Idle problems

[Fish Baseball]

Ok, so here is the tale....

Bout a week ago now the bike dies and refuses to go any further, cranks but does not fire.
I've replaced the sparkplug, cleaned the airbox and cleaned out the air-filter, replaced the oil filter and oil, ran some carb cleaner through. It runs again!
So it runs fine, as long as the throttle is open (a small amount is enough), however the minute I leave it to idle, the bike dies out and does not start again with the electric starter, so start the whole process again by rolling down the hill leading to my place in 2nd and starting it like that. And yes, has plenty of petrol.

My thoughts.....
1. battery isn't holding charge.
2. if it is, I haven't gapped the new plug correctly.
3. I think that the idle screw may just need to be screwed up a bit to a point where it will idle.

Have I missed something?

[blaine]

Did you charge your battery on a charger overnight?Did you go for a drive after you got it running again?If not a good ride with more carb cleaner may fix your Idle and will do a lot to rejuvenate your battery.The bike really don't charge much unless out at road speed .


:2tup:

[Fish Baseball]

not really a good ride, just round the block a few times. I'm gonna go get a battery charger in the morning, hook it up for a couple of hours and then go for a ride before work to "hopefully" resolve everything.

Thanks too!

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Fish Baseball

I think that the idle screw may just need to be screwed up a bit to a point where it will idle.

That would be the logical answer, I think.......but then after the carb cleaner does it's job, you may need to adjust it back down again.

Are you using the choke on a cold start......and leaving it partly ON until it gets good and hot ??

What kind of cleaner did you use ??.....and how much ??

[Fish Baseball]

[quote=Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by "Fish Baseball":3812u3l2

I think that the idle screw may just need to be screwed up a bit to a point where it will idle.

That would be the logical answer, I think.......but then after the carb cleaner does it's job, you may need to adjust it back down again.

Are you using the choke on a cold start......and leaving it partly ON until it gets good and hot ??

What kind of cleaner did you use ??.....and how much ??[/quote:3812u3l2]

Seafoam. Tiny bit, about 30ml or so the directions told me. (yes i've read and re-read the many reccomendations on this site, and thought it may be worth a shot)
Choke isn't making any difference, it still dies out on me.

Changing the idle screw isn't a huge job, I'm happy to do it to get the bike kicking goals again.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Fish Baseball

Seafoam. Tiny bit, about 30ml or so the directions told me.

Choke isn't making any difference, it still dies out on me.

Changing the idle screw isn't a huge job, I'm happy to do it to get the bike kicking goals again.

Not nearly enough Seafoam. IIRC, the recommendation is about 1 OZ per US gallon; that would be about 90 ML in a full tank.

If you haven't already, you need to drain the float bowl too.

And I don't think we are talking about the same "idle screw".
The idle SPEED knob isn't any job at all; just twist it a bit; same exact effect as holding the throttle open a tiny bit.

You should NOT mess with the idle mixture screw when it isn't running right as that may just make matters worse.......or make it hard to tell when you have it fixed.

If operating the choke "makes no difference", then there something wrong that needs to be fixed, like plugged passages in the carb. When cold, the engine should run better and faster with a little choke. When hot, applying more that just a TINY bit of choke should make it stumble and die.

[Fish Baseball]

ok, so now have a charged battery, drained the float bowl.....bike starts and runs.....and still dies regardless of choke.

and your right, I am talking about the idle speed screw, not the mix screw. That hasn't been touched since before the bike stopped, so i see very little good comming out of adjustment there.

[Fish Baseball]

resolution. Despite cleaning out the air filter it was that clogged that it was the issue causing the bike not to idle......Take out the air filter, problem solved. Now to get a replacement air filter.

Thanks Guys for all your help on this one, I'd buy you all some beer, but its a little hard to post to you! :2tup:

[Water Warrior 2]

Fish, just send beer money to Dupo and he will take care of it.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Fish Baseball

Take out the air filter, problem solved. Now to get a replacement air filter.

Alas, you might not be done yet.

If the bike runs normally with NO air filter, including starting and riding.......that means that something else is making it WAY rich......because a "normal" stock (north american) GZ runs like crap without the air filter in place. IIRC, you need choke to idle and it stumbles a lot above idle.