Author |
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Dennisg
| Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 11:58 pm: |
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02 Blast. Bought it recently for my wife as a beginner bike. It ran fine for several hundred miles then sputtered and died in the middle of a ride. It would not start again. Motor turned over, but no starting. With tank removed, put a little gas in the spark plug hole and the bike started. I replaced the intake boot, spark plug, and battery (it was due). I sprayed carb cleaner in the carb but did not take it apart. Bike started and we went for a ride. After about 20 minutes, same thing happened: sputtering and death. Tried it after a few minutes and it started, but when rolling on the throttle, it died, not to start again. I appreciate any help at all. Does it sound like a choke problem? Clogged jets? If so, is it hard to work on the carb, never taken one apart before. Electrical? Thanks in advance, Dennisg |
Gearheaderiko
| Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 01:05 am: |
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Welcome Dennisg! Please, please, please DONT take the carb apart. It does not sound like a choke problem. If it was it would slowly choke itself to death and you'd notice black smoke. It would also run fine at mid throttle and above. Its not a California bike? A clogged tank vent line could do this. If taking off the gas cap (or running with it loose) solves the problem then you know its the tank vent (or rollover valve). A bad kickstand safety switch could also cause this. Its important to know if it has spark when not starting. A bad ignition module (and coil, but on the Blast its usually the module) can cause this as in it fails when it heats up. Do you have a repair manual? If you do remove the timing/points cover. Thats where the ignition module is housed. It has an LED light on it that lights up every time a spark is initiated. If you crank the engine and it doesnt light up, its ignition related and you have no spark(which could be several things). If it lights up erratically (1 bright flash followed by several smaller ones or seems to light only every 3rd compression stroke), then its also an ignition problem. Its very unlikely to be the carb from what you describe and if it is, taking it apart to "give it a good cleaning" wont help and usually hurts.please dont take it apart. (Message edited by gearheaderiko on August 22, 2009) |
Swampy
| Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 09:54 am: |
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I would agree with Gearheaderiko, If it was running along fine and just stopped, that is the time to check for spark. If it isn't making spark then I would check for the LED on the ignition module to blink when you crank it. If it doesn't blink, I would suspect the ignition module. |
Ezblast
| Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 02:04 pm: |
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Concur with the above knowledgeable blastards! EZ |
Dennisg
| Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 03:53 pm: |
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Sidestand has no impact on the running of the bike, so the switch is bad. Would this happen during a ride? I have a manual and will check the module. When this happened before, I took the plug out, grounded it and cranked the motor. It showed a spark for every turn of the motor. I tried the loose gas cap trick and that had no effect. It's not a California bike, no charcoal canister. Can I just bypass the sidestand switch to test if this is the problem? Thanks for the help. Dennisg |
Gearheaderiko
| Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 07:46 pm: |
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Yes, the kickstand safety switch wires just need to be connected. I cut mine off at the kickstand switch side of the connector plug and spliced the wires together. You could find some other less permanent way to do it. What the kickstand switch does is not let the bike run, in gear, with the kickstand down. If it falters during a ride, the bike thinks the kickstand is down and kills the engine. So, if your testing the spark, in neutral, with the kickstand down, it should spark anyway (it could also be a neutral safety switch but bypassing the kickstand switch solves that too). Also flip the clutch diode to eliminate the clutch safety switch: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/201 64/55319.html |
Dennisg
| Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 09:02 am: |
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Checked ignition components, bypassed the sidestand switch, still no go. Then, removed the carb again (I DID NOT take it apart), poured a little gas in the spark plug hole and it started up for a few seconds. Put it back together and it started and ran for 10 minutes, then died as usual. I surrender. Took it to the dealer and the service guy said, "Sounds like a clogged slow jet". I'll let them take the carb apart. Will let y'all know the outcome. Dennisg. |
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