about 1/4" of the end of the old wire, put a big dab of dielectric grease on it, and screw it into the coil as tight as I can and am good to go for another year. Snip and fix or replace it with new wire each year when I do a valve check and haven't had any further trouble with it for the approx 45k miles and 5 years since it first came loose.

If you can turn those plug wires in the coils you are running on borrowed time.

Funderb · May 02, 2012, 03:02:04 PM

My gs had a loosey when i got it, so i took it out, snipped the end off a little bit, smeared some automotive sealant/adhesive on it and screwed it back into the unit. After a few hours it was un-movable.

if your wire might be loose, but not removable, and you are afraid its getting water inside, then you can seal it back up with a light ring of stupid glue. (super glue)

ALSO!
check these things:
How well are the leads to the coils these days? Are they loose or corroded? Clean them! squish the connectors a bit to tighten them up.

and

Check your coils all over, rarely, they can crack and become compromised and begin to fail like you describe.

00sanchez · May 02, 2012, 08:03:29 PM

Between the other problems with the bike, I haven't had a moment to check mine yet. I did notice where my license plate light was hooked up, the wires were spliced and taped right at the plate. The tape on the power wire was loose to the point where it could get water in it. I pulled the wires back a bit and taped them to the belly of my break light. The whole unit will be replaced when I have to stop dumping money into other things on it. I'm going to hose test it tomorrow.

mondo · May 03, 2012, 12:38:59 PM

Rainy day today, so I decided to lift the tank and take a good look at the coil assembly. No signs of corrosion.

Unscrewed the wire on both ends, cut off the ends, dabbed a little dielectric grease on them and screwed back in. I also greased up all the connectors leading to the coil. Before I put the tank back on, I tested the bike by hosing the coil area down while it was running and it didn't misfire!

Great timing too, since the weather calls for thunderstorms - wont have to commute with the scoot now.

Thanks, all!

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Bike wont drive in the rain now...