First ride after tracking down gremlin :)

[sabretooth]

Don't know if anyone else here has had this happen, but just thought I would share in case you have similar symptoms. I have an 04 FZ6 that now has over 11k miles. Never had issues with starting other than battery, but that was to be expected with a 6 yr old battery. So with new battery installed I figured I was good 2 go this season. Started right up and purred great for about 2 min. After that the bike would start missing. If you let it cool off you could ride it hard for a couple minutes again and then the misfire would start to creep in again. It would first show up at low RPM only under a load but eventually after time miss through the entire RPM range. No ECU codes... so really fun to track down. Plugs were original so I bought a set of 4 plugs and intalled... talk about a double-jointed monkey job! After doing that still had a miss, but I figured it was good I did that anyway since plugs were looking worn. I went through and pulled each plug cap one at a time to see which one was missing. When I would pull the cap off on cylinder #4 there was no change so I knew this was the offender. One thing I noticed, besides getting a HUGE shock, was that there were sparks jumping right out the side of the plug cap. I tested other caps and they would not do this. I went to order a cap from a dealer and they wanted $60.00 for one cap!!! So I went on ebay and got 2 coils with wires and 4 caps for $35 shipped to my door (would have cost over $430 for all that from dealer). When I got the parts I installed new cap and presto... problem fixed!!! Just wanted to share this since I took the old cap that was bad to a dealer and it tested as good! The resistance was fine, but the problem was the inner insulation was bad which they couldn't test for and there were no physical problems that could be seen with cap- cracks, etc. So even though you may think a cap is fine because it passes the resistance test that isn't always the case as I learned. But now all that is behind me- ran errands yesterday and ran great! Took to work for first time today even though it was 28 degrees... had to lay down the whole way since it was COLD on freeway! Happy riding to all and keep the rubber side down

Sent from my SCH-R880 using Tapatalk

 

[Wolfman]

Don't know if anyone else here has had this happen, but just thought I would share in case you have similar symptoms. I have an 04 FZ6 that now has over 11k miles. Never had issues with starting other than battery, but that was to be expected with a 6 yr old battery. So with new battery installed I figured I was good 2 go this season. Started right up and purred great for about 2 min. After that the bike would start missing. If you let it cool off you could ride it hard for a couple minutes again and then the misfire would start to creep in again. It would first show up at low RPM only under a load but eventually after time miss through the entire RPM range. No ECU codes... so really fun to track down. Plugs were original so I bought a set of 4 plugs and intalled... talk about a double-jointed monkey job! After doing that still had a miss, but I figured it was good I did that anyway since plugs were looking worn. I went through and pulled each plug cap one at a time to see which one was missing. When I would pull the cap off on cylinder #4 there was no change so I knew this was the offender. One thing I noticed, besides getting a HUGE shock, was that there were sparks jumping right out the side of the plug cap. I tested other caps and they would not do this. I went to order a cap from a dealer and they wanted $60.00 for one cap!!! So I went on ebay and got 2 coils with wires and 4 caps for $35 shipped to my door (would have cost over $430 for all that from dealer). When I got the parts I installed new cap and presto... problem fixed!!! Just wanted to share this since I took the old cap that was bad to a dealer and it tested as good! The resistance was fine, but the problem was the inner insulation was bad which they couldn't test for and there were no physical problems that could be seen with cap- cracks, etc. So even though you may think a cap is fine because it passes the resistance test that isn't always the case as I learned. But now all that is behind me- ran errands yesterday and ran great! Took to work for first time today even though it was 28 degrees... had to lay down the whole way since it was COLD on freeway! Happy riding to all and keep the rubber side down

Sent from my SCH-R880 using Tapatalk

Pretty informative post for your first....cheers, and welcome.

Thanks for sharing.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[FIZZER6]

It's a great feeling to track down a problem like this and fix it yourself! :rockon:

 

[Erci]

Well done! Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[Motogiro]

:welcome:sabretooth!!

We just had a post yesterday talking about the same thing. http://www.600riders.com/forum/garage-mechanical-help/32735-error-code-33-cylinder-1-4-a-2.html
The meter test will not always tell us if a component is good. Frequency, cycles of operation, component and ambient temperatures.
It this case the OP purchased a replacement ECU because the coils pack in question rang out good on the ohm meter.

Good call on your repair!
Again welcome to this great forum! :rockon:

 

[foxbass]

:welcome: to the forum bro, and thanks for the info. I'll be sure to file that little story away for future reference. That kinda thing can have a person going round in circles for days.
Aint that just what these forums are for!!!

Stay shiny side up friend!

 

[FinalImpact]

Hey, just curious if you noticed upon your first inspection of the miss if the cap was loose and just sitting on the plug? Also, was the top of the plug discolored from the cap arcing to it?? Maybe it was blackened or greenish?

With high energy and a little resistance between the cap and the plug the energy will deteriorate the cap but still find its way to the plugs electrode for a while. That is until the path of resistance is less between the wire to the cylinder head than it is from the wire to the plugs electrode.

Often times a loose cap or a thin layer of grease is all it takes to begin the breakdown of cap and or allow enough other impurities to stick to the cap to make it break down reducing the resistance of the cap.

Important: make sure the cap is clean and clicks firmly into place!

Good Work BTW!!!

Also - if you are suspect of high energy leaking, run the bike in the dark and look for sparks jumping. Of the brave and painful approach is to run your hand along the cap and wire. It shouldn't bite you! If its bad, it'll knock you on your @ss! Be warned!

 

[Motogiro]

Hey, just curious if you noticed upon your first inspection of the miss if the cap was loose and just sitting on the plug? Also, was the top of the plug discolored from the cap arcing to it?? Maybe it was blackened or greenish?

With high energy and a little resistance between the cap and the plug the energy will deteriorate the cap but still find its way to the plugs electrode for a while. That is until the path of resistance is less between the wire to the cylinder head than it is from the wire to the plugs electrode.

Often times a loose cap or a thin layer of grease is all it takes to begin the breakdown of cap and or allow enough other impurities to stick to the cap to make it break down reducing the resistance of the cap.

Important: make sure the cap is clean and clicks firmly into place!

Good Work BTW!!!

Also - if you are suspect of high energy leaking, run the bike in the dark and look for sparks jumping. Of the brave and painful approach is to run your hand along the cap and wire. It shouldn't bite you! If its bad, it'll knock you on your @ss! Be warned!

I used to get chased on a regular basis by charging up condensers off a plug wire and tossing it to a mechanic all charged up as I yelled, "Is this your socket?" Of course they'd catch it :Flash: and the chase was on!!! :spank:

 

[discgolfdude]

:welcome: to the forum, and thanks for the useful info that I hope I never have to deal with! :BLAA: