GSX1100G running cold on the left side

[gandy666]

hello chaps and chappettes

this is an update to my 'running hot on the right' post. looks like the bike is fine on the right and not so fine on the left.

noticed my bike is running cold on the left side all the way back to the header pipe. on right gets too hot to touch, as expected - water hisses

on left it gets hot but can be touched after a ride - water on it does not hiss.

I balanced the carbs about a week ago and I was getting a reading from all 4 so the assumption was that all was good with fuel and spark.

its getting hot 1 and 2 so there must be some fuel burning going on, unless the heat is travelling back from the engine.

I'm going to check I'm getting a spark on 1 and 2 for sanitys sake tomorrow, however any idea what could cause this?

I was thinking perhaps the coil was failing under load, but was told that coil 1 sparks 1 and 3, and 2 does 2 and 4.

there are exhaust fumes coming out both pipes and no missfire on idle. checked the carbs and they have been reattached correctly and there are no gaps where air is getting sucked in which could cos the right to be to hot.

thanks

Andy G

[megawatt]

Coils should do 1&4 and 2&3 mate. Check plug caps on correct plugs. Numbered from lefthand side as you sit on the bike. If you can touch the pipe, it ain't firing, so check sparks and fuel on plugs. Try running it until hot and then whip plugs out, Should be wet if no spark.

[gandy666]

cool - will try that tomorrow.

not sure how I was getting a reading on carbs 1 and 2 when I balanced them if they are not firing tho.

header is hot, but not burning hot as I would expect.

as its one and two, this suggest the coils are both at least half working. will check for a spark anyway. could be the leads I guess.

also CDI could be at fault and I've had the head gasket mentioned as a possible issue

[Weebl]

not sure how I was getting a reading on carbs 1 and 2 when I balanced them if they are not firing tho.

 

 

Even if they were not sparking at all, as long as the piston is going up and down and the valves are working, you will be sucking fuel in so will get vacuum at the carb.

Like Megawatt says, run the bike then whip the plugs out sharpish, if the plug is distinctly colder than the others and wet with fuel, you are not sparking.

You can get a spare plug and connect it to one plug lead at a time, connect it up and lay the plug so the body of the plug is touching a metal part of the bike and you can see it, turn it over and you should see a nice fat spark (try not to touch any part of the plug or HT lead while this is happening, you should be ok if the insulation is good, but it does break down over time) You could work your way along, if you get a spark at every plug then the coils are ok, but maybe connected up to the wrong cylinders. If you have 2 sparking and 2 not, trace the 2 non sparkers back to the coil, if they go to the same one then you know that it is knackered.

[Roadtorque]

sound like the l/h plug, or the carb not letting fuel through,, Think I'd start by changing the two plugs on the L/H pots, if that doesn't work, check the float is not stuck & that the needle valves letting fuel through

[gandy666]

update:

bike was laid up for a while and however float bowls drained clear and there was no sticky residue in 1 and 4 when I removed the bowls. also floats were not stuck.

checked the plugs and coil and I have spark on all 4 plugs. Coil 1 controls 1 and 3, 2 does 2 and 4 so coils are ok.

plugs 1 and 2 were brand new - now they are black and sticky. this suggests that fuel is getting through however is not being burned properly.

possible that the plugs are stuffed - i thought new plugs would work out the box but have heard that the quality can be suspect.

have cleaned the plugs and swapped them to the other side - assumption is if the problem swaps sides, then great - change the plugs. could be failing under load.

if not, then I'll change the ht leads for coil 1.

if that doesn;t work then the carbs will have to come off altogether.

was getting exhaust out both ends cos obviously headers 3 and 4 go to the collector box then split out to 2 main pipes

[Tango]

If plugs 1 & 2 are black and sticky you are either running very rich on those pots or getting oil in there.....possible head gasket leak? Can you check compression on those cylinders?

[gandy666]

yep forgot to say.

folded rubber glove and 3 fingers over each plug hole and turned it over. enough compression to force my fingers off the hole and 'felt' the same pressure in each case.

I dont think the head gasket has gone, but if the plug change or carb clean doesn't fix it then i'll get a proper compression check done using the correct tool.

plug residue doesn't feel oily - more sticky.

also not losing oil.

bike is air cooled.

[megawatt]

Does it say 1&3, 2&4 in the manual? Never heard of that set up before.?

[gandy666]

maybe its 1 and 4 then 2 and 3, however each coil sparks 1 plug on the left and 1 on the right.

firing order is 1 2 4 3 which i thought was weird tho i dunno why

[Tango]

yep forgot to say.

folded rubber glove and 3 fingers over each plug hole and turned it over. enough compression to force my fingers off the hole and 'felt' the same pressure in each case.

I dont think the head gasket has gone, but if the plug change or carb clean doesn't fix it then i'll get a proper compression check done using the correct tool.

plug residue doesn't feel oily - more sticky.

also not losing oil.

bike is air cooled.

 

But if it's burning a bit of oil it would feel more sticky. Even running mega rich on those pots the plug would get black but not sticky......there's nothing in petrol to leave a sticky residue. Head gasket may have gone between cylinders....so may not be visible externally. Or you may have a couple of sticky piston rings allowing a bit of oil into the combustion chamber...... If 1 & 2 were really that rich I think you'd notice it running really rough rather than just not getting hot on those cylinders. Sorry mate....just thinking of possible causes....not trying to depress you.....hopefully I'm completely wrong.....

[megawatt]

1243 is normal firing order, Connect HT leads correctly and try it, if still no good, swap LT wires from one coil to the other.

[gandy666]

doesn't really feel like its running rough - just a lack of power.

bike has only done 17k.

will take it for a run tomorrow - if 1 and 2 have become black and sticky (the plugs that were fine in 3 and 4) then i guess that points to either carb or head gasket I guess.

would a compression test verify for sure that its the head or something else deep inside the engine and expensive?

[megawatt]

Are you gonna try the correct plug caps on the correct plugs or shall I just ignore this thread? Ffs.

[oslin06]

Yes i agree with another post not sure about the GSX1100G but all other Suzuki's I have worked on the left coil feeds 1 & 4 and the right coil feeds 2 & 3 are you sure they are on the correct plugs check the book if you have one, if they are and are firing ok then you need to find out why the left pots are running rich, as you say they are black in colour, causes are air leak,to much fuel, choke if you have one is it off on those two pots, or a coil breaking down, you can check this by swaping the coils over, oh and some suzuki's I have worked on have had dirty multi plugs behind the head lamp which has caused problems with the coil low tension supply, clean the multi plug.

Good luck and let us know how you get on please.

Keith

[gandy666]

correct plug caps are on the correct plugs - sorry i thought this was clear - first thing i checked.

leads are numbered 1234 and are the originals on the bike as fitted by suz and are on left to right.

chill oot man

[megawatt]

No you didn't make it clear . To quote you "I was thinking perhaps the coil was failing under load, but was told that coil 1 sparks 1 and 3, and 2 does 2 and 4." "Coil 1 controls 1 and 3, 2 does 2 and 4 so coils are ok"

Don't tell me to chill oot when I am trying to help you! A thankyou would suffice !

I now give up. Sort yer own engine out and good luck.

[gandy666]

thank you

[Tango]

A compression check should tell you if you have a leaky head gasket or leaking past the piston rings or valves not closing fully. I'd be suprised if the plug leads were connected incorrectly......I did this once on a Triumph Trophy 900 and it wouldn't start and made a very unpleasant noise..... I'd also be suprised if it was coils....as we have now established that 1 coil does plugs 1 & 3 and the other does 2 & 4 and the problem you have is dirty plugs in 1 & 2 it kinda eliminates them.... Cleaning and swapping the plugs around as you suggested earlier would be a good check......coz if the problem swaps to 3 & 4 then the plugs would be suspect.....but again I'm not convinced of this. When the bike runs does it smoke at all? Obviously if it is burning oil you would see this in the exhaust smoke. When you say the bike was stood for a time, how long was it stood and where (outside?) and was it prepared for being left idle.......could have had some corrosion in the barrels if it was without oil in them for a time.

[gandy666]

cheers for the reply mate.

yer the leads were defo on right - given they were marked 1 to 4 even I couldn;t get that wrong - although I may have quoted the wrong connection order. point was that the coils were working. swapped the plugs over and the problem did not swap so the plugs were fine, under load and otherwise.

compression seems fine - no sure what the oily stuff was as no fuel could have been getting through at all, ad if it was it should have been getting burned off as there was spark.

I took the carbs right off but left attached at the cables and there was a lump of clay in carb 2's primary jet which I cleaned off - took all the main jets out and put a guitar string through them and a big skoosh of carb cleaner. did them all and now have the bike running on all cylinders under throttle however still backfires now and again and I dont feel its idling right, specially when cold. power increase has pretty much doubled, so getting there .

also I believe the main jets fit into some kind of aerated cylinder - again I cant see how to get at this and I dont have a compressed air line to give it a blast. cant see that it comes off down the way into the bowl, and cant get anything in there that is thin enough to get a grip of them, so only way can be up, into the carb body somewhere.

the thing with the idle jets is i cant see how to get them out as the floats are in the way and its not obvious how they are attached. i dont want to force them off in case I break anything. I put a thin guitar string through them however there is probably crud inside / around them and they really need to come out altogether.

I had a go at removing idle jet 1 however my screwdriver could not find a slot and I am hoping the idle jet screw is not knackered. i know its soft metal so wary of damaging the end.

No smoke at all when running.

Bike was stood for about a year and a half with a 3/4 tank which I've cleaned out. is a j reg with 17k miles. given the condition, its been kept indoors but there is some corrosion on the frame so there was some condensation in there somewhere.

wasn't really prepared for storage from what I can see