Water

[Getty]

The past two times ive taken the bike to the high pressure self washer the bike idles fine but has a terrible time driving. Seems like there is no spark. Then let it dry out for a few hours and she runs very good. I was washing below the airfilter (all the oil from airbox.. cough cough made a terrible mess..) And the upper most left side of engine (shock is leaking/blowing there i think)

I searched the coil stuff. Just not understanding how to go about this problem. Taking it to work tomorrow. And on the way home shes getting another bath to verify the problem for a third time.

Doing shock seals/springs soon. and ordered a diamond seat.

Here is a my bike. Link to this image : http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=528079

[ppv]

i have the same problem every time i wash it . but it wont go in gear without killing it . tried every thing. compressed air blower on spark plug caps fixed it. hope it works for you .

[red bandit]

Might want to check your battery to frame ground and the engine to frame ground. Make sure they are clean, a little dielectric grease also helps.

[bikerphil]

I have the same problem. I just try to stay away from the spark plug cap areas. If the caps and wires are old, they are more prone to misfire if wet. Hope this helps.

[D. P. Larmee]

I have also had the same problems, There was some talk of possible causes here, but nothing definitive. It sounded like the most probable cause was in the wiring for the pickup coils, either in the connector that it shares with the neutral light or in the harness at the crimps between the flexible wire and regular wire. The problem I have with an issue like this is that it's tough to induce and it tends goes away on its own so you don't really know if the fix worked until it happens again.

[wa407mpp]

This may sound strange, but check kill switch housing ,I've found that if I wash that area with pressure, I have that same problem. So I think the water is getting in under pressure and causing it to short out intermittently,and run crappy.

[fredintoon]

Stop going there

Hi Getty,
that high pressure water will not only find it's way into your electrics, it'll blast it's way past the seals in your wheel bearings and turn the grease into a far worse grade of lubricant. It'll also get past the fork seals to contaminate the fork oil. At least the electrics failure is instant, so you know right away and hopefully can fix the problem. Water in wheel bearings or forks can totally wreck those parts without you finding out before it's too late.
Best you go old-fashioned with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge.

[Getty]

I'll go with buckets/soap and hose.

Just want to make sure she runs in the rain before I'm 400miles away. Hopefully the old way of washing the bike represents a good cold rainy ride.

I will dialectric grease the plug wires and such before any wire splicing. Give her a good soak with the soapy water/ hose. Hopefully the problems will go away. She ran great so far today.

[wa407mpp]

Sorry though everyone know that.

If you stand back a little and don't direct the full presure stream right at the seams and openings you shouldn't have any problems with using the car wash, to clean your bike.

[TADracer]

What fredintoon and Getty said....stay away from the high pressure washers and use a bucket. And try not to spray the hose on high pressure directly under the tank or into the electronics. If you use a bucket and sponge/brush then you only need to use a fine hose spray anyway since you are only rinsing off.

Been washing my XS for 28 years now and it has never (underscore that) never failed to start after a washing.

[Getty]

Do the Plug Caps come off the plug wire? I want to take them off and put some Di-electric grease there. Seems like my old bike caps came off. Greased them and it improved for rainy travel.

[bikerphil]

If they are the original or NGK caps, they should unscrew after pulling the boots down the wire some. Cut 1/4" off each wire before re-attaching for nice tight connection. Slip boots back up over cap. Good to go. Hope this helps.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Getty,

Dielectric grease is an insulator. So...you will NOT want to put it on the wire UNTIL you screw the cap back onto/into the wire to ensure that you have good metal to metal contact. Then you can apply the grease around the fitting between the wire and the cap.

Or...you can apply a nice slathering of clear or black Silicone RTV sealant around the wire/cap connection, very heat resistant and water resistant!

While you have the caps OFF, check their resistance, should be around 5K ohms, but if much higher, then the contacts inside them and the internal resistor may have gotten corroded as well. You can take it apart and clean and check the resistance of the internal resistor alone to make sure it hasn't died!
T.C.

[Getty]

Silicone mmm.

It's done. Metered the coil (checks OK). Treated all of the wiring not just the plug wires/caps. The pvc jackets on everything were very dry. WD/40 and dielectric grease can do wonders. I didnt even go for the Caig Deoxit Gold.

Shocks will be done soon. Mark at Diamond seats is making a perfect seat. So I cant test yet.

On to the fairing wiring. The po gave me the original fairing for the bike. I would like to put the fairing on it. Going to do a cold ride in May. Time for SEARCH Fairing, wiring, electrical,

Thanks again you guys. My bike would never have been able to be reliable without you. (bows)