Bike dies off

[aMiGo81]

I got into a situation whereby when i start my bike, it will auto die off automatically in about 10-15seconds if i did not rev it. Once on road for 1min, sometimes it will die off yet sometimes its ok.

 

Will a battery with insufficient charge give rise to that problem? My battery is like 3yrs already. Will changing battery solve this problem? Anyone can advice?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Bike model : CBRRR400.

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

This is quite normal as the fuel air charge may be too rich for the cold start condition. If the idle screw is easily accessible you can warm up the bike with a slightly higher idle setting, or the easier way is just ride around at low revs to get the engine to operating temperature.

 

Usually if a bike is of an older build it's quite normal for it to require a bit more micromanagement and to me it's fine because a bike that starts -too- easily when cold has its fuel-air setting set too lean. I'm presuming of course your CBR400 works fine except for this cold start issue.

[aMiGo81]

Hi Kitten, thanks for your valued advice. Just that previously i dont have this problem. And i also forgotten when it really started..

 

So low charge battery will not cause this phenomenon?

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Low charge battery, especially those holding under 11 volts of charge will mean that the starter may not even turn. As your bike's electrics mainly support the battery, basic lighting and not a Chingay procession worth of LEDs/foglights/accessories, I think it's safe to say you only need the battery to hold sufficient charge for starting. And that's completely fine. Lots of motorbike batteries today are advertised as maintenence free anyway and yours is living up to its name. Once the bike is running it should be "self sustaining" its own ignition and lighting, anyway, and drawing charge from the battery only when engine is at idle.

 

On the cold start issues...

 

Did you overhaul the bike recently? Changed any carb settings during regular servicing?

 

Not recommending spending any $ to do any re-setting of the carb, as although washing the carb and retuning it may help to give easier cold starts, it's a lot of hassle and maybe some unwanted risk of causing additional problems if the mechanic does a bad job - when otherwise just a slightly longer warm up session will do the trick.

 

Besides, if your bike is not a fuel injected model, it's perfectly normal. A too-low idling setting for cold start is better (because once warmed up it has normal idle) than a setting that allows cold start and then 10 minutes later you're idling at 4,000 rpm.

[aMiGo81]

But sometimes even when i have ride for 20mins. Then i off the engine and come back by 5mins time, whenever i start my bike and stop rev-ving, it will die-off... "(

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Wah, 5 minutes should be still hot leh. Time to get carbs checked liao.

 

Can recommend you planet motors at ubi, because they have the best expertise and are an honest business for this type of troubleshooting.

 

Just get their number from forum and call them up, tell Ah Chong the problem. That guy is like Einstein he knows everything about Japanese bikes :3

 

Meantime, try to increase your idling a bit. The bike will still be useable, but running with high idling is not the solution to a problem. How big the problem I don't know, cos I never rode your bike (duh, lol), so let Ah Chong check lor.

[aMiGo81]

Thanks!!! Will do something about it. So low charge batteries will not even enable my bike to get started right?

 

I think its really something to do with carb settings. Did some maintenance on bike few months back.

[niteblade]

can i chip in here! do you have a headlight switch? is it turned on or off? weak batteries MIGHT be a problem... for me at least with my sp... when i turned on the headlights. the bike will die after awhile when idling.. had to keep rev-ing it or be moving then the problem would go away... had to change my rectifier/batt.

 

i still could start the bike... is your neutral light flickering?

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Worth a try. Thanks @niteblade. Always good to see RVFs around

[LeftCoast]

I got into a situation whereby when i start my bike, it will auto die off automatically in about 10-15seconds if i did not rev it. Once on road for 1min, sometimes it will die off yet sometimes its ok.

 

Will a battery with insufficient charge give rise to that problem? My battery is like 3yrs already. Will changing battery solve this problem? Anyone can advice?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Bike model : CBRRR400.

 

Facts:

- Bike will still run even if the battery halfway suddenly gets weak or kaput. But once engine is shutoff, you may not be able to start it again (electric start bikes)

 

- Weak battery = if it always drops to 11.0v after riding

 

- Bloated battery = Battery has protruding surfaces that you can see (i.e. become fat) = charging system spoil

 

- Charging system = rectifier and regulator. On many bikes, this is a 2-in-1 device.

 

May I also put your attention to the wiring harness; this can be a possible starting point of failure as well.

This messy-spaghetti bunch of wires is what connects all electrical parts together, including the charging system

Also called "harness" by bikeshop mechs

 

400cc sportbikes...because they're 10++ years old, unless the previous owner really take care or perform an overhaul of all the electronics stuff -- the bike otherwise will cause breakdown headaches. Ahh the memories

 

Hope these helps to give you an informed decision on where you would like to check on your bike. Elsewise, i'm gonna as suggested likewise by members here...to go for a checkup by a trusted mech.

 

Good luck, hope you are well informed. Better informed rather than chopping board is my duty

[aMiGo81]

Great kind souls out here!!!

 

**do you have a headlight switch? is it turned on or off? **

My headlight switch is spoilt and not functioning as it is already. But my headlight is always on one light now. Originally it was two.

 

**neutral light flickering?**

nope, but when i rev, the light will glow brighter.

 

**wiring harness**

i did grounding before. (they rewire the cables before few yrs back)

 

hmmmm probably will go change the battery for a start...will cdi or rectifier caused this problems too?

[niteblade]

Great kind souls out here!!!

 

**do you have a headlight switch? is it turned on or off? **

My headlight switch is spoilt and not functioning as it is already. But my headlight is always on one light now. Originally it was two.

 

**neutral light flickering?**

nope, but when i rev, the light will glow brighter.

 

**wiring harness**

i did grounding before. (they rewire the cables before few yrs back)

 

hmmmm probably will go change the battery for a start...will cdi or rectifier caused this problems too?

 

bro, go to a trusted shop to check whether your rectifier working. cos it your rectifier is spoilt. then your new battery will spoil very fast too...

[aMiGo81]

bro, go to a trusted shop to check whether your rectifier working. cos it your rectifier is spoilt. then your new battery will spoil very fast too...

 

i normally go to one at defu lane 10 corner shop G*G...not too bad....but how can i know if rectifier or cdi is spoilt??

[aMiGo81]

Just to share, i changed my battery and apparently during the initial phase (after changed battery riding experience of 5-10mins) problem still exists.

After that, all is well. Hope this info will helps those who are in similar situation as mine. And last but not least, great thanks to those who shared their advice earlier on.

[slowrider]

In order to keep a bike running eithier idling or running at speed, two critical things must be present.

 

The fuel must be fed into the combustion camber and the ignition have to spark at the right time.

 

First check your fuel intake. Is the fuel going in when the bike is running. You can use a transparent line attached to the carb intake and check when you ram at differetn rpm.

 

If fuel is going in then check whether you have spark at plugs. Remove plug and earth to chassis and crank starter. Is spark strong? for electrical, you will have to determine each and every component separately with a multimeter and you must check your wiring too, particularly those at the iginition switch, on/off switch wiring harness to cdi, rectifier,ignition and stator coil.

 

There could also be a leak in your air intake. Check that too.

 

The next would be your engine timing and that is where things get too complicated that I can't explain to you here. You will need the tools and information and skills to perform this particular to each model of 4 strokers.

 

I want to emphasis to some ppl here that battery has got NOTHING to do when your 2 STROKE bike is running or idling ,as it seems like someone put up an example about his NSR SP!

[spaiduhz]

3 years? a battery change would be good, though its unlikely that its the problem.

Can I ask if you have power loss issues when your babyblade is running? RPM dropping for no reason while idling, exhaust smelling like petrol, etc? I like to do a simple test to see if all my cylinders are firing. Get a bottle of water, and spray water on your headers. If all headers dry off the water at the same rate, no problem. if one remains wet while the others are already wet, then the cylinder connected to that header is not firing.

 

cylinders not firing could be due to many reasons. damaged plug caps, fouled plugs.

 

Or it could be a damaged CDI *touch wood*.

 

Get a trusted mechanic to take a look at your bike. Its a nippy classic that handles well, and treated right, it will last you a long time.

[aMiGo81]

Here i m back again to update all on my situation. Apparently the next day, the bike still dies off with the same problem after changing ONLY the battery.

 

Mech told me my fuel pump faulty. Open up the cabruetor and found out 2 out of 4 has oil in it only. Now after 2days of changing the fuel pump, wash cab, change 4 plugs and done tuning; it appears to me that it is running well.

 

Thanks for the professional advices given.

[spaiduhz]

Here i m back again to update all on my situation. Apparently the next day, the bike still dies off with the same problem after changing ONLY the battery.

 

Mech told me my fuel pump faulty. Open up the cabruetor and found out 2 out of 4 has oil in it only. Now after 2days of changing the fuel pump, wash cab, change 4 plugs and done tuning; it appears to me that it is running well.

 

Thanks for the professional advices given.

 

Odd. If the fuel pump is malfunctioning, all of the carburator chambers would be dry and not just two, won't it?

 

But you got running again, that's what's important.

 

Pray tell, which mech serviced your bike?