83 venture I think its fireing on 3 cylinders

[brant1]

I started up the bike and started pulling off the spark plug wires one at a time. The ideal change on all them but right rear. I pull the plug and put a new one in and put the plug wire back on and pulled back of the ideal didnt change like the others. i pulled the wire back off and i could hear it fireing and as i was pulling the wire out I could see the arc and it shock me. any ideas. my #843-452-8615 my name is Brantley

[frankd]

Well, if you have spark and the cylinder isn't firing, then you probably don't have fuel. Has the bike been sitting for a while?? When was the last time it ran OK? Do a search for 'seafoam', and you will find many discussions on this board about soaking the carbs in Seafoam. Is the cylinder always dead, or does it come to life when you load the engine?

 

Frank D.

[brant1]

I don't know how long it has been sitting. I most likely been like that since I got it. I have road it some but I couldnt tell it wasnt fireing on 3 cylinders untill I took it to the shop and he said was not running on but 3 cylinder. I hope I haven't messed it up!!!!

[frankd]

No, you probably haven't messed anything up. If it's been a long time since the carb got plugged up, it'll probably have to be pulled and cleaned out. Look in the manual (available on this site if you don't have one) and locate the carb. drain screw for the dead cylinder. Remove the screw and see what comes out----hopefully there is gas in the carb. If the idle circuit AND the power circuit aren't working at all, you either have a stuck neeedle and seat (not likely, but if you don't get any gas when you remove the drain screw, maybe) OR the jets are plugged with crud, which is the likely cause.

 

Something you could do to verify this is a carb problem. Remove the air cleaner cover and the air cleaner, and start the bike. Rev the bike up (BTW, the backfiring with the air box cover off is normal) and watch the carb slides----ithey all should move. Then let the bike idle, and drip a small amount of gasoline into the dead cylinder carb. The cylinder should fire and the idle should speed up.

 

 

If the bike has been stored or left unused for over a month or two without having the gas treated with Seafoam or Stabyl, you are lucky that only 1 carb is plugged. Today's gasoline doesn't store well. Every carb engine you have needs to have the gas treated OR completely removed (and the carb drained) before storage.

 

Frank D.

[Yammer Dan]

:sign yeah that: WHAT FRANK SAID!!

 

 

If you determine it is not getting fuel a Sea-Foam soak may save you.

[KIC]

Here are some prior posts and instructions on the Venture Carb. I have another document that is too large, but will try to post in pieces.

Carb Cleaning 101.doc

[KIC]

Here you go. Try printing this out to make one complete document. Good luck ! Ride safe !

[frankd]

I found a picture showing where the carb drain screws are. Look at the top right picture on page 4-8 (page 248 of the .pdf) and you will see where the gas drain screws are. Also, make sure you use a good phillips screwdriver to pull the screws, or the head will round out.

 

http://labs.trunkful.com/vrmanuals/8385servicemanual.pdf

[brant1]

I did what you said Frank . The 3rd time I put gas in the carb it started smoking out of the pips and ideal change so I did again then I took it for a spin. It ran like different bike !!!!!!!! Thanks frank!!!!!!

[frankd]

Brant,

 

You're welcome, but I didn't expect it keep on running on the 'bad' cylinder. Usually it only runs for a little bit until the gas is burned. I'm glad it started to work better. I'd put a heavy dose or 3 of Berrymans that Justin suggested on a different carb problem discussion. It's supposed to be a bit better than Seafoam (not that there's anything wrong with Seafoam).

[brant1]

So you think it might start acting up again? I took it to my local mc shop for a tune up. He road it down the road and said its running a lot better. Do I need to put sea foam in the carb that was not running good anyway .

[Squidley]

So you think it might start acting up again? I took it to my local mc shop for a tune up. He road it down the road and said its running a lot better. Do I need to put sea foam in the carb that was not running good anyway .

 

Yes, it wont hurt anything, matter of fact, keep giving it doses of Seafoam or B12 Chemtool. Ride it like you stole it, if you can get on a stretch of slab and run it at better than 70 mph. You'll be amazed at how much better it will run after you crank it up on a good long higher speed run.

[dingy]

Yes, it wont hurt anything, matter of fact, keep giving it doses of Seafoam or B12 Chemtool. Ride it like you stole it, if you can get on a stretch of slab and run it at better than 70 mph. You'll be amazed at how much better it will run after you crank it up on a good long higher speed run.

Also you can run the RPM's up in a lower gear and somewhat achieve similar results. Running it at 60 MPH in 3rd ain't gonna hurt it.

 

Gary

[GeorgeS]

Keep at least 1/2 can of Sea-Foam per tank for about 3 tanks of fuel, and run it hard !! in 3rd and 4th gear.

Also, open drain on each carb, and key to on, make sure fuel pump is pumping fuel thru each carb, one at a time.

 

Next time you have tank run close to empty, good idea to completly drain your fuel tank !! Make sure not water in the tank, then start over with new fuel !!

[brant1]

All of you are the best !!!!! Thanks

[Yammer Dan]

Berryman's is a very good cleaner. But a good bit harsher than Sea-Foam. I use it but not as often as Sae-Foam. I think regular use of Sea-Foam will stop 90 per cent of our carb problems.

[KIC]

Hey Dan...just how much SeaFoam stock do you own ???

 

 

[Yammer Dan]

Hey Dan...just how much SeaFoam stock do you own ???

 

 

 

 

Should have bought some stock when I first tried it!!! I have used a lot of BerryMan's before I found Sea-Foam. BerryMan's is a very good cleaner. Stronger for a "right Now" cleaning than Sea-Foam. Its just that Sea-Foam is completely safe for our carbs. BerryMan's I'm not sure about. I don't think it will hurt anything but trying a little on things you can see how it dissolves things right now. I make a combination of several cleaners that I use but won't put that on here again. Use the BerryMan's for a very dirty system. For keeping it right Sea-Foam can't be beat but thats just my opinion. I have had fantastic results doing the "soaks' with Sea-Foam. And have also done them with the mixture I make with great results.