Bike stalled, fi light on, won't start again...

[jay21112]

History: Bike is an 04, had about 6800 miles on her before I put her away in November. Before putting her away I took her to Suzuki to replace the plugs and oil. I put some stabilizer in her and wrapped her up until Friday night.

Story: I put the battery back in her and started her up for 10 minutes Friday...no problem. Saturday morning I started her up and took her for an hour drive to work...no problem. From work I take her for another hour drive and 4 miles from my destination she stalls out on me. The FI light comes on and she wouldn't start again. Everytime I hit the on switch nothing happens (I don't hear the pump switch on like usual).

What sucks even more: I was taking her in to get some mods put on her (HID's, alarm, gauges, etc..) So I brought her to the shop on a flatbed and they are going to still put the mods on because she doesn't have to run to do that stuff. But once they are done, I'm going to have to have it towed to the nearest Suzuki dealer (Don't quite even know where that is) to have it done.

So, any ideas what the heck happened? I have never had a problem. Then all of a sudden, saturday she died on me. Could the guy who replaced the plugs (at the local suzuki dealer) have done something wrong?

All I know is she won't start and the FI light keeps coming on and the screen says FI. The owner's manual just says to take it to suzuki. So what kind of damage am I looking at here?

 

[PACIFICBUSA]

FI light....hmm.

Are your fuel lines kinked? Are all the plugs back in? What about the fuel filter?


Need more info. If your pump isn't kickin on, it could be a possibility that they forgot to plug it back in. Or, it could be a freak accident and your pump just crapped out.

What else can you tell me?

 

[jmaz268]

I would check all that then drain the gas tank and put some new fresh fire water in her

 

[jay21112]

FI light....hmm.

Are your fuel lines kinked? Are all the plugs back in? What about the fuel filter?


Need more info. If your pump isn't kickin on, it could be a possibility that they forgot to plug it back in. Or, it could be a freak accident and your pump just crapped out.

What else can you tell me?

Unfortunately I can't tell you anything else than I already posted... :o(

Since the suzuki service she ran for:
20 minutes back from the dealer in November
10 minutes in the shed on Friday night
1 hour to work on saturday
45 minutes until she stalled on saturday

I was just riding along and poof, she stalled. So, just for the fact that she was working fine for basically 2 hours worth of driving says everything should have been in working order, initially...Maybe something vibrated loose or something?

But I didn't take anything apart after she stalled because I wouldn't even know what the heck to look for. She just stalled and wouldn't start and that stupid FI was on. Now she is sitting in the shop.

Looks like the nearest suzuki dealer is 20 miles from the shop. 65 for a tow, $3 per mile....there is another $120 down...

 

[PACIFICBUSA]

hmm.....

didja drain the stabilizer before you ran her? It could be a possibility that the injector may be clogged.

Then again, if the fuel pump isn't whirring, that's not exactly winning the lottery either.

If she's in the shop, then there's nothin that we can do for now. I'd say take off the gas tank and check the fuel cock. Perhaps there's some residue from sittin that long.

The more I think about it, the more I wanna say that the pump is the culprit. But I can't know for sure. Wish I could be there to look at it.

 

[Turbo-Torch]

If you don't here the fuel pump running your problem has nothing to do with gas.

You lost power to the fuel pump (or relay) somewhere. Pull the seat and raise the gas tank and look for any unplugged loose connections. Have you tried starting it in neutral? If it starts there the problem is in the kickstand switch.

 

[Oldroller]

All I know is that FI stands for Fix Immediately. It might be the variable sensor detonator impeader.

 

[Revlis]

BAH, Your outta gas... Two and a half hours of running could just be empty.

 

[The Big Red One]

FI light....hmm.

Are your fuel lines kinked? Are all the plugs back in? What about the fuel filter?


Need more info. If your pump isn't kickin on, it could be a possibility that they forgot to plug it back in. Or, it could be a freak accident and your pump just crapped out.

What else can you tell me?

Unfortunately I can't tell you anything else than I already posted... :o(

Since the suzuki service she ran for:
20 minutes back from the dealer in November
10 minutes in the shed on Friday night
1 hour to work on saturday
45 minutes until she stalled on saturday

I was just riding along and poof, she stalled. So, just for the fact that she was working fine for basically 2 hours worth of driving says everything should have been in working order, initially...Maybe something vibrated loose or something?

But I didn't take anything apart after she stalled because I wouldn't even know what the heck to look for. She just stalled and wouldn't start and that stupid FI was on. Now she is sitting in the shop.

Looks like the nearest suzuki dealer is 20 miles from the shop. 65 for a tow, $3 per mile....there is another $120 down...

Unfortunately I'd bet money that if you'd never had the dealership touch your bike it'd be running now. Just because it ran for a short time doesn't mean they didn't leave something loose/partially connected/shorted/kinked/ect or just they're usual sloppy work. Every time you have someone else work on your bike..unless you know and trust them to the max/and or watch every single thing they do.....be prepared mentally for the prospect of a tow job. The majority of dealer techs couldn't care less about your bike or the job they do on it, so its really a crap shoot if your fine running bike you pull into the dealership for a standard service with, is gonna be the same trustworthy machine when you pick it up. Sad but true



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[whytlotus]

I would suggest after you get it running again, invest in a good service manual. Haynes has one for around $25 and the info in it is invaluable. Unless you don't have any tools, you should be wrenching on your bike yourself. Some of the mods you are doing like the hid and gauges are really very simple. Not only will you save a bunch of $$ for more mods, but the pride and satisfaction of doing it yourself will go a long way in tackling larger jobs in the future. Start out small and then work your way up as your confidence level grows.

 

[jay21112]

BAH, Your outta gas...  Two and a half hours of running could just be empty.

You are real funny Rev,
Actually I only blew through 1/2 tank. I still got 1/2 left and I can hear it sloshing in there.

So thats not it....although I wish it were.

 

[jay21112]

hmm.....

didja drain the stabilizer before you ran her? It could be a possibility that the injector may be clogged.

Then again, if the fuel pump isn't whirring, that's not exactly winning the lottery either.

If she's in the shop, then there's nothin that we can do for now. I'd say take off the gas tank and check the fuel cock. Perhaps there's some residue from sittin that long.

The more I think about it, the more I wanna say that the pump is the culprit. But I can't know for sure. Wish I could be there to look at it.

No I didn't drain the stabilizer. I didn't think you had to do that. I thought the stabilizer kept the gas good for extended periods of time.

Yeah, I know that since it's in the shop we can't be sure of the problem, I was just hoping to get some advice or for someone to come on and say "the exact same thing happened to me and it's just blah blah blah."

But I guess it could be a number of things.

 

[jay21112]

If you don't here the fuel pump running your problem has nothing to do with gas.

You lost power to the fuel pump (or relay) somewhere.  Pull the seat and raise the gas tank and look for any unplugged loose connections.  Have you tried starting it in neutral?  If it starts there the problem is in the kickstand switch.

I tried neutral, first with the clutch in. Turning it on and off, then trying to start it. Letting it sit for a half hour then trying to start it. Shaking her around and then trying to start it.

Most of the time I just flipped the switch on and didn't hear the pump go on. But a couple of times I did hit the ignition switch just hoping it would fire up. Don't know if that was good or bad, but I figured if there wasn't anything in there to light, then a little spark couldn't hurt anything.

I really think something is causing the pump not to turn on. Whether it be a blockage somewhere or something is loose. Maybe the plugs weren't tightened correctly when they were changed? Nothing is leaking anywhere that I can see or smell. But I haven't pulled her apart so I can't be certain.

 

[Burger King]

If your fuel pump isn't coming on when you turn on the key it may be unplugged. Maybe the dealer took off the tank when they serviced her and forgot to plug the fuel pump back in. Otherwise check your fuse box.

 

[Sloto200]

its gotta be something simple... those are sometimes the worst problems because they (the problem) are right in front of you... lift the tank, check the connectors and check the fuses...

 

[zukracer]

and search around here... there's a link somewhere to a place you can download the entire service manual for free

 

[STUNNAH]

I agree with the other on the fuel pump...I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago the wire to the fuel pump was not plugged in good and just disconnected...Try checking the wiring and if that doesn't do the trick check your fuses...

 

[smokingness69]

theres a sticky post under technical/maintenance & DIY/this would be a good place for error codes......use it to find what error code the ecm is flashing. this should help you get to the problem without a lot of guessing what it might be.

 

[racerV]

I would check the Top Over Sensor. I had intermittant problems with mine doing the same thing, I found the the bracket that the sensor is mounted to had broken off for some bizzare reason. Look at the brass bracket that your gas tank is connected to under the seat. On the under side of that bracket is where your tip sensor is supposed to be.

 

[The Big Red One]

hmm.....

didja drain the stabilizer before you ran her? It could be a possibility that the injector may be clogged.

Then again, if the fuel pump isn't whirring, that's not exactly winning the lottery either.

If she's in the shop, then there's nothin that we can do for now. I'd say take off the gas tank and check the fuel cock. Perhaps there's some residue from sittin that long.

The more I think about it, the more I wanna say that the pump is the culprit. But I can't know for sure. Wish I could be there to look at it.

No I didn't drain the stabilizer. I didn't think you had to do that. I thought the stabilizer kept the gas good for extended periods of time.

Yeah, I know that since it's in the shop we can't be sure of the problem, I was just hoping to get some advice or for someone to come on and say "the exact same thing happened to me and it's just blah blah blah."

But I guess it could be a number of things.

Yes it could be a number of things

First I'd find out from the stabilizer guys if your supposed to drain the tank or not before you start riding it again. Second I'd check under the tank for any obvious things wrong.....loose wires ect, especially the fuel pump. Then on to fuses. Then I'd pull a code if you can get one. Or maybe size up the dealership that did your tune-up and see if they will good faith it and take a look to see if they screwed anything up. Youv'e had it back for awhile but haven't ridden it much.
I'm not a big fan of adding things to my fuel....with all the sensors ect on fuel injection the wrong chemicals can sometimes trash one. I just start my engines up a couple times a month or so...never had a prob