Puttering and sputtering

Hi guys,

Long time no post for me.

I have an issue that has started recently. On Monday I filled up at my normal filling station. The only thing that was different is I wasn't paying attention and slightly over filled. I parked the bike over night, which it rained and the bike was under covered parking. When I went to ride Tuesday morning and the bike was sputtering and losing power really bad below 4,000 rpms, which sucks for low speed maneuvers. The idle was messed up and sounded like it was missing a cylinder. On decal it was puttering and would cut power a lot as well. I took it into the shop really quick to ask them what the thought it would be so I could plan finances for it. They said it would take them about an hour to do a check. The tech that has been friendliest to me came out and listened to it and thought it was bad gas that he could drain and then fill with good gas to check first. They didn't have an availability right then and there. So I took the bike home, bought some SeaFoam on the way and put some in on top of the gas that I had filled with to start the problem. The SeaFoam seemed to help slightly but still have an issue.


My questions

1. Could the spark plugs go out over night? Could the Ignition coil go out? (all I could think of is either the gas that had run down off the tank on to it or the moisture in the air from the rain.

2. How would I test this myself for the ignition system?

3. What's the best and cheapest place to get new coils? Are coils something that should be replaced at any given interval (I'm at 44,000 miles)?

4. Are there any other things I should be thinking of (other than bad gas which I will run a few tanks of SeaFoam to purge that out of the system)?
 
Hi guys,

Long time no post for me.

I have an issue that has started recently. On Monday I filled up at my normal filling station. The only thing that was different is I wasn't paying attention and slightly over filled. I parked the bike over night, which it rained and the bike was under covered parking. When I went to ride Tuesday morning and the bike was sputtering and losing power really bad below 4,000 rpms, which sucks for low speed maneuvers. The idle was messed up and sounded like it was missing a cylinder. On decal it was puttering and would cut power a lot as well. I took it into the shop really quick to ask them what the thought it would be so I could plan finances for it. They said it would take them about an hour to do a check. The tech that has been friendliest to me came out and listened to it and thought it was bad gas that he could drain and then fill with good gas to check first. They didn't have an availability right then and there. So I took the bike home, bought some SeaFoam on the way and put some in on top of the gas that I had filled with to start the problem. The SeaFoam seemed to help slightly but still have an issue.

My questions


Here are my answers...


1. Could the spark plugs go out over night? Could the Ignition coil go out? (all I could think of is either the gas that had run down off the tank on to it or the moisture in the air from the rain.

Not likely a plug, but it could be a coil.

2. How would I test this myself for the ignition system?

A wet paper towel test might work. Wet a paper towel. Start the bike and let it warm up. As it warms, touch the wet paper towel to the headers near where the attach to the engine.
If one is not firing, it will significantly cooler and than the others. I use a infrared thermometer to do this now.


3. What's the best and cheapest place to get new coils? Are coils something that should be replaced at any given interval (I'm at 44,000 miles)?

You only need to replace the bad one. Choose your favorite Yamaha parts store online or purchase some used R1 coils on ebay.

4. Are there any other things I should be thinking of (other than bad gas which I will run a few tanks of SeaFoam to purge that out of the system)?

If the gas is possibly bad, just dump it and get some quality fuel. Sea Foam can only do so much.
 
Thank you for the tips. I will do the wet towel test later. I burnt through most of the bad gas, and it cleared up a little, not a lot. So I'm thinking if I can get through 2 more tanks with seafoam I'm hoping that does the trick.
 
How did the wet-towel test go?

I went through a couple of coils on my 2008. Bought two R1 coils of eBay ($10 each), but my dog ate the spare. The second time, I ordered a set of four and just started carrying one in my saddle bag. The last thing I wanted was to have one go bad when I was on a trip.

It can be replaced with the tool kit that I carry without too much difficulty. Actually, the #1 coil (left-most when you're sitting on the bike) can be replaced without removing anything. If you have small hands you might be able to get to #2. The rest required me to un-bolt the radiator and push it a little out of the way to make enough room to get my hands in there.

Hope you got it sorted! The first time it happened on my way to a training class. Ended up doing six hours of low-speed maneuverability training on three cylinders. Miracle that I didn't drop the bike!
 
So dropped it at the shop because it felt like I was riding a ninja 250 last Friday.

Just talked to the head mechanic.

They have checked.
Fuel pump and fuel lines. Psi is ok.
Checked fuel injector spray and is within spec
Spark plugs are new and when tested ignition cool it is within spec
Pulled the head and checked cam (replaced cam chain tensioner about 14,000 miles ago) and came everything is within spec.

When using thermometer to check header temps
1 is running at 400, 2 are running about 230 and 1 is running about 160. Didn't specify which cylinder number when telling me

I'm thinking of just ordering the coils and bringing them in. They want $120 per coil. Partshark has them For $75 per

Any other thoughts or comments appreciated.

Btw but stock in Uber. I'm paying them well this week.
 
So dropped it at the shop because it felt like I was riding a ninja 250 last Friday.

Just talked to the head mechanic.

They have checked.
Fuel pump and fuel lines. Psi is ok.
Checked fuel injector spray and is within spec
Spark plugs are new and when tested ignition cool it is within spec
Pulled the head and checked cam (replaced cam chain tensioner about 14,000 miles ago) and came everything is within spec.

When using thermometer to check header temps
1 is running at 400, 2 are running about 230 and 1 is running about 160. Didn't specify which cylinder number when telling me

I'm thinking of just ordering the coils and bringing them in. They want $120 per coil. Partshark has them For $75 per

Any other thoughts or comments appreciated.

Btw but stock in Uber. I'm paying them well this week.

told ya. however to have 3 fail at once? sketchy. check em yourself. or replace em all and be done with it. takes 20 minutes. no worries for many miles. i did one at a time over the course of 2 years, shoulda just done em all at once and been done with it.
 
And check ebay for those R1 coils. Although it sounds like it might be worth it to pay retail if your boosting Uber's profits by that much.

Sent from Tapatalk on my Note 4.
 
Ive been so busy I kept forgetting. I really mentally committed to it being bad gas and hoping it would go away with SeaFoam which made it a little better for a day or two. I did call my dad to ask to borrow his laser thermometer and was going to get it in a few days.

Then the morning I took it out and it was like the ninja 250 and sounded like it I freaked out.

44,000 miles on the bike.
 
How much did it cost you to have a mechanic check all that stuff? For that price you could have bought a silk shirt and a bottle of Perrier to do the test and still save money and time.

In all seriousness, a stop at the gas station down the street from the shop would have netted you some paper towels and some water.

I think loosenut's frustration is that you asked for advice and got it with simple and well thought out instructions that he took the time to type up. His comments were even backed up by others. Then you disregarded all of that and made it look like we wasted our time. Hard not to take that personally.

Sent from Tapatalk on my Note 4.
 
So I had ordered the coil caps off ebay set of 4 brand new listed as Yamaha. When they showed up they were made in China. They looked close enough. I took them to the shop and the guys said they were close enough, although they didn't quite seat themselves exactly the same (click into place). Fired the bike up and it started running almost like normal, with maybe a need for a throttle body adjustment. Their temp gun had the 3 cylinder at 500-600 and 1, 2, and 4 running about 260-300. So they put the radiator back on, checked fluids and I rode away. a quarter mile down the road I start losing power and sputtering again. Then lose all power and bike dies, fire it back up still not running right and I aim it back toward the shop. bike dies again. Then one last time as I turn the key off an back on to get my display to light up I see a code 33 and code 34 before I lose all electrical.

Bike is at the shop again and I'm going to check on it in 20 minutes.

I'm thinking stator or I've got some issue somewhere else.

Mods to the bike are rewired main harness for streetfighter headlight (Yamaha euro naked), micron exhaust, and I recently put in a Shorai lithium battery about 6 weeks ago.
 
He's checked the wiring harmess for the headlights and said it tests fine. He tested the wiring from the ECU to the plugs for the coils and and number 1 cylinder is not receiving spark from the ECU. He showed me with ohm meter that the wire itself works so that is why they think its in the ECU. The issue seems to originate in the ECU

Loosenut if it involves pushing the bike into traffic and letting it get totaled I'm in.
 
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