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ViragoTechForum.com » XV500 » Hard to start cold (SOLVED)

#1:  Hard to start cold (SOLVED) Author: jayvee43 Post Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 7:20 pm

I have been noticing my ride (XV500) 1983, starting to become more and more hard to start cold, and using the cold start (choke) was making things worst, so I spent a few days diagnosing cold starting procedures and discovered that if I unpluged my headlamp (fuse only) and started, it would start fairely ok, but yesterday I started to have it harder even with the headlamp off.

Everytime I pulled the plugs, the forward plug was black (Soothy) and the rear was perfect.

Yesterday I took the bike for a 30 km ride and it ran like a charm, this morning I wanted to use it to go to work, and it didn't start, it would run on the rear cylender for 3 or 6 seconds, and dye.
I'd restart and died.



So tonight I decided to use an in line "induction" curent meter to see how much my stator motor was drawing, I almost burried the needle.

Now I took the startor motor appart and the sparkplugs off to show you guys, and am wondering if I am on the right track to think that the startor motor is drawing too much curent, and my sparks are suffering for it. There is lots of startor brushes left, but lots of dust also, and I forgot to mention that after i was succesfull in starting my ride, I would have no more problem starting that day, as long as the engine was still warm.

Also, the sparkplug would clean itself if i removed it with the engine warm.


see the picture below/

I am wondering If someone else has run into this situation before?

and what you did to solve it?

Thanks again for any help...


Last edited by jayvee43 on Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:22 pm; edited 1 time in total

#2:   Author: jayvee43 Post Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 7:39 pm

This is a picture of the foulled up sparkplug, am I right in assuming that it is miss fire (weak spart related), AND it cleans itself up once the engine has warmed up... I verified that twice already before.


#3:   Author: jayvee43 Post Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 7:14 am

OK, last night, I put my startor assembly back together, and bench tested it after i re-assembled it... It tested at a lot less resistance on the Amps meter.

I re-installed on to the bike and tryed re starting using a fresh sparkplug in the front cylender.

It didn't make any difference, in fact, I think it turned a little faster, but only wanted to start with the rear cylender plug only.

I re-removed the front plug, and the rear and (same result as picture above)

I tryed a little test, I jumped my battery with a suitable Garden tractor battery of the same amperage value, and would you know it, the darn thing started right away, and ran on two, it ran on two plugs seemed strong, so I unpluged the boost cable, would you beleive it, it started to sputter on one cyl, two, one etc...
I re-pluged the boost cable and it ran ok.

Note: My battery test at 12.89 volts without engine running, and 13.7 - 14.1 average after one minute of running.

I borrowed a load tester from work and tested my battery capacity in voltage and amperage, the darn thing is only 200 amps at test, that is in the yellow near the red "fail" battery test marker.

Conclusion, I have a battery capable of reading 12.8 volts (well within the test limits established here) but without the proper diagnaustic equipment can't tell the average Joe how much "Amps" are in the darn battery.
Yet, the bike won run properly below a certain voltage test, SOOOoooooooo........ I am confused a little, Is it the Voltage that is charging the Ignition Coils primary circuits, or is it Amperage that matters most, and once it colapses, the coils produce a stronger spark with a stronger field produced by a stronger amperage field??????

Can someone explain to me why it is important to have a fresh, less than 2 years old battery, with all the amps available to us to run these 500's.

A stupid car ignition coil requires only 9 volts and almost no amps to fire a sparkplug in a cold engine, I'm not sure I understand this yet?

Dunno!

#4:   Author: jayvee43 Post Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 5:24 pm

I am guessing, NO ONE is going to explain to me WHY it is important to run a brand new battery in our 500's, and if we used a battery that is more than a couple years old, we loose something somewhere that is needed to produce a "strong" spark.

I've picked up a battery, and the problem is no more... WOW, I can't believe it, My original battery is only 2 years old, and tested at 12.8 volts (cold)

Please someone educate me..................

#5:   Author: club_c Post Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 5:31 pm

Yes, under load the battery amps drop off, especially after they've aged a bit. 2 years is the average life a motorcycle battery, believe it or not. I've been using a smart charger over the winter so I'm hoping to get a bit more life out of my battery, but if I get 3 years I'll be very pleased. Nature of the beastie...

#6:   Author: jayvee43 Post Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:24 pm

Bike started again and again, on both lungs very strong...

Problem solved....
ViragoTechForum.com » XV500 » Hard to start cold (SOLVED)


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