No spark but everything else is fine?

[Chephren]

No spark but everything else is fine? (Solved)

Hi,

As I mentioned in my intro I lost the use of my right arm in 2006 in a bike accident but I've recently bought an FZS Fazer 600.
I had to convert all the controls to the left which with help from NABD I was able to afford the thumb brake which is now fitted and working. I had to buy a longer brake hose and banjo bolts to get it all to fit but it's done (after 3 hours of bleeding brakes) but apart from a new headlamp bulb and moving the throttle to the left I haven't changed anything else..

I was just about to take her out for my first ride in 9 years and when I went to start it, it made the normal "I'm about to fire" sound and usually it'll start within 1-2 seconds of holding the starter button but after the initial try it wouldn't start.

It turns over as quick as you'd expect but wont fire. I've taken plugs 1 & 4 out and I'm not getting a spark from either so I'm guessing 2 & 3 are the same and I can't work out why cos she started better than any bike I've ever had until now, every time she'd fire straight away

All I've done is change the hose from the thumb brake to the spliter and bled the system so I'm sure I haven't damaged or unplugged anything electrical.

I've cleaned the "idiot switch" on the stand which made no difference so I'm really lost as to why there's no spark, all the lights and horn work as they should but no spark!

It happened just as it was about to fire but now I'm getting nothing

Can anyone help me please? It's been a long road to get to where I am now and now something simple's decided to ruin my day.

I've checked every fuse I can find and they're all ok so I really don't know where to go from here, if anyone can help me I'd be so very very grateful

Dave

 

[FinalImpact]

Hi,

As I mentioned in my intro I lost the use of my right arm in 2006 in a bike accident but I've recently bought an FZS Fazer 600.
I had to convert all the controls to the left which with help from NABD I was able to afford the thumb brake which is now fitted and working. I had to buy a longer brake hose and banjo bolts to get it all to fit but it's done (after 3 hours of bleeding brakes) but apart from a new headlamp bulb and moving the throttle to the left I haven't changed anything else..

I was just about to take her out for my first ride in 9 years and when I went to start it, it made the normal "I'm about to fire" sound and usually it'll start within 1-2 seconds of holding the starter button but after the initial try it wouldn't start.

It turns over as quick as you'd expect but wont fire. I've taken plugs 1 & 4 out and I'm not getting a spark from either so I'm guessing 2 & 3 are the same and I can't work out why cos she started better than any bike I've ever had until now, every time she'd fire straight away

All I've done is change the hose from the thumb brake to the spliter and bled the system so I'm sure I haven't damaged or unplugged anything electrical.

I've cleaned the "idiot switch" on the stand which made no difference so I'm really lost as to why there's no spark, all the lights and horn work as they should but no spark!

It happened just as it was about to fire but now I'm getting nothing

Can anyone help me please? It's been a long road to get to where I am now and now something simple's decided to ruin my day.

I've checked every fuse I can find and they're all ok so I really don't know where to go from here, if anyone can help me I'd be so very very grateful

Dave

Hi and Welcome Dave!
Can you tell us about your test method? Did you insert a spark plug into the wire and touch the plug body to the header or another bare metal engine ground? If so and there the was no spark, you'll need to lift the tank and verify you have 12V at the RED/Blue trace wires going to the coils. Its best to do this while the engine is cranking as the ECM shorts the other wires to ground to fire the coils.

Do you have a volt ohm meter or a 12V test lamp?

 

[Chephren]

I've tried holding the plug on the head and got no spark, found it was or seemed to be a battery problem.

Charged it last night and today I've got a nice spark, used one of those gadgets that goes between the plug and HT lead and it lit up beautifully, engine turns over super fast so my battery is defo ok.

Cranked her a few times and she was about to fire then nothing, took plugs out, all 4 are wet but still getting a spark, I'm hoping I've flooded it where I cranked it so much last night so I've left the plugs out for a while and going to try again soon.

She ran perfectly before so I really don't get it, she's like the little train who thinks he can, I KNOW he can he just won't!

One of the reasons I bought it was because it ran so well, started within 2 seconds on the button last time but now I get the pre-fire sound then it just spins, take plugs out and clean them, reinsert and I'll get that pre-fire stage but then she either floods or something else happens which stops it firing.

It's been 9 years sine I've had a bike so I'm a little rusty plus I've only ever had 3 four strokes and never had to work on any of them, gimme a 2 stroke and I'd be laughing but I know very little about these 4 cylinder monsters.

Fingers crossed it's just flooded or I'll be having to charge the battery again and start all over....

Please please please start!!!

Here's a pic of my conversion, left hand throttle and thumb brake..

 

[FinalImpact]

One option with the plugs out is to use a propane tourch and heat the thread area of the plug(s). Take your time and figure that 300°F should burn off the fuel. Just don't force cool them.
What does the inside of the tank look like anyways? Is it rusty?

 

[Motogiro]

Dave,
I know you may probably already know this part but I'll put it out there anyway...make sure the gap on the plugs is set to the factory specification on not just out of the box. Many people go by the over the counter talk that the plugs are set at the manufacturer. They may seem fine but there can be other problems in the motor at times where having the gap to spec. is the difference between firing or not.

Also...You are awesome brother!!!:rockon:

 

[Chephren]

Ha Ha! How dumb of me lol It was the battery, I calculated 40 hours from flat not the 4 someone told me so my dad lent me his turbo charger, I was checking every half hour until I fell asleep, about 1am I woke up and it said fully charged so happy days, a reason to get up early!

In the morning I crank her over and get the pre-fire cough then nothing

I checked the spark with one of those light up thingy-bob things that goes between the plug and HT lead, my plugs don't have the bobble on the top so it didn't fit right but it lit up like a Christmas tree so all my dead coil worries were dealt with.

I cranked her a bit more and got the pre-fire sound then nothing again! (at this point Google came into play)
She was turning over so fast I knew the battery was good so thinking back to an old thread I'd read I thought and hoped I'd flooded it, took the 4 plugs out, they were all black and soaking wet so I cleaned them up and left them out for an hour while checked the gaps, Motogiro they were all within the 0.7-0.8 range that the manual said (does that sound right?) so back in they go, crank her over with about 1/8th choke and she fired up like there'd never been a problem.

The simplest of things can cause big problems but with determination and help from top guys like you they're normally easy to fix.

HURRAY!!!!!! TODAY WAS THE DAY AFTER 8 YEARS 363 DAYS I FELT THAT FREEDOM AGAIN!!!!

My first ride in practically 9 years started off a little bit like I'd filled up with Kangaroo juice rather than petrol, the throttle is so responsive and learning to do it all one handed was tough at the start but once I'm moving it's like I've never been away. I've found that 3,000rpm until the clutch starts to bite then a little more throttle gives a smoother take off but The clutch/throttle is gonna take some time but I've got this far so it won't be long before it's second nature.

Moral of the story: Make sure your battery's fully charged and it seems these FZS6's love to flood, pop your plugs out for an hour and you'll be sorted (p.s. try and get some thin pipe or an air duster to blow the debris from around the plugs, you don't want that cr@p getting inside any of the barrels)

My First ride... https://www.facebook.com/david.barber.18007/videos/512021498950462/?pnref=story