2007 VTR 1000 - problems cutting out in the rain

[djenkins-nz]

Hi All

Got a 2007 Firestorm and on at least 3 occassions now it's cut out on me in the rain. Starts running on 1 cyclinder and then dies within 10-15 secs after that. Normally I can just sit there for 5-10 mins and it will fire back up again and I'm good to go for a short while but the other day when I did manage to get it going again it was running exceptionally rough and any attempt to twist the throttle would kill it. In the end the battery clapped out.

After drying it out for a day it's now not totally running right. It sounds Ok (a little bit different) and giving it a big twist of the throttle away it go like normal but when you are running along coasting just off throttle it feels like it's lumpy and being held back slightly.

I've had a look at a few things:-

Checked the tank vent pipe - not blocked and draining fine.
Checked the plugs to make sure nothing damp so plug leads must be sealing properly
Checked the side stand switch but presume that this being faulty wouldn't cause the bike to run rough in neutral, only when in gear
Looked at kill switch but haven't disabled to see if wet as it looks ok externally.
Same for ignition switch

Haven't lifted the tank to locate the ignition coils yet to see if anything exposed/cracked/damp etc but the more I look and read it suggests that one of the coils might be on the way out.

Anybody experience anything similar?

Cheers

[VTRDark]

You may want to check the front cylinder drain hole.
http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... drain+hole

(:-})

[Tweety]

As suggested, if the bike starts missing on one cylinder, Carl's tip is the best one... Other than that, I'd suggest taking a knife and cutting the tank drainage at an 45 degree angle... Helps prevent droplets hanging on by capillary force...

[agentpineapple]

You may want to check the front cylinder drain hole.
http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... drain+hole

(:-})

+1

[mattycoops43]

When the coil packs on my fazer started to break down it gave exactly these symptoms. I think the water puts more pressure on the coils as the old ht leads arc across more. It would also be ok after being left for a while, when coils break down they get hot while running, and cool down when left.

Can you borrow some to try and rule that out?

[Stratman]

I had somthing similar. It was a split on the front plug rubber boot - hardly visible, but when wet caused the plug to short. Also, remove the plug boot (unscrew it) cut the HT lead back a little and rescrew the boot in firmly. Tried everything before hand but a £25 plug boot sorted it out.

[djenkins-nz]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.

Wasn't aware that the front cylinder had a drain hole. Being in New Zealand we don't get that much crud on the roads so when i checked this out today it was all clear. Blasted some compressed air through from the bottom to confirm.

Also put a 45 Deg slice through the bottom of the tank drain hose.

Will see if either of these make a difference and if not might put it into the bike shot to get the coils checked out.

Have another question though.

My fuel tank has a flexible piece of black plastic hung off the underside of it at the rear of the tank ie where it meets the seat. This plastic is sitting at a funny angle. What's it's purpose and how should it be sitting? Was think that maybe this not sitting right might be letting water get where it shouldn't.

Cheers

[VTRDark]

black plastic hung off the underside of it at the rear of the tank ie where it meets the seat. This plastic is sitting at a funny angle. What's it's purpose and how should it be sitting?

It hooks over the tank bracket before placing the tank down and sits in a U shape under the petcock. It's there a safety precaution to help prevent fuel landing on the rear header pipe if there is a petcock failure.

It might be worth you changing the plugs in case one is dodgy. The rain could just be a coincidence.

(:-})

[djenkins-nz]

Forgot to mention that the plugs were changed about a month ago. Checked the new ones and they are fine.

The plugs were changed between bouts of this problem so they don't appear to be a contributing factor.

Cheers

[8541Hawk]

Another way to trace down the issue is when it starts cutting out, stop the bike and open the gas cap.

If you hear a pressure release or the bike starts running correctly again after opening the cap, then it is a vent line issue usually cause by a low spot in the vent line allowing a drop of water to block the vent line

[djenkins-nz]

The bike is running rough now regardless of the weather. Seems hestitant (slight surging) when coasting just of throttle load, but open it up and it seems to get better. Taking everything into consideration I'm going to put it into the shop and wouldn't be surprised if I've got a dodgy coil

[bazza696]

when I got caught in the rain and mine run on one pot till I got it home, sprayed some WD40 on the lead and it cleared up. Since then it has not been right so I am looking to replace the coil and HT lead as I am sure that water has ingresses into the lead and is causing continuing problems.

So I would suggest a squirt of WD40 or equivalent along the lead.

[VTRDark]

You could swap the coils over to see it the problem reverses to the other cylinder. But saying that it might be less hassle and cheap enough to just buy another coil (used) and replace it. If the coil isn't the issue you can always keep as a spare or for future diagnosis or sell on. Also make sure the leads are on securely to the plug, as they need quite a bit of pressure to click down securely. Have you changed the plugs or done the same test of swapping them around.

(:-})

[MacV2]

when I got caught in the rain and mine run on one pot till I got it home, sprayed some WD40 on the lead and it cleared up. Since then it has not been right so I am looking to replace the coil and HT lead as I am sure that water has ingresses into the lead and is causing continuing problems.

So I would suggest a squirt of WD40 or equivalent along the lead.

I have a set of coils spare if you want to borrow them to try Bazza...

[bazza696]

when I got caught in the rain and mine run on one pot till I got it home, sprayed some WD40 on the lead and it cleared up. Since then it has not been right so I am looking to replace the coil and HT lead as I am sure that water has ingresses into the lead and is causing continuing problems.

So I would suggest a squirt of WD40 or equivalent along the lead.

I have a set of coils spare if you want to borrow them to try Bazza...

thanks fella, I have a spare set in the shed to fit, but not done it yet.