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breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 9:05 am
by Joseph Labate
Had a great ride yesterday save for a breakdown on the way home and
am looking for some hints at what the cause might be. The bike's an
'01 KLR650 and the problem was electrical. Towards the end of a long
day of riding, it started to rain reasonably hard. Five minutes of
this and the bike began to sputter. Within a half minute or so, it
died completely. The neutral light would not come on though
headlight, brake light, and signal lights all worked. After a half
hour on the side of the road poking around at things with no results,
a couple of guys came by in a pickup and we loaded the bike into the
back. They gave me a ride about 30 miles toward home and we stopped
at a gas station to let me off, I tried the bike again and all was
fine - the neutral light came on and the bike started and ran another
45 minutes to get me home. (A huge bright rainbow appeared as I
neared my house. Really).
I had previously bypassed the sidestand cutout switch and was running
an electric vest at the time. Any ideas of what the problem is?
Thanks.
jlabate
breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 9:08 am
by Joseph Labate
Had a great ride yesterday save for a breakdown on the way home and
am looking for some hints at what the cause might be. The bike's an
'01 KLR650 and the problem was electrical. Towards the end of a long
day of riding, it started to rain reasonably hard. Five minutes of
this and the bike began to sputter. Within a half minute or so, it
died completely. The neutral light would not come on though
headlight, brake light, and signal lights all worked. After a half
hour on the side of the road poking around at things with no results,
a couple of guys came by in a pickup and we loaded the bike into the
back. They gave me a ride about 30 miles toward home and we stopped
at a gas station to let me off, I tried the bike again and all was
fine - the neutral light came on and the bike started and ran another
45 minutes to get me home. (A huge bright rainbow appeared as I
neared my house. Really).
I had previously bypassed the sidestand cutout switch and was running
an electric vest at the time. Any ideas of what the problem is?
Thanks.
jlabate
breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 10:11 am
by Kurt Simpson
> Had a great ride yesterday save for a breakdown on the way home and
> am looking for some hints at what the cause might be. The bike's an
> '01 KLR650 and the problem was electrical. Towards the end of a long
> day of riding, it started to rain reasonably hard. Five minutes of
> this and the bike began to sputter. Within a half minute or so, it
> died completely. The neutral light would not come on though
> headlight, brake light, and signal lights all worked. After a half
> hour on the side of the road poking around at things with no results,
> a couple of guys came by in a pickup and we loaded the bike into the
> back. They gave me a ride about 30 miles toward home and we stopped
> at a gas station to let me off, I tried the bike again and all was
> fine - the neutral light came on and the bike started and ran another
> 45 minutes to get me home. (A huge bright rainbow appeared as I
> neared my house. Really).
my guess is that it is not electrical...and that it is fuel...the infamous
T-Vent is needed ...this problem vexed all of us for years until Steve
Anderson or who was it that finally figured it out? The neutral light is the
usual trick the bike put together to throw you off...
Kurt
breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 10:19 am
by Joseph Labate
I did the T-vent though the added tube does run under the seat and I
see reason to change that.
I should also mention that occasionally the bike is dead when I go to
start it, I'll pull the clutch in a few times, flip the kill switch
on and off, etc. and the bike starts up. This is when it is
completely dry. I don't recall what the neutral light was doing at
those times.
>my guess is that it is not electrical...and that it is fuel...the infamous
>T-Vent is needed ...this problem vexed all of us for years until Steve
>Anderson or who was it that finally figured it out? The neutral light is the
>usual trick the bike put together to throw you off...
>
>Kurt
jlabate
breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 11:53 am
by Swede
--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Joseph Labate wrote:
> I had previously bypassed the sidestand cutout switch and was
running
> an electric vest at the time. Any ideas of what the problem is?
> Thanks.
>
>
> jlabate
The rain could have been by chance, the contacts in the clutch
switch could be dirty or loose. Have you defeated the clutch
switch? When my switch failed, it posed the: won't start, neutral
acting funny symptoms.
"Swede"
breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 12:22 pm
by Kurt Simpson
> I should also mention that occasionally the bike is dead when I go to
> start it, I'll pull the clutch in a few times, flip the kill switch
> on and off, etc. and the bike starts up. This is when it is
> completely dry. I don't recall what the neutral light was doing at
> those times.
>
> >my guess is that it is not electrical...and that it is
> fuel...the infamous
> >T-Vent is needed ...this problem vexed all of us for years until Steve
> >Anderson or who was it that finally figured it out? The neutral
> light is the
> >usual trick the bike put together to throw you off...
> >
> >Kurt
ok, then I would say you're right and it is the clutch/neutral safety
switch...many of us disconnect this along with the sidestand
switch...instructions are on the website...
Kurt
breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 12:27 pm
by Bogdan Swider
> I had previously bypassed the sidestand cutout switch and was running
> an electric vest at the time. Any ideas of what the problem is?
> Thanks.
>
>
> jlabate
>
I'm no electricity genius but I think Swede's right. Do the clutch cutout
bypass. (Isn't that what was performed on Dick Cheney?) At first I thought
that water was getting to the neutral wire which, I believe, is in front of
the sprocket but that would have blown a fuse. Bogdan
breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 5:26 pm
by jenJBphun@cs.com
Check the ground circuit, start at battery and tighten your post. Finish up
by shooting dilectric (izzat how to spell it?) grease in the electrical
harness connections. Maybe that might help. -Jennifer
breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 5:53 pm
by Rich Kickbush
Dielectric grease can be a double edged sword. It is non-conductive, so
while it does seal connections from water and corrosion it can minimise the
contact area of the conductor that the current flows through. With
low-current applications, its fine as long as one conductor cuts through the
grease to mate with the other (down, Bogdan!). It may come back to haunt
you as a erratic fault, and then its a bitch to get the grease out of there.
Rich
breakdown diagnosis
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2001 6:07 pm
by jenJBphun@cs.com
You are right and that is why I never let moisture build up in my connections
before using dielectric grease. The same principal applies to priming steel
- do it as fast as you can after sandblasting. It helps to do this work
inside your bedroom with the furnace or air conditioner running, instead of
outside. Less humidity. -Jennifer