Turns over but no spark?

[Aaron-71]

So.... I finished fiddling with my throttle cables today any got everything back to the way it should be.

Just now I tried to turn over my Kat for the first time this season and it'll turn over, but won't fire whatsoever.

Is it possible that I flooded my Kat so badly that it just won't fire? It didn't even burp at all while trying to make it start. Never had this happen before.

I had my Kat running before I parked and winterized it at the end of last season, so I don't know what gives....

I tried turning over my Kat so much that I drew down a fully charged battery.

Does the post-Kat need the gauges/cluster installed for it to start or something????

I've got the whole front of the bike completely stripped while I work on wiring up some HID headlights

[fury8793]

No spark, pull the plugs and check for fouling and correct gapping?

[Aaron-71]

No spark, pull the plugs and check for fouling and correct gapping?

This is a great point.

Something else crossed my mind as I hit the pillow last night. When I was fiddling with the carbs, there was zero fuel in them (had them turned up-side down and nothing came out).

Might also be my fault for not having the fuel valve in the "Prime" position last night... Arg... the little things...

No fuel to spark = no run

[fury8793]

This is a great point.

Something else crossed my mind as I hit the pillow last night. When I was fiddling with the carbs, there was zero fuel in them (had them turned up-side down and nothing came out).

Might also be my fault for not having the fuel valve in the "Prime" position last night... Arg... the little things...

No fuel to spark = no run

It's always the minor details that cause the greatest amounts of stress.

[Aaron-71]

It's always the minor details that cause the greatest amounts of stress.

Well, it might actually turn out that I've got gunked up carbs (somehow...) because I left the petcock in the Prime position for a good 60 seconds while I tried to start the Kat. Still no dice...

Pulling everything off, and starting from scratch.

Got a feeling it's the carbs tho because, again, they were dry when I turned them upside down. Got a feeling there's some crud let behind in the bowls or something.

Strangely enough, the engine did burp (fire) once and only once as I tried to fire it up again this morning. It's all working, just not at 100%

[fury8793]

Yeah, I'd say definitely tear into the carbs and go from there..Arsenic would definitely be the man to go to with anything carb related. He's actually rebuilding my set right now and installing an Ivan's Performance jet kit into them, all for less than $300 (minus the cost of the jet kit of course)

That's a good way to go if you have a little time and don't necessarily want to ride right that second, he's extremely fast with the process too. I just got mine done because I didn't know how long it had been since the PO had cleaned the carbs.

[maniac1886]

Carbs always need work. Unless you do it right the first time, and store the bike correctly in the off season, they need work. period. BUT since you started this thread about spark, I would definitely verify you do or dont HAVE spark. Pull the carbs off (unless they are empty still) pull a plug. ground it, and hit the start button (dont shock yourself...) if it sparks, well, you have your answer. If it doesnt spark then check all of your safety switches first, if nothing, send the carbs to arsenic while you troubleshoot the spark issue ie: test coil voltage, looks for voltage drops, check/replace saftety switches, Coil Relay mod etc..

Also, it may be worth verifying your petcock works in ALL positions before you go crazy on the troubleshooting. Simple things first. Check the plugs for a physical spark, check the safety switches, test the petcock, then move onto the time consuming things.

Thats what I'd do at least.

[shpielers]

It's possible to have spark, but weak spark. I'd recommend making sure that the coils are getting 11+ volts so that you know you're getting good spark. I believe between 10 and 11v will still cause the plugs to fire, but weakly. 11+ = good to go.

[Aaron-71]

Yeah, I'd say definitely tear into the carbs and go from there..Arsenic would definitely be the man to go to with anything carb related. He's actually rebuilding my set right now and installing an Ivan's Performance jet kit into them, all for less than $300 (minus the cost of the jet kit of course)

That's a good way to go if you have a little time and don't necessarily want to ride right that second, he's extremely fast with the process too. I just got mine done because I didn't know how long it had been since the PO had cleaned the carbs.

Wish I could go this route, but shipping and border charges would kill me. Paid over $120 for a modded 750 shock from Tmod (border + shipping).

Plus, the customs agency that does the check or whoever ships stuff from the US does a REALLY terrible job. My shock's box had all sorts of rips and tears in it, but at least it made it in one piece (the shock that is).

Carbs always need work. Unless you do it right the first time, and store the bike correctly in the off season, they need work. period. BUT since you started this thread about spark, I would definitely verify you do or dont HAVE spark. Pull the carbs off (unless they are empty still) pull a plug. ground it, and hit the start button (dont shock yourself...) if it sparks, well, you have your answer. If it doesnt spark then check all of your safety switches first, if nothing, send the carbs to arsenic while you troubleshoot the spark issue ie: test coil voltage, looks for voltage drops, check/replace saftety switches, Coil Relay mod etc..

Also, it may be worth verifying your petcock works in ALL positions before you go crazy on the troubleshooting. Simple things first. Check the plugs for a physical spark, check the safety switches, test the petcock, then move onto the time consuming things.

Thats what I'd do at least.

Pet cock works in prime position (fuel pours out), but not sure how to test the "on" position.

Tested for spark, and I am indeed getting one (from Cyl #2). My kat tried to turn over while I was testing for spark, so I threw the plug and ign. wire back down cyl #2 and sure enough, the bike fired right up.

However.... it definitely needed a sync again. This is very strange to me because I sync'ed the bike before test driving it around the block 1X to see how it ran, then parked it and winterized it at the end of the season. So annoying...

Now on to other issues (which I'll address below).

It's possible to have spark, but weak spark. I'd recommend making sure that the coils are getting 11+ volts so that you know you're getting good spark. I believe between 10 and 11v will still cause the plugs to fire, but weakly. 11+ = good to go.

So directly from the coil packs, grounded out to the frame somewhere?

Sounds like a decent test to try. Never done it before, but it's worth trying even though my bike is up and running again.




So on to the new issues (after syncing today).... they seem endless

Kat's running, it's synced, but it's running like a raped ape without touching the throttle very much. It's almost as if I've tightened the throttle cable soooo much that it hits 6,000 rpm with the slightest slightest little twist of the throttle.

Is this is a carb/jet kit problem? Or a throttle cable problem?

My thought is firstly the throttle cables because I JUST re-adjusted them for free-play and overall closing/snap-action so it was comfortable again (before readjustment, the thorttle would return 50% of the way easily, and the other 50% required my assistance). In readjusting the cables, I found that I accidentally left one of the cables in backwards (twisted the closing cable and installed it that way) over the winter.

However... I did install a jet kit as well on my Kat just before parking it for winter... Possibly two issues on my hands?

I had my kat running just fine before I parked it. This "touchy" throttle wasn't an issue... but I did make a mental note that the throttle cable didn't snap back to the "closed" position like it normally did. Being the moron I am, I left it that way over winter.

Suggestions?

[Aaron-71]

Hm... more mystery...

I throw everything back together and we're back to the no-start condition I started with.

The bike fired right up with a bottle full of fuel attached to the fuel filter... Now that the tank is back on, it doesn't want to start... What gives?!?!?!

I'm thinking maybe a vacuum issue with carb #4's tube to the petcock?

I'm outta ideas here...

[shpielers]

Is there any fuel in the carb bowls? You probably need to turn the petcock to prime for ~30 seconds or so. If that isn't it, did you bench test the petcock? Suck on the vacuum line and it should flow fuel in "on" and "res." + make sure the hose doesnt have a hole in it or is kinking somehow.

[Aaron-71]

Is there any fuel in the carb bowls? You probably need to turn the petcock to prime for ~30 seconds or so. If that isn't it, did you bench test the petcock? Suck on the vacuum line and it should flow fuel in "on" and "res." + make sure the hose doesnt have a hole in it or is kinking somehow.

Tested the petcock, it's not working. Thanks for the advice shpielers (and to arsenic for mentioning it too).

Felt like I was trying to suck a golf ball through a garden hose... and no fuel was coming out whatsoever (I'll head out to the garage and try the "res" setting too). Rebuild kit should be here in about 1 week. Hopefully that solves the issue.

Front and rear bearing kits from All Balls also on their way. May as well take apart my entire kat while I'm at it LOL

One quick thought though. Shouldn't the Kat start up in the PRI position???? It started just fine with a fuel bottle (full of fuel) attached and the vacuum line kinked.

[41 Redhawk]

One quick thought though. Shouldn't the Kat start up in the PRI position???? It started just fine with a fuel bottle (full of fuel) attached and the vacuum line kinked.

It should but whatever is keeping it from flowing in the on or res position may also be keeping it from flowing in the PRI position.

[Aaron-71]

It should but whatever is keeping it from flowing in the on or res position may also be keeping it from flowing in the PRI position.

It's definitely flowing in the PRI position because that's how I filled my fuel bottle. Had the tank sitting on the table and just twisted the knob to fill up my pop bottle (temp fuel tank for syncing).

I did notice that when I took off the fuel line that there was VERY little fuel that came back out (after leaving PRI on for 30 seconds)... so maybe there is an issue with PRI as well...

Or possibly an airlock in my fuel line/carbs of some sort?

Does that condensation hose have anything to do with fuel flow (the nipple in the bottom/middle of the tank)? If it's blocked or kinked, would it create an airlock?

[fury8793]

Hey, did you ever get this figured out?