Not firing on all cylinders after wash/rain - problem solved

[katat58]

Washed the bike couple weeks ago spraying water onto the oil cooler and front of engine. When started, the engine wasn't firing on all cylinders. This condition persisted until I got out on the road and ran it for several minutes letting it dry itself off. Came a down pour this pm at work, of course the bike was in the parking lot. Same scenario when started, not firing on all cylinders. Again had to run it several minutes down the road until it dries off and then she fires on all four. Suggestions as to how to track this gremlin down? Ignition modules? Spark plugs? Wiring harness? Hydrophobia?

[Timbercreek]

Ideas: The spark coils are behind and above the oil cooler attached to the frame under the tank. The spark plug cavities have a drain hole at the bottom. If plug cavity covers are off or missing and drain is clogged plug cavity could fill up with water. There are also a couple of unattached open wiring plugs up front which could be getting water. Coils are sealed but they are still my guess! Pull tank and check it out!

[steves]

You could also have a bad ground somewhere too.

[katat58]

Thanx for the inputs guys. I just put new plugs in a couple of weeks ago and the plug boots were installed and snug. My suspicion is the ignition modules (coils). I had the bike apart this past weekend adjusting the pilot screws. I looked around but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Will keep searching and hopefully find the culprit.

[md86]

Take apart some of the electrical connections and smear some dielectric grease in there to keep 'em dry . Especially around the coils and plug wires .

[Black_peter]

Ideas: The spark plug cavities have a drain hole at the bottom.

I'll go with that one too. The MR2 I had was notorious for that. The deep well created by the cam shafts filled with water and is would misfire.

[katat58]

Problem Solved (I hope!)

Purchased some dielectric grease yesterday, also known as spark plug boot grease. Using a "Q"-Tip I applied it to the inside of the spark plug boots as per instructions. Also applied some on the ignition modules plug in contacts and sealed off an unused electrical connector protruding off the main wiring harness on the right side of the bike. Then took my air hose and blew out the spark-plug holes insuring the drain holes weren't blocked. Put everything back together and using a spray bottle I then commenced to soak the top of the engine and all components related to ignition. The bike fired right up idling smoothly. While it was running I continued to spray, the engine didn't even hiccup once. Again using the air hose I blew all the water off of everything and not once did the engine misfire. Took the bike out to the interstate and it ran just great. Pushed it up to bout 130 or so with no problems. Hopefully this will help if anyone else runs into a similar problem.

[stealth]

Re: Problem Solved (I hope!)

... Pushed it up to bout 130 or so with no problems.

Good thing you gave it a thorough test. I'll do the same procedure and test mine immediately.