Prospect purchase

[Arnie]

Its a standard 14Ah 12V battery, so you'll be able to get it anywhere that sells motorcycle batteries.
You'll have to make sure that the terminals are in the right spots as yamaha changed which battery, the "A" or "B" was used at some point.  For the '91 it was YTX14B in Yasua speak.

Best of luck, I expect this will be an adventure.

Arnie

[I make oil]

    Good Luck!  You sir have huevos grandes.  I hope they don't get busted on this trip.  Ahhhhh to be young again. 

[aviationfred]

/quote]

Walmart usually carries batteries that are a direct match for the FJ. I believe they rub about $50.00

Fred

[fintip]

So!

I just saw the bike. I pull off the seat and pull out my voltmeter. No reading, so I assume the voltmeter is bad. I get my screwdriver out and put it across the solenoid posts. Nill. I get out my continuity test light and put it between the battery posts. Battery lights it up. Put the clamp on the negative terminal of the battery and poke the solenoid input post with the needle. No light.

?

Put the test light back on the battery. No light.

Switch in my new AGM battery.

Bam. Key turned, everything lights up. Blinkers work.

Apprehensively eye the starter button...

Press....

Nothing.

Awwww.

Screwdriver across the solenoid posts, and...

WHIRR WHIRR WHIRR

Spins!

Doesn't start.

Start thinking fuel. Is there fuel in the bowls? He says there should be, he put 2.5 gallons in the tank, which was empty for the last year, when I asked him to two weeks ago and paid the first half.

And then... "do you hear that?"

Gas, pouring on the ground.

So we spend a while checking, looking for the source. Petcock was securely connected, and we figure it must be related to the vacuum opening the petcock and letting fuel flow. It was quite a flow, a vigorous trickle if that makes sense.

Float bowl screws are in and petcock is put together, also the tank does not feel like it has 2 gallons of fuel, so it seems it was leaking while sitting, slowly, as well.

We don't find anything and don't come up with any other theories, and don't feel like chasing a phantom in the driveway, so we put it together again and put the new battery on the float.

So electrical problem is now just something stopping the starter button from turning it all over. Brand new solenoid that I can hear clicking, by the way, so that's fine.

And then some mystery fuel. Theories on that? Will be picking the bike up with a uhaul tomorrow evening and bringing it to friends parking garage.

Bike looks fantastic, though. Guy seems super responsible. Almost never rode it in the rain. Lots of love. Told me six years ago he drove to Reno to pick it up, running, and drove it back to Seattle. Irony.

Psyched! Anyone in the area available to take a look at it, or maybe have an auxiliary fuel tank?

Anyways, keys and title are mine now. Looks like I got a steal.

[fj11.5]

Would say your needle and seat/s are leaking , was the fuel tap set to on it prime, prime keeps flowing ,, check all fuses, and easy stuff like dirty connections

[Harvy]

So maybe a/some floats are stuck.......give each bowl a couple of taps with the screwdriver handle or something similar and see if the flow reduces/stops.
Seems safe to assume that its not flowing into the crankcase via a carb (but check the oil for petrol smell anyway) as it cranked and didn't hydro-lock.

Have you checked that you are getting spark?

It needs spark, fuel and air - one of them must be missing.
Air is the easiest - make sure the filter is allowing air to enter.
Next check for a spark at one of the plugs (1 & 4 cylinder share a coil, 2 & 3 the other). And remember that it fires 2 plugs at once, one cylinder on the compression stroke and the other on the exhaust stroke.
Fuel is easy - if there is fuel in the bowls it should at least try to run.

Of course timing has to be somewhere near right.

Harvy

[I make oil]

I agree floats are stuck.  Also, could have a bad fuel line somewhere.  A dry fuel system is good because helps prevents deposits from old fuel but bad because of drying of orings, seals, etc.  Damned if you do damned if you don't.  Pull the Carbs down and clean, set floats, put in kits, resyncand and put back to gether.  While you have it apart heck the airbox and air filter.  Critters like to move in there and live.  Also, while you have the carbs off check the boots and diaphrams they dry rot as well.  

Electircally powered but no start. Check the kickstand switch first.  I bet it's either bad or there is a short in the wire somewhere, especially where it passes the oil filter.  Then go through the fuses and ensure you have a good clean ground.  I bet that one of those will fix the starting problem.  If not check continuity to the selenoid from the starter switch.  Not saying you won't have other problems once it turns over but that should get it to turn over.

Once this stuff is done if you get her to turn over and run CHANGE THE OIL before you run it much and install a spin on filter adapter.

Good Luck

[Mark Olson]

check the run/kill switch . remove and clean contacts , also the push button start switch remove and clean contacts.  side stand sw as mentioned and did you pull the clutch lever in when trying to start?

this bike is a 86 right?

as mentioned , it sounds like your carbs float needles are leaking past the seat.  Be careful with the fuel hose routing or you will have a starvation problem later.

you are gonna need to clean your carbs , no way around it .  However you can open the drain screw on each float bowl while tapping on the bowl to get the gunk out of the needle and seat till you see fresh fuel. then let the bowls fill back up and see if they hold with out leaking . you will have to suck on the vacuum line to the petcock to get the fuel to flow as there is no prime on the 86. If your petcock flows fuel without any vacuum applied it is broken and must be replaced.

that should get you on your way.

[fintip]

Can someone tell me exactly where the gas comes out, though? Definitely buying the float stuck theory, but then what? The carbs are angled towards the engine, so when the carbs overflow it won't leak out towards the Air box and get in the crankcase like it tends to in the XJ series.

But then where does it leak to? I was just guessing it would flood the engine as it would all leak into the cylinders. How is it exiting the supposedly airtight system and dripping to the floor?

Bike is an 86. Definitely planning to crack open the carbs at this point. I've done carbs before, but there's an FJ specific carb tutorial around here, right?

What actually causes a float to stick? Just gummy fuel residue, right? Carb cleaner and some love should get them moving freely, right? (Hoping its something fixable, not needing to replace this second, like worn needles, as I don't want to wait for shipping! Haha.)

Once I get the carbs clean enough to be functional again, I'll move on to checking if I have spark-and then, I should be able to start it by bridging the solenoid posts. At that point, I'll look into the starter button.

Detail side point, but the fuel gauge: needle, he says, bounces, especially when gas is low, so that it sometimes hops the little peg at the bottom. That's normal for an 86, no fix for that?

[Flying Scotsman]

Carbs overflow though the hoses that hang down by your swingarm.

[FJmonkey]

Or the hoses are cut short like on my bike and the fuel dumps onto the shield just below and aft of the carbs over the tranny.

[SlowOldGuy]

Knowing WHERE the gas is coming out does nothing.  Knowing WHY there is fuel running out of the carb is what matters.  Probably a sticking float.  When they sit for a while, the float pivot can get crud on it which makes it hard to move.  Other potential causes have already been mentioned.

If the starter relay/solenoid works when jumpered, then it's probably one of the "lockout" sensors.  I would suspect the sidestand switch, run switch, or something wrong with the starter button or ignition.

If/when you take the tank off, verify 12 volts at the coil connectors when the ignition is on.

One thing at a time

DavidR.

[movenon]

Helpful tip on pulling the carbs off. With the seat and tank off,   unbolt the top 2 bolts of the rear sub frame (2 fairly large bolts with locking tabs). You will see them. With those bolts out you can push the rear subframe down a bit (bike on center stand) allowing a LOT more clearence to pull out the air box and carbs out. Do not fight it any other way trust me...... That's if you have to pull off the carbs.

[fintip]

So, after an intense full day effort involving about 30 phone calls, a uhaul f150, a tow truck, and a ferry, and probably about $60, I have moved the bike and all parts to my friend's parking garage. Work starts tomorrow. (Whew.)

I was only asking where the fuel overflow was coming from to further my understanding for the future. Good to know.

Will be stopping by auto zone to get two cans of carb cleaner. Any other purchases I should make? I'm not all the way there mentally at the moment, I've been working since 8:30 this morning to get this to work, and I am wiped.

This is all great info, by the way. Anywhere carb removal is discussed in depth that I can be pointed to look at specifically? Are putting carbs back on this bike difficult in general?

Broke one of the two tabs to remove the seat, by the way... Kind of pissed. Figure it out tomorrow... I think the previous owner accidentally slammed the seat down wrong, because the last thing he did Was show me how to properly put it on (its a Corbin) after we'd removed it to strap the bike down. "Slam it down," he said... Then it didn't quite work. Got it the second Slam...

One tab wasn't pulling back. Was working in a hurry in the middle of the street, tired... and then it gave.

I digress.

[ribbert]

Helpful tip on pulling the carbs off. With the seat and tank off,   unbolt the top 2 bolts of the rear sub frame (2 fairly large bolts with locking tabs). You will see them. With those bolts out you can push the rear subframe down a bit (bike on center stand) allowing a LOT more clearence to pull out the air box and carbs out. Do not fight it any other way trust me...... That's if you have to pull off the carbs.

I can't stress enough the difficulty you'll have trying to refit the carbs if you don't do exactly as described above!!!!!!!
Noel