i need help bad

[GNEPIG]

Ooooooh, looks like he tea-bagged ya on that one promie

I'm the least educated person in my shop, but I'm the one everyone comes to when they have technical questions. I don't think grammar has much to do with motorcycle maintenance, but it helps when you have to read a service manual.

Trevon, sounds like your spark plug wires are on backwards.
We need more clues.

[trevonxs11]

spark plug wires checked out good, my petcocks are good so i am at a stopping point until i found out why i was getting alot of fuel in my air box, there is a vacuum hose from the side of the petcock to the #4 cylinders carb boot, same on the left side just it goes to the #1 cylinder boot. then there are 2 hoses from the air box to the carbs and a fat hose from the air box to the trans. it looks like. and does the hose from the left crank cover go to the #2 carb? i am at a loss i dont know what to do

[prometheus578]

Ok... several symptoms that we are treating like separate problems.
Your mention of the wiring harness mess may just have been incidental to what the real deal is.
You mentioned recently that cyl's #2 and #3 aren't firing.
How do you know this?
Are they getting spark?
Are they getting fuel?
Are the plugs wet and sooty?

A telling statement was your recent comment on the fuel in the airbox.
Here is what needs to be done.
Replace the spark plugs, as they're probably fouled by now.
Put new plugs in the caps and lay the plugs next to the head(away from the plug holes) and crank it over. Do you have spark from all four plugs?
Next we deal with the carbs. Several reasons for overflow. Most commonly, float needles are worn or there's crap from the line holding them open.
Pull the carbs(No big deal... 10/15 minutes) and remove the bowls. Give the carbs a good cleaning with spray carb cleaner, etc, but replace the float needles as they are what is not shutting off the fuel flow.
Adjust the floats as mentioned everywhere on this site.
Bench test the carbs for leaks before reinstalling them.
Your description of the hoses was accurate. Make sure the two vent hoses that go to the airbopx are clear, as if they're plugged, the carb will flood, too.
The hose that goes down to the left cover does indeed go to the nipple on #2 carb(not the manifold)

Write back with results.

[trevonxs11]

ok... to the questions you asked..... yes the plugs get wet and sooty, yes all plugs spark, and i know the 2 &3 cylinders were not firing because after cranking the motor and it is backfiring, doing that afew times the #1 & #4 headers would get warm, and not #2 & #3. but all plugs spark, its weird. i am bout to head out and check out the carbs, thank for the help i will let you know how it all goes

[trevonxs11]

ok... my carbs seem to check out good. i cant find anything wrong with them, so maybe it is my petcock? i checked them out earlier and on primary fuel flows, on reserve and on they dont flow cuz of no vacuum. so i assumed they are good. any ideas?

[trevonxs11]

i got it all put back together, went to start it and i got nothing different, but fuel is no longer filling up the air box.......i just dont know what to do

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Trevon,

OldYam said it on the previous page.....get thee a multimeter if you don't have one! Do you have one?? They are cheaply acquired from Wallyworld now as well as Radio Shack.

Spark plugs can spark outside of the engine when not under pressure, but can fail under pressure!

You need to start testing systems. The ignition coils is first, checking the ohms on the primary wires....the positive and negative...should be ~1.5 ohms .

Then pull the plug caps off, check them, around 5-8 kohms. Also inspect the high tension plug wire ends for corrosion/green, and if present, snip off 1/4" from end to get to good copper wire! THEN, check ohms from plug to plug, should be ~15kohms.

IF any of these values are way off, then very possible that the coil for 2-3 is bad!

IF coils measure within spec, then check the positive lead in the wiring harness for 12 volts when the key is on. Once the bike starts, the power is run thru the ballast resistor, and the voltage drops to 9 volts to save the coils.

Let us know what you find, then we can go from there!
T.C.

[trevonxs11]

hey all the electrical is good. i checked them out again like you said.....and its all fine. let me know when you think of somthing else.... thanks

[skids]

About the leakage into the airbox: Did you get the bike this way? Someone may have a later model airbox with earlier carbs and if that is the case, the nipples on the box are plugged. You need them open. If the breathers don't breathe, the bike will overflow when running (or cranking?) Also, the pivot rods for the floats can build up with corrosion to the point that the floats stick sometimes. There is not a lot of room in bowls and if the floats are a little bent, they can contact the sides of the bowl.

The hose connections sound right.

Originally posted by trevonxs11
spark plug wires checked out good, my petcocks are good so i am at a stopping point (snip)

[skids]

OK, you are now past that point. Sorry. Air, fuel (and not too much), spark, what more could you need. Compression check?

[trevonxs11]

i dont have a meter for the compression, but i did take the plugs out and put my thumb over the hole and cranked it.... and there was tons of compression on each cylinder. i am wondering if i switch the wires from the cdi box to the ignition coils (left orange and right grey, or vis versa) if that may be the problem. would that short out anything if i do?

[underdog57]

If you have a timing light , you can try putting it on plug 1 and crank it over to see if its sparking on ignition number one cylinder ..should light on the F mark...

I'm thinking what your thinking on wire crossed ...
Bob

[trevonxs11]

so i can use a timing gun and just turn the starter without the bike running and it will work? and i should try to cross those wires after i test the timing right? thanks -trevon-

[underdog57]

it should light up enough to see if you are in time.
If you switch the wires it might just start though ....
it will not hurt anything ...

the guru's know this system to a t . but the light will be a good indicator ....you can be 180 deg. out ...

Bob

[thewiz]

pick up coils

Ok, Trev .... although I'm far from the knowledge level of most of these guys on XS11s, I still would like to help, if I could. If it's any consolation, I have been right there myself before. I recently encountered a similar problem with the number one pick-up coil wire which befuddled a few of us for a while.

You may have read on this site that the advance plate, as it pivots, puts stress on some of the pick up coil wires feeding the TCI causing separation and breaks in them. These four wires are very finely stranded for flexibility and may appear good visually but their insulation hides the trouble. This condition is most often associated with a miss or stumble while running at one rpm point or another ... but it can be more.

Try pulling the four pronged plug from the TCI and measuring the resistance (at the plug) from the White/Red to the White/Green (#1 p-u coil) and from the Yellow/Green to the Yellow/Red (#2 p-u coil). The resistance should be 720 ohms +/- 20%. If not, or if a pair is open altogther, you may have found your problem.

My symptoms were: only a tiny, weak-a$$ed little spark when I LET OFF of the starter button .... otherwise NOTHIN' !! Since I have other XSs, I started by playin' the 'parts swap game' for a few days first .... when that didn't work, I got down to business and figured it out Hang in there, bro' ... you'll get it.