Hello again,
It's been a while since I last posted. I'm having problems trying to get my 84 vf500c started. I bought the bike not running although mostly complete minus carbs. I found a set of carbs on e-bay, cleaned them and installed them. I put fuel in the smaller tank via a funnel (I have yet to get a rubber hose that connects the upper tank to the lower) and tried to start it. The bike turns over, but no ignition. I get spark at the spark plugs. What steps could I be missing to get her fired up? Do I have to worry about the timing? Is it the fuel pump? Any information would be helpful. Thanks.
If you open a drain plug at the bottom of the carb does fuel come out?
A good idea when trying to get one started is to pull the fuse for the headlight. This way the headlight is not taking power away from the ignition system. I have had mine not want to start when the battery was just a little low. It turned over fine but would not fire. Pulled that fuse and it started right up.
If you have spark, but no fuel in the carbs try spraying some starter fluid into the carbs and see if it fires. If it does fire the carbs should then fill with fuel pretty easily IF the pump is working. You may have to start it 2 or 3 times with the starter fluid to get enough fuel pumped to the carbs. the fuel pump only pumps when the engine is running.
If you have not changed plugs, you might consider this. I've had my 94 give me issues with starting after periods of time and upon changing plugs it would fire right up. But that is just one of the things to check.
Like DG said, start with the basics. If it'll run on starter fluid, it's a carb problem (or fuel is just not getting there yet). If you have fuel but it's not firing, then it's probably an ignition problem. Start by making sure you have a strong battery. If you have no spark or a weak spark, check/clean the ground cables, the plugs going to the coils, and it's a good idea to open up the kill switch and clean it (they get gunked-up and can act as if it's off even though it's on). Change plugs, probably a good idea to change the plug wires too, they're probably 25+ years old.
Thank you for the suggestions. I checked the carb bowls, and there's no fluid in the bowls. I haven't tried starting the bike with starter fluid. Is that the only way to get fuel to the carbs after removing the them from the bike?
you can rig up something. unhook the actual fuel line from the carbs and put another hose on there then come up with a way to pour some fuel through there using gravity to fill the bowls. Once no more fuel will go down just pull that line and hook the actual fuel line back up then start it up.
Thanks, now I want to leave work to see if it works! I'll keep you all posted...
Well, I tried to fill the bowls with a funnel setup, to find that gas was pouring out between the two middle carbs. I think it's coming out of a z shaped hose that connects the two. Any advise on how to fix it without splitting the carbs? Could I try silcone of some sort?
hmmm. sounds like you might have a float valve stuck open. (edit) found some pics I took of a spare set I have.
(http://i45.tinypic.com/mc7o1x.jpg)
If the float is stuck or you have some gunk in the valve holding it open, fuel will run out of the vent lines.
However, depending on how you were getting the fuel in there it could have just been too strong for the valves and caused them to stay open. After letting it sit for a bit, so the extra fuel can dissipate, try to start it with everything hooked back up as it should be and see if fuel still pours out.
The other problem I noticed is the carb closest to the battery never filled with fuel. Could this be related to a stuck float valve as well?
could be. would be the opposite though. it would be stuck closed rather than open
Sounds like you need a carb rebuild. If the fuel is coming from the fuel tubes, you could have a cracked fuel tube, more than likely bad o-rings on the fuel tubes. Here's a link where you can get a rebuild kit for very little $$$, comes with all the instructions on how to do it. The guy who sells them is Billy C, he's in TX. He also offers carb rebuild service if you're not feeling up to it, guarantees his work. I've bought several sets of rebuild kits from him with excellent results. If you have a cracked tube, he can probably hook you up with a replacement without running you broke...
Just looked, he doesn't have a rebuild kit for a V30 Magna listed but has the rebuild service listed. Shoot the webmaster (Brian) an e-mail and I'm sure he can see if Billy has a kit for the V30.
The guy who runs this parts site is stand-up too, lived near him when I lived in CT...just a V4 enthusiast trying to make supporting the small vendors easier...
http://www.v4market.com/ (http://www.v4market.com/)
Thanks for the input. I've temporarly caulked the tube, which is working so far. After caulking the tube, installing the carbs and filling them with gas, she fired up but ran for a few minutes, then quit and I couldn't get it started. I'm not sure what the problem is. I've tried starter fluid, and it won't even hesitiate to start. I've pulled the plugs to see if they spark, which they do. But I had to clean them off. They had a black liquid on them. I'm not sure if it's from the starter fluid or something more ominous.
The reason I say "more ominous" is because after I had the bike running, I checked the oil and it was the color and consistancy of chocolate milk. I figured it was from the previous owner letting it sit outside. The next day I went ot change the oil, and it was frozen inside the engine. I had to take a heater to it to thaw it out. When it finally thawed and emptied, there was close to five quarts in the oil pan. Is it possible that the frozen oil/water damaged something to prevent it from starting? What would be the first place I'd look?
sounds like either blown head gaskets or worse, a cracked or badly warped head.
Try starting with a fresh oil change, change coolant out so you know you're starting with clean oil and coolant. Change plugs and see if you can get it to fire again. If so, run it for a bit, let it warm up, see if you have any vapor (white smoke) coming iut the exhaust. If you haven't changed the coolant and oil yet, you never know what the PO did. After you run it for a bit, check the oil again and see what the color and consistancy look like. Check the coolant o see if you've lost any. Check the plugs, do they look oily after running it? If so, you probably need some motor work that will need further diagnostics.
Water in the oil is not good news. After new coolant and new oil, watch VERY carefully to see if your new oil gets water in it.
Had this problem in an old tractor a couple years back. Drained and replaced the oil, hoping it was just condensate after not being used for awhile. In the next hour of operation, the engine seized up. I scrapped the old beast and bought another tractor, as the repair parts, not to mention the labor, would cost more than another used tractor. So far, the "new" one is running well.
Hope this doesn't happen to your engine. :sad: :sad:
Any chance that when the water in the engine froze, it did something to the pulse generator? I currently have no spark right now at any plugs, but had spark prior to it freezing. Any thoughts?
I don't see how they could be connected, but as you know, most coincidences... aren't!