Wierd Gremlin

[Gunfighter]

I am new here, first time Venture owner. An '84 XVZ12L. The guy I bought the bike from told me he bought it three years ago and rode it home, ran well but the fork seals were leaking badly so he removed the forks and replaced the seals. After he put it back together it would not start. He worked on it on and off for these three years and no one could make it go so he bought a different bike and sold it to me to get it out of his way. The fuse block was in the usual condition for these things so I replaced it with an ATC type but it still won't go.

When you turn the key on the warning light flashes and the display shows the oil level, fuel level, battery, and headlight warnings. Also the kickstand warning if it is down. Neutral light also on when in neutral. All of the lights also come on, including the headlight. Also the fuel pump comes on and pumps to pressure. Pushing the start button may or may not get it to crank over, once in a while it does but for the most part nothing. If it does crank there is no spark. After going through it and checking and cleaning every connection I could find there was no difference.

Yesterday while I was looking it over again I noticed that the only warning on the display was the battery one (this is most likely because the battery is an AGM and the sensor has been removed), all others were off. I hit the button and she cranked over and fired! I let it run for several minutes to warm up and then shut it off to check coolant levels etc. All looked good so I tried to start it up again,,,,,,,,,,no luck. It is back to all the above warning symbols and won't crank.

One other point which may or may not mean anything is the fuel gauge shows no fuel even though the tank is about half full which may explain the fuel warning indicator.

I am highly mechanically inclined, an electrical/mechanical tech by trade and have been riding motorcycles for over 40 years but this thing has me stumped, for the minute anyway. The biggest thing is that it never seems to be the same problem, the combination of the warning icons changes, sometimes the headlight is on and sometimes it is not, ditto with the oil warning.

Before this thing drives me to AA can someone tell me if there is a common link to all of this or do I have a whole nest of gremlins hiding in there somewhere?

[bkuhr]

Temporarly disconnect the side stand switch and connect all 3 wires together(bike side). Make very sure in neutral before attempting start.

 

The switch has 2 contacts, one for the side stand indicator, and the other for the ignition interlock, which prevents operation if side stand down and in gear. Also possible the interlock relays are causing issues in the headlight area.

 

wiring diagram rewrote my member http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42358

 

can also find other manuals in the first gen tech library http://www.venturerider.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=90

[Flyinfool]

Random weird electrical issues are often a ground issue.

Clean all of the grounds at BOTH ends of the wires.

[timgray]

If he disassembled the forks then he removed the handlebars and possibly damaged a wire. I would check the wires going to the start/run switch for the entire length.

[MiCarl]

Definitely sounds like a ground problem to me because of the number of things effected.

 

If the CMU (Computerized Monitoring Unit - the box that displays all the icons) thinks the bike is in gear and the side stand is down it will disable the starter and ignition.

[tufftom4]

Don't feed the gremlin's after dark....

[Flyinfool]

And don't let the gremlins get wet....

[dacheedah]

Random weird electrical issues are often a ground issue.

Clean all of the grounds at BOTH ends of the wires.

 

I agree, soo many things wrong is usually pointing to a bad , burned or broken ground

[KIC]

When the headlight is not on, use your finger to "pull" the starter switch all the way out. If it is dirty it will stick a little in and the headlight won't come come. Also, since you replaced the fuse block, double check the power in and out the fuse block.

 

The do what everybody else says to do....

[Gunfighter]

Well people, I have an update on the situation. Indeed it was an entire nest of gremlins and they had been fed at the wrong time and thoroughly doused with water. After uncounted hours of tracking wiring faults, three separate exorcisms, one by a priest, one by a rabbi, and one by a drunken redneck who calls himself a "pistolpalian reverend", and my own well know ceremony involving wild gyrations, yelling, throwing things, and of course the chanting of all the known chants (NOT the ones you can use in church), and some I had to make up on the spot (up to 14 or more syllables), I got it running.

By running I don't mean jump on it and take off for a ride, I mean it would fire up and keep firing sort of. It charges and cools and all the rest of the good stuff so I got the wiring working like it should. From there I went to the expected carb cleaning.

Well there is where I got a real shock and a great disappointment. The carbs are completely SHOT. How it ran even as poor as it did is a complete mystery. All of the diaphrams are are gonners, running from a few pin holes to completely gone. Ditto with the air control diaphrams. One of the slides is shattered and stuck. one other has only limited travel. The rest of the units are so corroded as to be unusable for anything but projectiles to throw at the occasional stray bear that gets into my bird feeders.

SO, after taking a LONG look at it, considering that it also needs new tire, brakes, and many hours of work to put it back together. I have made the decision to stop at this point and not put any more time or money into it as I have already exceeded what it is worth to me.

Many thanks to all that gave me good tips on how to proceed and what to look for, it indeed helped a lot. My apologies for wasting your time on a hopeless cause. She is too far gone to be helped so I am going to write her off and cut my losses.

Edited May 20, 2013 by Gunfighter
Obama

[dfitzbiz]

Don’t be too quick to send the old girl to the scrap heap. The “First Genners” on this site revere these old relics and I am sure someone will give it the tender loving care it needs. Try posting it in the classified section of this site. Good luck and ride safe.

[rjjammer]

Withee is not that far from me, I have tons of the 83/84 parts. I would be interested. can you send pics etc. One problem though, I am still in the sandbox and wont be home now until Aug 30. But I am sure something could be arranged.

[Gunfighter]

Really have not made up my mind what to do with it yet, it is in pretty good shape over all appearance wise, just a couple of scratches and some fading but everything else had been neglected or modified or just plain broken and ignored.

I did have one person offer me a set of carbs cheap but they are off of an '83 and I am not sure if they will work on this one or not. Still, even then there is more work and money involved than I like to think about just to wind up with a bike that is worth way less than what I got in it.

I will keep you posted on what I decide to do when I make up my mind.

[Trader]

I think most of us first gen owners will have more into it than you could get out of it.

 

That's the joy's of owning a 20-30 year old bike.

 

But it's a love affair once you get one that runs the way it should.

 

 

And how much is love worth?

 

(as this is a PG site, please no comments about the price down on the corner!)

[Gunfighter]

No question there, and no argument. It is worth as much to me as I think it is, not what the market will pay for it. I am already way past that last part.

I am very familiar to bringing 20+ year old bikes back from the edge. I have done many of them. In fact my main ride is a 1979 XS1100 SF that is lovingly maintained and ridden daily. She and I have been together for almost 300,000 miles but she is getting a bit weary and I wanted to take the pressure off of her and transfer the main work to a younger bike. I just do not want to put the price of a younger bike yet into it.

The problem is that I have actually just started to restore this one and already have done and spent more than I expected but have a LONG way to go yet. I have already looked at several Ventures, all running and driveable, I could have purchased all but one of them for what I have into an as yet undriveable bike. I intend to cut my losses and get something with less problems.

[Power Trippin]

I also have an 83 that I put more money in than it was worth at the time. However, after having it for a few years, puttin a couple o miles on er. She is part of the family. Seriously, my wife loves er as well as my kids. I wouldn't give er up for any less than 7k. Post some pics. If you do decide to part ways, there are people here lookin to add nicer parts to theirs. Me included and you may not be too far away for some of us to take a look at her. Post some pics and see what happens.

[Gunfighter]

Power Trippin,

Interesting, I picked the bike up just about 15 miles from you.

[Gunfighter]

Well, my oldest son talked me into one more try on this. He has located a complete carb bank for me and when it gets here I will check it over and try one more time. I may get the old girl to live once again despite her stubborn resistance to the idea.

[bongobobny]

Once you get it running right and actually ride it, you will understand why we love them!

[pmelah]

yes you will love it im havinng problems with mine the gremlins got hold of it but im working them out and cant do without my 84 gota love it