[miknwv]

Hey guys...my cousin bought a 1984 goldwing recently...it ran well for the guy he bought it from, but the guy stopped riding and let it sit a year or two.... after my cousin bought it the gas tank had rust all in it so we took it out and had it professionally cleaned and lined...we cleaned out all the fuel lines, carbs, everything...we've got months of work into this thing.

we go to fire it up and it idled for 30 seconds then quit...now all it will do is crank over and won't fire. so, we replaced all the spark plugs and still no dice. we've double and triple checked and it IS getting fuel, we're just not sure if its getting fire to the plugs.

is there anything common that would cause this that we can look for or are we going to have to take it to a dealer and have them check it part by part til they find out why it wont fire?

any help is greatly appreciated..

frustratedly yours,
mike

 

[TomStark]

Mark,
The 4 stroke engine is pretty simple, no matter how much technology it has. It all boils down to this, you need the right amount of air/fuel, compression, and spark at the appropriate time. If you have all of those, you have a running engine, if you are missing any one, you don't.
How are you sure it is getting fuel? If it is getting fuel, how do you know that it is not too rich or too lean? It is easy to see if you are getting spark, simply plug a spark plug into one of the wires, then lay it on the block. Crank the motor over, and you should see the spark. I like to check for really stupid things first, so did you check to be sure that the kill switch is set to the "run" position? (really embarassing when you are trying to start, and then realize you have it in "kill!").
If you are getting spark, and it is not starting, I would pull ALL the plugs, hold the throttle wide open, choke off, and crank it for around 15 seconds. Then put the plugs back in, and try to strat normally.
Keep us posted.
Tom

 

[miknwv]

We're sure it's getting fuel because he took a screw loose from around one of the carbs adn it poured out.

as far as teh method you said of testing the spark, he said somethin about if he tried it that way he'd blow something electrical up on it that's pretty expensive.....plus his dad is notorious for being able to test the coil on a car by grabbing it and it doesn't bother him so we may test it that way.

we never thought of the air intake....i'll tell him to check the filter, make sure no mice made nests in there (seen it on a 4-wheeler before LOL) and go from there. we had our train of thought on fuel and spark, thanks for the air idea.

as far as the switches, they were all where they were supposed to be, the kill switch on run and everything. we'll try to see if there's an obstruction to the air and i'll get back with you.

thank you so much for your professional input!!

mike

 

[TomStark]

The way you checked for fuel showed you that the carbs have fuel, but does not prove the fuel is getting into the cylinders. If you are not getting spark, and are getting fuel, sooner or later the plugs will come out wet. Also, I have not heard of any ignition system that can be damaged by testing for spark. Not saying that it is not possible, (ANYTHING is!), but if that is true, the way I suggested cannot hurt the system because it will work normally only the spark plug will be outside the head instead of inside. If the system can be hurt, it would be more likely that the system would be hurt by "grabing it." (resistance would be FAR greater, there fore current draw and coil output would be far higher, going through dad than going through a plug.!
Tom

 

[detdrbuzzard]

hello and welcome to GWOF miknwv, you two didn't accidentally hit the kill switch did ya. tom has you covered i see and dont forget a tilt sensor will let it crank and not start too

 

[miknwv]

nope, we made sure the kill switch wasnt killin it.... we're gonna work on it tonite and try all the methods you both have told us....im thinkin its the air delivery system because it makes sense...idle for about 30 seconds long enough for a rat's nest or somethin to completely clog the filter, etc.

I think he loosened a bolt near the pistons and it drained out fuel so I'm pretty sure fuel is getting to the pistons.

and i'll let him know to try to arc the plug against the block, but may do that as a last resort.

is it possible that after sitting a couple years then firing up adn running for 30 seconds that both coils could have simultaneously went bad?

as far as a tilt killswitch, its on its center stand so its straight upright.

thanks a bunch for the input guys!

 

[detdrbuzzard]

usually if a tilt sensor is activated once the bike was upright and the ignition turned off and back on the tilt sensor would reset itself but if one goes bad you will not be able to restart the bike even though tits up streight again

 

[miknwv]

where is this tilt sensor located so we can check it tonight too?

 

[TomStark]

where is this tilt sensor located so we can check it tonight too?

funny story about that. I am thinking I may be having trouble with my tilt switch, so I call the dealer to ask where it is. We can both find it on the wiring diagram, but not in the manual at all. He finally says "if you find it, let me know where it is!"
I have an 85 Limited, and I found mine. It is located under the faux tank, in the middle, near the triple clamp. It is on top of the spark units. There is a black, red/white, and green wire coming into it. The black wire is the hot wire that feeds relays 4 and 5. The red/white wire is the wire coming FROM relays 4 and 5. The green is ground. If you short the red/white wires, you are bypassing the switch. If you short the black and green wires, you blow a fuse, because you dead shorted a hot wire. And finally, if you short the black and red/white wires, the bike will not run because you no longer can energize relays 4 and 5. Now this is on my 85 Limited. I don't know about your bike, so check out a wiring diagram. Relay 4 is for the EFI system, and relay 5 is for the fuel pump. Again, on an 85 Limited. Hope this helps, ask any questions you like. For what it is worth, without me being able to actually look at the bike, (so I am just pissing in the wind here), my bet would be you have a fuel issue. Again, this is just from past experience, shooting in the dark at your problem. Even with a rat's nest, (I agree, can happen!), you should be able to pull enough air for an idle. Could be an air system issue, but my money would be on fuel, then ignition.
Tom
Tom
Tom