Author Topic: two (non related?) issues: no electric start and running very high  (Read 2336 times)

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easy-v

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Hey guys, having a couple issues.

2003 Bullet 500es,  electric + kickstart

1) for the past few rides, i've only been able to start it with the kickstart, not necessarily on the first go, but it's been cold lately. I'm in dc. The voltage meter on the battery reads close to 12v without running. Lights, turn signals all come on just fine. I sometimes get the buzz sound from underneath the seat, sometimes nothing.

2) Just now, I went for a ride and on the way back, the bike ran really high. The idle adjust screw does absolutely nothing. This is a first, starting today. It ran extremely loud and high all the way back.
Restarting the engine does the same thing.

I'm sure these are unrelated, but I wouldn't know. Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks
Vishal


ace.cafe

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#1) Bad battery.

#2) Sticking throttle cable or bad air leak.
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easy-v

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Thanks. I recently replaced the throttle cable but it rode without issues after that a few times. Throttle is snapping back just fine too. I guess I'll check to see if it's not pulling in it's resting position.

Guess I'll look everywhere possible for the air leak. Maybe this is why the idle adjust screw on the carb isn't doing anything.


ace.cafe

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Thanks. I recently replaced the throttle cable but it rode without issues after that a few times. Throttle is snapping back just fine too. I guess I'll check to see if it's not pulling in it's resting position.

Guess I'll look everywhere possible for the air leak. Maybe this is why the idle adjust screw on the carb isn't doing anything.

If the slide is snapping back down to normal closing position, then it's an air leak problem.
The most common thing is a hole or rip or cracking in the rubber connecting hose between the carburetor and the head.
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High On Octane

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I used to have an '83 Suzuki GS 550 ESD that was notorious for going through rectifiers and stators.  Every time the rectifier took a crap, The bike would start if I roll started it but the electric start was useless, and the bike would idle excessively high once I did get it started.   I'd swap out the rectifier and the idle went back to normal and the battery started charging again.  I'm not sure what is the cause for this happening, but maybe you should the running output of your battery.  With the bike off, your battery voltage should be between 12.6-12.8V.  With the bike running, your battery voltage should be between 13.2-14.2V.
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easy-v

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Okay thanks. The bike is starting using electric start now, but is still idling high. The adjuster screw doesn't make a difference. So, here's what I've done so far.

First, I charged the battery, and it now reads 12.36 hooked up.  With the bike running it reads 12.6. (As to your spec this isn't enough, so do I need a new battery still?)  Second, since there are no visual signs of cracking or leak on the rubber from carb to intake, I took a can of carb cleaner and sprayed around there to see if a vaccuum leak. Still,  no change in rpms at all. So I couldn't detect any kind of leak or crack there.

When I first started today it idled normally, but did gradually increase on it's own and stayed high. Should I still look at the rectifier? If it does need replacing, do I have to get the Bullet one, or is there one i can get from any bike shop?


ace.cafe

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Okay thanks. The bike is starting using electric start now, but is still idling high. The adjuster screw doesn't make a difference. So, here's what I've done so far.

First, I charged the battery, and it now reads 12.36 hooked up.  With the bike running it reads 12.6. (As to your spec this isn't enough, so do I need a new battery still?)  Second, since there are no visual signs of cracking or leak on the rubber from carb to intake, I took a can of carb cleaner and sprayed around there to see if a vaccuum leak. Still,  no change in rpms at all. So I couldn't detect any kind of leak or crack there.

When I first started today it idled normally, but did gradually increase on it's own and stayed high. Should I still look at the rectifier? If it does need replacing, do I have to get the Bullet one, or is there one i can get from any bike shop?

Yes, you still need a new battery.
To check the alternator/reg/rec  ouput, you have to rev the engine up a bit, somewhere around 2000+ rpm, so that it gets spinning enough to give full output. Then it should read over 13v with a good battery in there.

Regarding your air leak, it might be a worn out carb or slide.
The other possibility might be very weak advance springs in your distributor, causing extremely early advance. That's not as likely, but it's possible.
The most common reason for high idles is an air leak somewhere in the inlet tract.
The carb cleaner probably isn't the best thing to spray on it for finding air leaks. Maybe some WD40 or something like that might be better.
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easy-v

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Apologies - You were right the first time. I went back and this time I force rolled the throttle a little forward, and the rpms went back to normal. This is a problem from few months ago coming back. I should have known. Was riding fine until this.

So back then I replaced the cable when the ferrule came out and the cable got chewed up. But for some reason, the throttle wasn't snapping back while at the secured slot on the handlebar. I had to put some tape around the handlebar to give some separation for the throttle to snap. Everything worked and snapped back finally and while secured. But now looks like the cable still got shifted and stuck at the wrong resting spot recently. Will try it again without the tape solution this time. Def frustrating. Sorry for the confusion.