NEED HELP!!!! stopped running, left me stranded!!

So I was out riding my 3rd gen by myself around for about an hour and then on my way to my local bike night at my mechanics shop it started dogging down, so I gave it throttle and it came back to life, then started dogging down again and then died. I could not get it to start again, I would open the choke wide open and start it and it would rev up to 3-4 grand and then die, and die quicker if i gave it gas . So after being on the road for 2 hours I finally got a trailer to bring her to my mechanic and we came to the conclusion that the front 2 cylinders where not getting gas (about 1 1/2 weeks ago I cleaned off the top of the intake manifold of some gunk and grime and must have got some stuff in the front two cylinders). So I took the carbs off and cleaned the pilot and main jet, put it back together and got it to idle good but it will cut out and dog down and die if I rev it over 3 grand . My mechanic came to the conclusion that it is a weak fuel pump. So I cleaned the carbs better, diaphrams and all the passage ways. Tomorrow we are going to put it back together and check the fuel pump to see if it is pumping enough fuel out. Are we on the right track?? Could it be something else? has anyone else had anything like this happen? any help would be much appreciated.

Bike information:
Neutered CA model, Micron slip on pipe, Dino jet kit (124 main jets) K&N air filter with snorkle removed from front of air box. No other modifications that i know of that would cause anything like this.

EDIT: we did check the stator and VR and it checked out good. And when it is idling if we spray carb cleaner into the carbs it will reve up higher and run good for a quick little bit then back to idle and wont go over 3 grand.

 

If you are a young guy you must have been really scared when your bike left you stranded if you had no cell phone.

When I was growing up with bikes if the bike quit you would have to push it all the way home, and there were no cell phones.

Out in the country it was so dark at night that you could not see your hand in front of your face. Not joking.

 

Donald, i had a cell and was only waiting because everyone i called was busy, and it was only 5pm. Nobody with any advice? Am I am on the right track?

 

Don't spray carb cleaner in the carbs!
It can cause big problems. If the carb cleaner(triclorethyelene) gets on "O" rings they can swell up and jam. Also catch fire.

I would bet money that the fact you could give it choke and it would run for a minute is because the idle jets are clogged up or moisture in the fuel causing the idle jet to be clogged.
Even if you scrapped some gunk into the engine it would just blow it right out the exhaust when it fired up.

When you took off the carbs and you did not keep them upright any junk in the bottom of the float bowls could get into the idle jets that was sitting at the bottom of the float bowls. Remember....The idle jet has a hole about the size of a human hair.
They can get clogged VERY easily.

Every time someone breaks down along a road and almost anyone that walks by says, "Sounds like it's not getting any fuel" Don't they??? See what I mean?

Also fire that mechanic. HE said ,and I quote, "sounds like a weak fuel pump."
That is ridiculous. Did he do a test on the fuel pump for weakness? I have NEVER read ANY book with a "weakness" test for a fuel pump. Either they pump out gas or they don't pump out gas.

 

It will idle now but won't rev over 3 grand. We where going to work on it today and do the fuel pump test that is in the service manual but I had some things come up. I'm new to working on bikes but not cars and I have had bad fuel pumps in my vehicles that would pump fuel but not enough. One thing I forgot to mention is that after I got it to idle and let it idle for about a minute the fuel pump was hot to the touch, hotter than I thought it should be.

 

The fuel pump should just pump intermitantly not continuousley.

If you hear it pumping all the time even after start up you could have an air leak in a fuel line leading to the pump. Make sure the gas tank is venting.
Like remove the gas cap while it is running and see if the fuel pump shuts off.

See...If the gas tank is not venting it would be like holding your finger over the end of a straw. The contents of the straw cannot empty out because of the vacuum.

You are on the right track.

Like I said before. On a carbed bike you do not need the fuel pump at all really.
The tank does need a cross over tube though so when the bike leans it will get fuel.

 

I think your on the correct path, verifying that it is working properly after it is hot would top my list as described.

 

If your bike quit in Sacramento you'd be riding already.

 

Squirrel, That would be awesome!! I just want to ride!! I'm thinking about borrowing one of the in-laws harley's just so I can go ride!!! I would like to find other Vfr riders to ride with here but there arn't many. One thing that pissed me of is that a guy that night came in on a mint 98 Vfr, and had left by the time I got there!!! The one time another one shows up I don't get there in time!!! Anyways bike not fixed yet, haven't been able to get the time to test the fuel pump. One thing I forgot to mention is that my fuel level is about level with the carbs (about 1/3 tank on the gas gauge) mabey that has something to do with it??

 

Try this 91VFR,

Disconnect the fuel line from the tank and run it straight
to the carbs, with a filter in line. Use a clear fuel line if you can.
NOW ... When you open the petcock do you see fuel going to the carbs?

Start it up.

Same problem? Now clean those idle jets.
The one thing you would rather not have to do. Right?

 

Well fuel pump is good and motor is getting gas, and carbs are all cleaned. One of the other mechanics said he had an older hurricane that had the same symptoms and it was electrical. So that is where were going now. Were gonna test the vr, stator and all connectors. The vr is a finned aftermarket one, but it might have gone bad. Could it be the cdi? And the stator wouldn't make it act like this would it, isn't the stator just for charging? It does have a brand new battery also.

 

The first step in the inspection of the electrical parts IS a VISUAL inspection of the connnections.

Unlike other motorcycles this type of motorcycle does have a habit of the connections between the stator and the rectifer, of the connections getting corroded or burned.

You MUST HAVE a workshop manual to do the volt/ohms checks on these eldectrical components. Otherwise you are just guessing.

 

Well I have a service manual but I'm not sure if it has that stuff in it. I do remember right after I bought it I cleaned every electrical connection I could get to and put dielectric grease on the connections and while doing it I noticed the vr plug from the harness to the vr was brown and looked a little burnt but the vr connections where all good ( I assumed it was from the original vr going bad.

 

You keep saying, "VR" what is that?

BTW i checked those connections (stator to rectifier) on my bike and found one burned and black. I replaced all the connections but read on this forum (see below) that the only way to stop the problem was to do away with the connections completely and just solder them and shrink wrap tube them.

I don't know why but only this motorcycle has this problem. I have not seen this problem on other japanese motorcycles.
I think the engineer that designed it made a mistake.

Go to:
http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/34832-look-what-i-found.html

 

Vr = voltage regulator

 

Stop Bragging Donald :smile:

I got stuck on my turd generation with 75,000 miles on it when the regulator/rectifier gave up the ghost and committed mechanical suicide. I was in the slow lane and was stopped at a traffic light so I was able to duck walk the bike to a cripple freindly sidewalk. There, I whipped out my trusty CELL PHONE and called up a friend who was ironically down the street. He picked me and the sick bikie up with his pickup and we brought it to my folks house. Total break down time was five minutes (no lie) - So next day I plugged in the new regulator/rectifier that I had sitting in my tool box and Wah-Lah/ bike was happy again.

You need to check battery voltage at the terminals while reving bike to 4000 rpm. You need to measure AC voltage off the stator (replaced mine 4 years ago). You can test regulator/rectifier. Thats about it. My old r/r was smoked and melted on the frame with a nasty stank. Its a good old bike that still goes 130 mph (wana take it easy on her) every time I go out :smile:

 

Why didn't anyone mention a possibly clogged fuel cap vent as a cause ??

Initial post pointed unquestionably toward low fuel level in carbs, so clogged vent, clogged fuel filter, bad pump relay or bad pump would be places to look first.

 

I did mention that on post #6.

BTW It is not a VR= voltage regulator.
It is a Rectifier. It changes 1/2 wave AC to 12 DC.