'99 Vfr Been Sitting 10 Years, Cranks, No Codes, F/p Cycles, No Start!

[Guest PatrickD]

I recently picked up a 1999 VFR800 with ~55k miles, two bros. pipe and a power commander. The bike has been sitting in a garage for the last ten years, needless to say she was going to need some help to get running again. It came with a factory service manual which has been a huge help.

So far I have:

-cleaned the fuel tank

-replaced the entire fuel pump and hanger assy. (pump was shot) with a used unit off of Ebay from a known runner.

-soaked the fuel injectors in ATF to clean them

-replaced the battery

-disconnected the power commander for now.

I was hoping this would take care of it though no luck so far. at this point, key on, the fuel pump cycles, the FI light comes on then turns off after a few seconds, the engine will crank all day long but won't start or pop.

What I have checked:

-have pressurized fuel at the fuel rail

-checked FI codes, codes were present for disconnected injector harness, cleared codes, checked connector, now with test connector jumped the FI light stays on solid.

-have spark

-spark plugs seem to be dry, i do not believe the injectors are popping

-I cannot hear the injectors firing with a mechanics stethoscope

-battery voltage is present at the injector connectors

I have disconnected, applied dielectric grease to and reconnected the following:

-cam pulse connector

-ignition pulse connector

-injector connectors

-injector harness connectors

-ECM connectors

Any help would be appreciated! Please let me know if you need any more information from me!

Thanks,

-Patrick

[VFR4Lee]

All I know is you have come to the right place.

Someone will surely be able to help better than me.

Good luck, it should have lots of miles of life left in it.

[vfrurknee]

Have you tried the old school method of removing the air cleaner and injecting some gas or starter fluid? Sounds like the ECM is maybe bad. This should tell you if it tries to start or runs if only for a few seconds.

[Yokel]

Have you tried the old school method of removing the air cleaner and injecting some gas or starter fluid? Sounds like the ECM is maybe bad. This should tell you if it tries to start or runs if only for a few seconds.

Bingo. Give this a go and see where you're at.

Sounds like the injectors are the culprit, this will prove it. I assume you've see the plugs throw a spark? Since they're dry it seems like fuel is the problem though...

Think you're on the right track.

[Beck]

If the injectors don't seem to be "popping" then it could be the problem.

Maybe 10 years of that little bit gas in them might have damaged them with gum or corrosion.

Did you run any gas treatment like Stabil or Seafoam through them before putting the bike to sleep?

But as noted too, the ECM might not be making signals to make them "pop"?

Wow!, 10 years.... Your bike wins the "Rip Van Viffer" award!

Hope you get it started soon though!

[Cogswell]

You should be able to rig a test light to each injector connector to verify the ECU is sending a signal to them. Auto parts stores sell specialized test lights for that purpose, but the connector may not be compatible. To get badly gummed injectors working properly, the best result will likely be obtained by sending them to a professional to have them cleaned and their flow verified. RC Engineering is a good resource for that service.

[V-FORE]

Here is a place a little south of you http://www.yelp.com/biz/witchhunter-performance-bothell

He cleaned two sets of Cosworth Vega injectors for me, great work good price

Gary

[Switchblade]

And WELCOME !!!

[B4V4]

I find myself in a similar situation, troubleshooting another 99 resurrection.

Question: For testing purposes, will the bike run from a simple gravity fed line rather than hooking up a tank or dropping the fuel pump into a container?

[Mohawk]

If ECU is sending signal. It's probably the injectors are gunged up. If not it could be the cam pulse sensor, I had a mates CBR954 go dead like that. Loaned him my cam sensor & it burst to life.

If you suspect injectors, was there stale fuel in the tank ? If it was reduced to gunge, then remove throttle bodies & each injector clean fuel rail whilst the injectors soak in reddex or similar fuel cleaner. If you have ultrasonic cleaner, then cycle the injectors in reddex in the cleaner for awhile. Test each injector for throw function.

Good luck.

[Mac Morgan]

Suspect 10 year-old gas has really gummed up the system. Need to go through each part of the fuel system and systematically look for the problem. Good idea to download service manual and follow factory process. Always a good place to start.

[Guest]

Let's see, I just bought the bike from the original owner who let it sit, I don't believe he put anything in the tank when it sat. Fuel in the tank was absolutely nasty! I have cleaned the tank, replaced the whole pump and hanger, inspected the fuel rails (clean) and soaked the injectors in ATF for several days with no luck.

They do make lights to test fuel injectors, they are called NOID lights. I agree that no automotive clip is likely to fit. I tested the signal with a multimeter, and while the pulse it too fast to see on the readout, the voltage level indicated that it was in fact pulsing.

I am hesitant to dump anything down the intake to get the bike to fire, I know the bike has spark and compression, and with gear drive cams I trust the timing to be correct. I don't think the test would gain me much.

It's looking like my best option at this point would be to have the injectors professionally cleaned.

Oh, and cam sensor tests look good so far, no continuity to ground. I can't check peak voltage from the sensor however as i do not have a meter that can read the peak, though my standard meter reads an avg. of ~.2V

[B4V4]

Sent my injectors out to be sonic cleaned and tested Monday. Report is all were spraying but 3 were coming in a straight stream vs fanned. Don't know if it makes a difference or not. Apparently there was also a lot of crud coming out of them initially.

Although I was getting gas & spark on each cylinder when fully hooked up, 2 cylinders were definitely NOT igniting (1 hot, 1 lukewarm, 2 stone cold). As a troubleshooting task, I dropped about 1/2 teaspoon directly into each intake a few times and was definitely firing right up.

I can let you know Friday once the throttle bodies are back installed whether the cleaning did the trick.

[JZH]

It's probably the injectors. I had a set professionally cleaned and three of them were stuck when installed, but they un-stuck when I tapped them with a socket extension or something like that at the same time as I cranked the engine. Good luck.

Ciao,

[ridered]

Not trying to sound like captain obvious, but did you trying turning the kill switch on? It also may have corroded so you may to take it apart and clean it. If I turn off my bike with the kill switch, I have to wiggle it to get it to start again because the switch is corroded. Start with the simplest faults first. When I worked in the marine industry, 9 out of 10 non starts where because the safety lanyard wasn't in place. Of all the things you checked tested, I didn't see kill switch. Just saying...

If that is not it, have you verified spark?

Pull a spark plus to see if it is wet with fuel to verify fuel delivery?

[B4V4]

Not trying to sound like captain obvious, but did you trying turning the kill switch on? It also may have corroded so you may to take it apart and clean it. If I turn off my bike with the kill switch, I have to wiggle it to get it to start again because the switch is corroded. Start with the simplest faults first. When I worked in the marine industry, 9 out of 10 non starts where because the safety lanyard wasn't in place. Of all the things you checked tested, I didn't see kill switch. Just saying...

Problem with this advice is the engine won't even turn over if the kill switch is off, or is somewhat intermittently defective/corroded.

I was having some issues when I first tried to get my bike going last month, but all that would happen would be the headlight would go out once I hit the starter button. A few jiggles later and all has been working every since.

[ridered]

Not trying to sound like captain obvious, but did you trying turning the kill switch on? It also may have corroded so you may to take it apart and clean it. If I turn off my bike with the kill switch, I have to wiggle it to get it to start again because the switch is corroded. Start with the simplest faults first. When I worked in the marine industry, 9 out of 10 non starts where because the safety lanyard wasn't in place. Of all the things you checked tested, I didn't see kill switch. Just saying...

Problem with this advice is the engine won't even turn over if the kill switch is off, or is somewhat intermittently defective/corroded.

I was having some issues when I first tried to get my bike going last month, but all that would happen would be the headlight would go out once I hit the starter button. A few jiggles later and all has been working every since.

It has been awhile since I turned the kill switch off, but I thought the engine would crank and not start? I thought the switch killed ignition so you could stop the bike from running, not disable the starter circuit? I would have to try it to see as I don't remember.

[B4V4]

Slight delay on the throttle body re-install, but she's now back in. Still not back up and running, but is now firing up on the front two cylinders right away (was firing right-side initially after some coaxing). It getting MUCH better output so can say that the injector cleaning at least did something.

I'll keep you posted in hopes it helps your situation.

[JZH]

Tap, tap, tap...

Ciao,

[B4V4]

Not assuming you've been keeping up to date on my project, but fired right up this morning after I straightened out my wiring boo-boo.

Not to say that it's you problem as my bike always "wanted" to get going, but now that the injectors are clean and wired correctly - gold.

[Switchblade]

[VFR4Lee]

So, almost ready for some rock and roll then I guess.

[Guest]

Sorry! I've been terribly busy and with poor internet access to boot! It is correct to sat y that the engine will not even crank with the kill switch off. No offense taken, though I did check that. Spark plugs spark though are in fact dry. I may try tapping the injectors though I think a cleaning or a replacement is in order. Hard to ignore sub $50 throttle bodies on Ebay...

Privateer, what was your wiring issue?

[Guest]

Ok, pulled the trigger, new set of throttle bodies with injectors off a running 20k bike are on the way!

[Guest]

Ok, got the throttle bodies in, upon install i noticed that the idle enrichment circuit was seized and switched mine over, all cylinders now have audible clicking via my mechanics stethoscope, good! Bike now runs, though only on the front two cylinders, have spark and click on all four... these injectors are dirty too... dang! regardless, injectors are the problem, need to get a set professionally cleaned!