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apparent fuel starvation problem
Posted: Thu May 30, 2002 12:05 pm
by jwishart2001
I was coming home from work the last two evenings on my 2000 KLR650
and had an apparent problem with fuel starvation. It's about a 20
mile drive and this occurred 4-5 times on the way. I was running
along normally at speeds from 35-65 MPH with a few stoplights in
between and suddenly seemed to run out of gas. The petcock was on
main and when I checked the tank, I had plenty. I put it on reserve
and tried to restart. After a couple of minutes, it restarted OK and
run fine for a few miles then the same sequence occurred again
several times. I tried both petcock settings, main and reserve and
that didn't seem to make any difference. I also opened the tank to
check the fuel level each time. Setting the choke to rich also seemed
to help get it running initially, but I still had to close the choke
after it started.
All the hoses at the carb were connected and also the line on the
back of the gas tank. I checked that when I got home. I have not
removed any of the lines to check for clogging or pinching yet. The
weather was about 75-80 degrees F. and dry. This did NOT happen on
the way to work either morning, but only on the way home.
What should I be checking? I am suspecting that it is something to do
with a vacuum line being plugged or pinched or disconnected, but
haven't got that far in checking yet. Would a blocked fuel tank vent
or tank pressure relief be a candidate? How would I check that? What
does that line at the rear of the fuel tank do? How about fuel line
routing (I don't have a fuel filter installed)? I am also suspecting
moving the carb around when I drilled out the pilot mixture screw
plug may have contributed to this problem, but it ran fine for about
50 miles or so at fairly low speeds on a couple of trips after I did
that mod last weekend.
Mods I've done include the carb vent T-mod and setting the pilot
screw at 1.5 turns out. Prior to this problem, it had been running
great with fuel mileage at 57-60 MPG. The bike has about 6K miles on
it. I got it used in April and have put the last 1K miles on it.
Any troubleshooting suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
John Wishart
2000 KLR650
apparent fuel starvation problem
Posted: Thu May 30, 2002 12:13 pm
by Zachariah Mully
On Thu, 2002-05-30 at 13:05, jwishart2001 wrote:
> I was coming home from work the last two evenings on my 2000 KLR650
> and had an apparent problem with fuel starvation. It's about a 20
> Any troubleshooting suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> John Wishart
> 2000 KLR650
With no fuel filter installed, I vote for a blocked tank vent. Shoot
some air up the nipple on the back of the tank and remove the tank cap
and clean it, then shoot it with some air.
It would be interesting to find out if the float bowl is dry when you
experience this problem. If that's the case, then I would suspect a
problem with the petcock vacuum line.
Z
Dc
apparent fuel starvation problem
Posted: Thu May 30, 2002 7:11 pm
by Joseph Simoneaux
John, I had a similar problem that started a few months ago. It only happened after 10 min or so of freeway speeds. Once it occured the first time though it would happen at different speeds. Funniest thing is that it never happened around town. I tried getting rid of the fuel filter, replacing all carb lines, checked the float level and float itself for sticking. I rebuilt the petcock with a kit from Fred and made sure the vent line was clear. Cutting to the chase I found that there was a mix of water and rust in the tank, on the right side of the tank. I got alot of good suggestions from the list but nobody came up with this one, in spite of several post about rusty tanks. I put a length of chain in the tank with a bit of gas and shook it around, repeated several times til all the rust and gunk were removed. I know this problem will probably recur unless I cream the tank, which I plan to do soon. I did the chain treatment a month or so ago and have taken 2 300mi+ trips at speeds of 30-75 with no stalling problems. I hope this helps save you some time in solving your problem. Oh, I bought mine used too, last year, a 99 model so who knows how much sitting around it did collecting condensation in the tank.
I'd like to take the oportunity to thank the listers who did offer advice. They were all good suggestions and made perfect sinse to me. I wouldn't have guessed this was the problem if I hadn't found the smallest hint of brown substance in the bowl.
Good luck John, I hope you get your problem ironed out ASAP!
Joe Simoneaux in NC
On Thu, 30 May 2002 17:05:15 -0000 jwishart2001 wrote:
I was coming home from work the last two evenings on my 2000 KLR650
and had an apparent problem with fuel starvation. It's about a 20
mile drive and this occurred 4-5 times on the way. I was running
along normally at speeds from 35-65 MPH with a few stoplights in
between and suddenly seemed to run out of gas. The petcock was on
main and when I checked the tank, I had plenty. I put it on reserve
and tried to restart. After a couple of minutes, it restarted OK and
run fine for a few miles then the same sequence occurred again
several times. I tried both petcock settings, main and reserve and
that didn't seem to make any difference. I also opened the tank to
check the fuel level each time. Setting the choke to rich also seemed
to help get it running initially, but I still had to close the choke
after it started.
All the hoses at the carb were connected and also the line on the
back of the gas tank. I checked that when I got home. I have not
removed any of the lines to check for clogging or pinching yet. The
weather was about 75-80 degrees F. and dry. This did NOT happen on
the way to work either morning, but only on the way home.
What should I be checking? I am suspecting that it is something to do
with a vacuum line being plugged or pinched or disconnected, but
haven't got that far in checking yet. Would a blocked fuel tank vent
or tank pressure relief be a candidate? How would I check that? What
does that line at the rear of the fuel tank do? How about fuel line
routing (I don't have a fuel filter installed)? I am also suspecting
moving the carb around when I drilled out the pilot mixture screw
plug may have contributed to this problem, but it ran fine for about
50 miles or so at fairly low speeds on a couple of trips after I did
that mod last weekend.
Mods I've done include the carb vent T-mod and setting the pilot
screw at 1.5 turns out. Prior to this problem, it had been running
great with fuel mileage at 57-60 MPG. The bike has about 6K miles on
it. I got it used in April and have put the last 1K miles on it.
Any troubleshooting suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
John Wishart
2000 KLR650
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apparent fuel starvation problem
Posted: Fri May 31, 2002 6:19 am
by millerized_2000
I sure hope that it was brass or copper chain. That makes a really
nice picture, making sparks in a gastank about 10 inches from your
head.
millerized
--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Joseph Simoneaux wrote:
>I put a length of chain in the tank with a bit of gas and shook it
around, repeated several times til all the rust and gunk were
removed.
apparent fuel starvation problem
Posted: Fri May 31, 2002 8:12 am
by mnron2002
--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "millerized_2000"
wrote:
> I sure hope that it was brass or copper chain. That makes a really
> nice picture, making sparks in a gastank about 10 inches from your
> head.
> millerized
>
>
> --- In DSN_klr650@y..., Joseph Simoneaux wrote:
> >I put a length of chain in the tank with a bit of gas and shook it
> around, repeated several times til all the rust and gunk were
> removed.
I was taught to use vinegar, not gas, when doing this process. What
we used to do is get some ball bearings, throw some vinegar in the
tank, and shake-rattle-and-roll. I believe that the vinegar
neutralized the gas, or something. Not a scientist, but have had my
share of rusty tanks.
Of course, YMMV and IMHO, and of course, just my $.02 worth.
Enjoy the weekend!!
MNRon
apparent fuel starvation problem
Posted: Fri May 31, 2002 8:33 am
by Joseph Simoneaux
Actually it was chrome over brass. All I had was a couple of 24in choke chains that my incredible growing lab out grew. Worked great! I don't really see how this would be any different than using nuts and bolts as I've seen suggested before. I did get it hung up on something inside though. somewhere in the tank where it meets the seat. Probably part of the venting setup. It worked loose though with a little effort.
Joe S
apparent fuel starvation problem
Posted: Fri May 31, 2002 8:35 am
by Joseph Simoneaux
Thanks for the tip Ron, I'll try that the next time I run into this one.
Joe S.
On Fri, 31 May 2002 13:12:51 -0000 mnron2002 wrote:
--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "millerized_2000"
wrote:
> I sure hope that it was brass or copper chain. That makes a really
> nice picture, making sparks in a gastank about 10 inches from your
> head.
> millerized
>
>
> --- In DSN_klr650@y..., Joseph Simoneaux wrote:
> >I put a length of chain in the tank with a bit of gas and shook it
> around, repeated several times til all the rust and gunk were
> removed.
I was taught to use vinegar, not gas, when doing this process. What
we used to do is get some ball bearings, throw some vinegar in the
tank, and shake-rattle-and-roll. I believe that the vinegar
neutralized the gas, or something. Not a scientist, but have had my
share of rusty tanks.
Of course, YMMV and IMHO, and of course, just my $.02 worth.
Enjoy the weekend!!
MNRon
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apparent fuel starvation problem
Posted: Fri May 31, 2002 9:28 am
by Devon Jarvis
The acetic acid probably helped clean the tank, in addition to reducing
the risk of fire.
There are much stronger acids for rust removal, but none of the useful
ones are idiot proof like vinegar.
Devon
mnron2002 wrote:
>
> --- In DSN_klr650@y..., "millerized_2000"
> wrote:
> > I sure hope that it was brass or copper chain. That makes a really
> > nice picture, making sparks in a gastank about 10 inches from your
> > head.
> > millerized
> >
> >
> > --- In DSN_klr650@y..., Joseph Simoneaux wrote:
> > >I put a length of chain in the tank with a bit of gas and shook it
> > around, repeated several times til all the rust and gunk were
> > removed.
>
> I was taught to use vinegar, not gas, when doing this process. What
> we used to do is get some ball bearings, throw some vinegar in the
> tank, and shake-rattle-and-roll. I believe that the vinegar
> neutralized the gas, or something. Not a scientist, but have had my
> share of rusty tanks.
>
> Of course, YMMV and IMHO, and of course, just my $.02 worth.
>
> Enjoy the weekend!!
>
> MNRon
nklr rode a zx12r today
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2002 10:24 pm
by monahanwb
--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "ridecaptan" wrote:
> Took a ride on a 2000 ZX12R today. All I can say is WOW. What a
bike.
> Yeah it's fast all right, and so so smooooth. I was very impressed
> with the bike. The owner told me he had it dynoed, something like
160
> some odd ponies at the rear wheel. I never rode anything that fast
> before. Sweet bike.
Nice. Been wanting to ride one of them myself. Hoping for the 02
model.