Not starting when cold

[crazy]

My D9 has developed an issue where it doesn't like starting when cold. It's not the carbs icing as it does the same thing occasionally just when it's wet.

It used to fire up after 5 minutes of trying, but now I'm having to bump starts it, and it's getting annoying now.

It runs fine when it's warmed up, but it just won't want to start on the button when it's cold or wet, and at the moment the weather is both.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Cheers

[crickleymal]

If it's specifically when cold and wet the I would suspect and ignition problem. Make sure the HT cables are clean, dirty cables can allow the HT to track down to ground. New spark plugs maybe. You could try starting it in the dark. Any HT tracking may show up in the dark.

[silverdave]

Hi, are you getting a spark?
I have a problem with my scooter. On a cold morning the starter motor drains the power to such a level that the voltage reaching the ECU isn't enough to initiate a spark (less than 10.5 volts). Take the spark plug cap off, earth an old plug to earth press the starter a few times and see what happens.

[crazy]

It gets a spark, tried it just now and no joy. Turned over a few times, spat a flame out the tail pipe with an almighty bang and almost started, but then nothing again.

[spike240]

How old is the battery?

[crazy]

Probably 6 or 7 years old. I've owned it for 18 months, and I know it wasn't used much for 5 or so years before I bought it.

[spike240]

Its just that I had similar probs. Engine would turn over - no problem, but it wouldn't fire. My battery was about 14 years old though, but put a new un on it and just a touch of the starter an it was away!
If you can beg or borrow one to try it.
Hope you get it sorted.

[crazy]

I'll see about getting another battery then. I'll just buy a new one, won't hurt the bank account too much and it could probably do with one.

[CD]

Jumps leads will test it. Just dont run the donor car/bike. The D9 battery is tucked away so insulate a suitable screwdriver with tape leaving the handle end bare. Clip the jump lead on there and use the driver as a prod onto the hidden positive terminal. Clip the negative to any bare metal on the bike.

It sounds unlikely but got mine going when the battery went t*ts up flat.

[crazy]

Well it's now developed a new issue, which may or may not be related, but riding back from work tonight (bumper it this morning, started fine this evening when I finished work), it was cutting out and dropping to 3 cylinders when I gave it more than half throttle when riding along.

I'm wondering if it could be the tps playing up in the cold / wet?

[spike240]

If ignition system -plug, leads, coils etc are in good nick, I would still suspect the battery. Is there a bike shop near you where you could have it checked?

[crazy]

There's a bike shop near me, but their mechanic isn't in when I have my day off work.

I'll probably just get a replacement battery, won't hurt matters at all. Might as well get new plugs as well. These ones aren't particularly old, but I do about 10'000 miles a year, and the engine is now moving a 350kg trike rather than a bike.


Just been to check the tps, it read fine on the check, however the plug was full of water so guessing that may have been the issue with the ride home.

[spike240]

Ok. Best of luck with it.

[crazy]

Cheers. Will get a new battery and plugs and let you guys know how it goes.

[crickleymal]

What's a TPS?

[rowlf]

Dec 17, 2013 8:15:03 GMT crickleymal said:

What's a TPS?

Throttle Position Sensor

[crazy]

Well it started this morning fine and rode fine, so maybe the wet tps was the issue or just coincidence.

[CD]

D9 plugs are not too costly to replace. Mine would give only about 10K miles before a plug or two would start to play up. A permanent voltmeter would tell you if its a power problem.

This might be cheap enough to be disposable
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Mini-Blue-LED-Digital-Volt-Meter-Voltmeter-Panel-DC-4-5-30V-UK-Post-/400630420941?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item5d476f15cd

These are small and neat at 37mm dia (I have a VM and oil pressure to fit). They will need sealing against water but few car gauges are waterproof.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-DIGITAL-VOLT-METER-VOLTMETER-LCD-RED-LED-VOLTAGE-/320611713696?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4aa5f282a0

[crazy]

That's cool. I'll see about getting one of those for it, probably be a good idea.

The cold start issue has sorted since I cleaned out the tps.

Voltage is fine, but will see about replacing the plugs and leads.


The starting when wet is getting worse, but I've discovered that the left hand coil pack is sparking externally so I'll see about ordering up a new coil pack or 4, and some plugs for good measure.

[crazy]

Something I've just thought of, and don't know if it'd make any difference or not, but I no longer have the original fairing on the front. I removed it and started fabricating my own fairing.

This is what I have on the front of mine, so not sure if this could be part the issue with it struggling when it's wet?


Ignore the colour, it has now had a quick lick of matt black to blend it in a bit, but this is the only photo I have showing the new fairing

[CD]

With all that work, why did you not take the chance to fit a better headlight?

[crickleymal]

What was wrong with the original?

[CD]

The original is better with relays on the bulb but frankly it's not very good. Fazer headlights would be a lot better.

That said, my Beemer is about 10 years younger, but still has a really rubbish main beam so new(er) isnt necessarily better.

[crazy]

I actually quite like the look of the original headlight. My original plan was to remove all the fairing and frame work and tidy everything up to get a clean, chopper style front end on it, but I ended up doing this instead as it looked like it would be a bit of a nightmare to remove everything that was behind the fairings.

As for what was wrong with the original - it was barely holding itself together. The stickers were literally the only thing holding the original fairing together. Plus, I didn't like the look of it lol

[CD]

Much of the gunk in the fairing is caused by the exhaust air injection system. You can junk the lot as it has no effect on overall emissions. It simply dilutes the exhaust gas with fresh air to keep the regulators happy.

Silicone rubber caps from ASH will cover the cylinder head stubs.

You then have room to fit a pair of relays to the headlight. The 1.5 volts, otherwise lost in the wiring loom, makes the bulb much brighter.

[eliminator2]

Got the wet weather starting problem sorted yet?