Stuck!

StrtRac3r

Registered
So every once in awhile my bike has a starting issue. It will take 3 or 4 tries to start. Not common but has drained the battery too much to crank in the mornings before and I need to fix it.

What it does, I turn in on and hit the switch. Fuel pump sounds good then I try to start. When it doesn't want to it will turn over the first try. Then each try after it will try to, but not. Choke doesn't seem to make a difference. Full or empty doesn't make a difference. Heat doesn't seem to make a difference. And on occasion in the middle of cranking it will stall. Like the battery just died, but let go of the button and press again and it sounds normal.

The kickstand sensor seems good. Switches are working good. And the pump sounds and cycles normally. The bike never dies while running. And can sit for a week and start perfectly. Or sit for five min and just says no. It almost seems to crank to slow, but the battery is less than a year old. When I jump it the starter sure spins faster, but I'm not sure if that's just because the bigger battery helping.

It's an 02 with 27k on it. Power commander and full yosh exhaust.

I'm stuck at a gas station I won't leave my bike at so hopefully someone has some ideas for me to look at soon because I'm stuck here till 5:30 (hour and a half)
 
use contact cleaner on the elec connections...how old is the batt?....what is the condition of the batt? think of what are all the add ons on the bike and find the elec short / draw...a hard start can be multiple components / trouble shooting scenarios
 
use contact cleaner on the elec connections...how old is the batt?....what is the condition of the batt? think of what are all the add ons on the bike and find the elec short / draw...a hard start can be multiple components / trouble shooting scenarios

Like I was sayin. Less than a year age. Clean. No corrosion. Tight clean connectors. Just seems to crank to slow to start efficiently. Do the gel batteries put out a lot more power than a standard style battery?
 
Well I got her home. Took off the seat raised the tank. Checked connectors. So far so good. Took the air box off and found the rubber cap on the "passenger" side is cracked and leaking into the air box.... Other than that its looking pretty good to me. Gonna pull out the plugs and probably do a full tune up. Air filter, plugs, and oil. It's not the battery dying as much as the bike turning over without starting. Any ideas while I'm looking?
 
Not sure about the roll start. Can't get it fast enough alone.


Buuuuut I did remove the pciii out of the equation and it starts way better. Not super fast. But on the first try.

Will a full yosh make me run too lean without it? I think the fuel map on it was too rich because after start up I could smell the richness a lot more than without it
 
So I have tried quite a few times starting. And it is better without the pciii. So how can I find out if my pciii is bad, or tuned wrong? This has been a issue since I got the bike, so it's not sudden. Will running my k&n and full yosh exhaust hurt the bike without it?
 
Not sure about the roll start. Can't get it fast enough alone.


Buuuuut I did remove the pciii out of the equation and it starts way better. Not super fast. But on the first try.

Will a full yosh make me run too lean without it? I think the fuel map on it was too rich because after start up I could smell the richness a lot more than without it

Sure you can, it doesn't take much.
Run beside it and hop on, pop clutch in 2nd.
I've yet to see a sportbike(or most any other bike)that won't. Assuming the bike already runs.
Good to know how and be able to do, if the battery dies it'll keep you from sitting.
Been there, done that, and more than a few times:laugh:
 
So I have tried quite a few times starting. And it is better without the pciii. So how can I find out if my pciii is bad, or tuned wrong? This has been a issue since I got the bike, so it's not sudden. Will running my k&n and full yosh exhaust hurt the bike without it?

It's not going to hurt the bike to run it without the pc.
 
I had a similar problem when I had the PC3 USB hooked up to my busa. When I turned the key i'd hear the fuel pump and then when I tried to crank it over it wouldn't start. Appeared like I had a dead battery. Hooked it up to the tender and it still had problems cranking over. The lights signals etc would work fine so I was confused and thought maybe the battery was going bad and it lost its cranking power or something. Took it to get tested and they said it was in tip top shape and gave me a diagnostic print out to prove it. Racked my brain and only thing I could think of that changed was installing that PC3. Hopped on the Dyno Jet website and the trouble shooting section and low and behold there was my exact issue. Not a technical gear head so I can't explain why but basically with the PC3 hooked up and you turn the key and allow the fuel pump to prime somehow with the PC3 it makes the bike difficult to start?? The solution they gave was to immediately crank your bike when you turn the key and don't the the fuel pump finish cycling. I did it and my busa fired right up and has ever since. That was 1 of the many reasons I ended up ripping that stuff outta my bike and that may not even be the reason yours is doing what it's doing but give it a try and see
 
Maybe a bad ground? If the PC was grounded on the neg at the battery where they usually are,when you disconected the pc it may have improved the ground.

Also,batteries are a fickle thing. One cell can be on its last leg etc,and you still get a decent voltage reading. What are you showing for volts?

Some may argue with 6 pack saying you wont get the bike to jump start with a weak battery. Not enuff juice for the fuel pump,injectors,coils,blah blah blah. I have always had success helping others get thier shi7 going,I have never needed to myself. 6 pack is also right about 2nd gear or even 3rd if you get enuff speed up.The taller gear spins the crank around more times.

Just keep an' eye on yer temp guage when its running,if its bigtime lean she will run hotter and you'll see a diff in the guage compared to what U are used to.

Lean conditions can also cause backfires. A couple miles at high speed then imediately read the plugs (being as you are installing new ones) can give you a decent indication of how she is running.I'm sure you know the drill.black=carbon=rich white=lean a nice tan=just right or something like that.

Good luck with it.

RSD.
 
Thanks for the replies. The battery is running about 14.5x while running. Sitting for 20 min was still at 13.0x and cranking was at 11.xx.

Finishing up the work now and ill be checking the plugs after I get home from work tomorrow.

Hopefully down the road I can get a proper dyno tune on that pc3 and have no issue.
 
sixpack577 said:
Sure you can, it doesn't take much.
Run beside it and hop on, pop clutch in 2nd.
I've yet to see a sportbike(or most any other bike)that won't. Assuming the bike already runs.
Good to know how and be able to do, if the battery dies it'll keep you from sitting.
Been there, done that, and more than a few times:laugh:

Loli missed this response. It's not that I don't know how. Give me a hill and I'm game. But I got road side service so I don't have to push this heavy girl.
 
Loli missed this response. It's not that I don't know how. Give me a hill and I'm game. But I got road side service so I don't have to push this heavy girl.

Cool. just make sure they jump it with their vehicle NOT running,or it can be "bye bye" v-reg. Sure you already knew that. :thumbsup:
 
rubbersidedown said:
Cool. just make sure they jump it with their vehicle NOT running,or it can be "bye bye" v-reg. Sure you already knew that. :thumbsup:

That's one thing I didn't. Only time I have had to jump it was in the morning so I didn't start the car at home for the neighbors. But I'll remember that.
 
Old spark plugs looked good. Dry, no build up, and med tan, no white. So it was running good. Just not starting good.
 
Mine did that a couple times when I first got it...and I got stuck once too. Luckilly I was at a Harley dealership (looking for a disc lock) and they jumped me off and got me going...it was still major embarrassing :banghead: I've since learned that it's best to start it in neutral...and NOT give it any throttle. Mine is a 1397 with high compression pistons...so it's a little more work to turn over, first time I've run into that...but it starts right up now.
 
Quicker Gixxer said:
Mine did that a couple times when I first got it...and I got stuck once too. Luckilly I was at a Harley dealership (looking for a disc lock) and they jumped me off and got me going...it was still major embarrassing :banghead: I've since learned that it's best to start it in neutral...and NOT give it any throttle. Mine is a 1397 with high compression pistons...so it's a little more work to turn over, first time I've run into that...but it starts right up now.

Harley's have disc brakes now? Lol yeah it sucked. I waited for people to finish pumping gas before I pushed her to the side
 
Nothing for sure yet. But I do know out of the dozen times I have started my bike without the pc3 connected it hasn't needed to have the start button hit more than once.

I just gotta see how it goes without the pc3.

Bottom line, I made it to work lol.
 
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