frankd

A couple of you have made reference to a top speed indication on GPS's.....Now I've only had experience with a couple of the less expensive GPS's----What brand(s) of GPS units have a top speed indication?? Frank D.

For the last few weeks, I've been showing my DD-214 at Home Depot and getting the 10% discount with no problem. However, yesterday I was informed that they had changed their policy about a week ago......Now they are giving the discount only to vetrans who have retired from the service, not those of us that have merely served. Frank D.

Warm air furnaces are generally designed in two configurations---One that is upflow, and another that can be used for either downflow OR horizontal. The downfall unit will be great for a garage because it'll blow the hot air onto the cold concrete. Even though it won't fit in your house, it's still a good deal for you. Frank D.

First gen bikes won't redline in 5th gear, but they will almost redline in 4th. The magazines used to give the top speed between 123 and 127 MPH. I had my 83 up to about 135 MPH once, but I had a strong tail wind. It was in 4th gear, and it was past redline. Then I let off the gas and learned all about the Venture's speed wobble when using Bridgestone tires!!!! This was the result of my buddy betting me that his Datsun 280ZX turbo could out top end my bike. He lost.

Dave, With the running lights the heated vest and probably the radio on, you are right at the bike's charging system capacity. First thing I would do would be to install a switch for the running lights properly, and then shut them off when you use the heated vest. As for the voltage coming up a little higher at slightly low RPMs, my 83 does that. When it is running about 1500-1600 RPM, the voltage would come slightly above where it normally ran. But then you could speed up just a little bit and see the voltmeter move down slightly when the voltage regulator started to shunt the extra power to ground. The stators on Ventures have a permanent magnet rotor, so they operate at 100% output all of the time. Engine speed is the only thing that varies the stator output. The voltage regulator has 2 jobs. First, it rectifies the 3 phase AC stator output and changes it to DC. Second it shunts (or absorbs) the extra power the bike doesn't need to ground and disapates it as heat. This keeps the voltage from going too high. On my 83 you can see on the voltmeter when the regulator starts shunting to ground because the voltage goes down slightly. On my 89, you can't see this at all.

One more problem that becomes aparent when proper maintenance isn't done is the rear shaft drive coupling and shaft. Just like the XS-750's & 1100's (BTW, I had a 78 XS750 with bags and fairing) on the 83-85 Ventures, Yamaha told you to grease the rear coupling with the zerk fitting on the shaft drive unit. That didn't work at all, and on all those bikes, you have to pull the shaft drive unit every 12K or so and re-grease the coupling by hand with molybenum disulfide grease. If this isn't done, about 50-60K, the coupling wears out and the bike acts like it's in neutral all the time. Is it a Royale or a Standard?? Frank D.

I bought a brand new Burgundy (I know that Yamie called it some kind of red) Venture in April of 83. I had a 78 XS-750E Yamaha triple with saddle bags and frame mounted fairing. Back then, I was an electrician at an aluminum plant, so every 5 years we got 10 weeks of vacation, and ours was coming up that summer. I was planning a trip for the time that our children were going to be at Grandma's house, and as far as I was concerned the 750 would be great.....we had installed a great new custom seat on it and it was very comfortable. I had been drooling over the new Ventures in the magazines, but I hadn't seen one. My sweet, loving, wife said "Why don't we go and look at that new bike you've been talking about....it'd be great for that long of a trip". Now, good friends of ours had a new Goldwing (1200) and we had ridden it frequently, but didn't really like it. It was too slow, but the handling was terrible. It didn't like to turn hard. I told our dealer that I wanted to know when the first Venture came in so we could look at it. 2 weeks later, he called and said "Come take it for a ride, Frank". So Barb and I went there and he had a black one. One the way out of the lot, he said "Frank, I've got this one sold, so be careful!". The test ride was perfect. The motor was smooth, the power was fantastic, it handled great, and it was very comfortable. We went back to the dealer and told him that we wanted the first burgundy Venture he got---we couldn't afford a Royale. I rode it up until 3 years ago when I bought the low mileage 89 and gave the 83 to my brother. It has 150,000 miles on it. I've fixed 2nd gear, put 2 clutches in it, changed the stator, replaced the frame with an 84 when it broke, and a lot of other parts, but it was always a great bike. It still runs perfectly Is that what you wanted to know?

I don't know if the drive spline fits the same on Mk 1 & Mk 2 Ventures, but I seem to remember that the distance between the rim sides (where it meets with the tire's beads) is thinner on the 83's only. They made this a bit wider on the 84's and later bikes. Frank D.

A lot of good ideas here, but there is one thing that hasn't been mentioned (at least I didn't see it mentioned). You've got something in the frame/suspension with play or flex. In addition, you may also want to check the swing arm bearings for proper preload. The suggestions of the fork bushings and the steering head bearings are also very good. The 84's frame has extra bracing in it compared to the 83's, and this strengthens the rear spring mount. Just before my 83's frame broke, the bike felt like it had a hinge in the middle. I replaced it with an 84 frame. Frank D.

Something else that agravates this is worn spark plugs. How old are your plugs? My 83 has the same problem. Also a weak battery makes this worse. The ignition system on my 83 was never extremely strong, even with good plug wires and plug caps. I think that there are a few differences in the Ignition module besides where the vacuum advance is connected with the 84 and later Ventures. My 89 starts instantly no matter how wet it is, or how low the battery is (as long as it cranks that is).

I live near Joliet, and yes, there is no 'good' way. What day of the week are you planning on? I'd take I-94 down to I-294. Yes, 294 is a Tollway, but I-94 through downtown and the south side is a lot more hazzardous. Of course, after you get to Indiana, you've still got the Borman to deal with. Sometimes traffic moves @ 80 MPH, and remember, with a trailer you need to stay in the right 2 lanes in areas with truck restrictions (in Illinois). Where do you plan on going after this?? If you want the Indiana Tollway, get on just after I-65. I-94 settles down after you get past Crown Point IN. One thing bad about travelling @ 4AM.....A lot of the bars close at 4. Frank D.

Those diodes are nothing special and can be replaced with these http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2036269 which are 1N4003. Radio shack also has some 1N4004 diodes and they'd be fine also. These are just general purpose everyday diodes. The only thing you need to do is get them installed in the correct direction. On the old ones, look for the silver ring around the diode (this is the cathode). Install the new diodes with the silver ring connected to the same connection. Sometimes the PC board is printed with the diode polarity (direction) shown. Frank D.

I've only put about 30 miles on it, but my beater van seems to be fixed!!! Brian had a great idea about the knock sensor retarding the spark, so I marked the front engine pulley with a chalk mark, connected my timing light, put the van in gear, and brought the engine up until it started to miss. The timing wasn't retarding, so this wasn't it. I had a discount coupon from Advance Auto, so I figured I'd install new plugs and wires just in case. Now, the old Champion double platinum plugs were only about 2 1/2 years old, and the wires had tested good when I changed the plugs last time. The last time I changed them I did so because it had been missing if I loaded it in 4th gear at too low RPM, but if I brought the engine speed up a bit by pulling it down to 3rd, it was fine. The new champion plugs didn't help a bit (2 1/2 years ago). My son and I decided that now we needed to try a different brand of plugs. The reason we didn't pull the plugs sooner is that the back 3 are absolutely no fun. It's a good thing my son has long arms. Yesterday, we installed new Autolite double platinums plus new plug wires. I took it for a short ride, and it seemed good. Last night I drove it about 30 miles, and it was fine. The old plug wires were still good (6K ohm to 11k ohm ) and no burnt spots on the insulation. The old plugs looked great. One was slightly darker than the other 5, and one had some deposits on the ground electrode, but not bad. I'd guess it was the plugs, but there is no way to tell for certain. I'm sure glad this is over with. My son and I have way too much time invested in a 1993 minivan with so many miles on it. Everybody, thanks for your ideas!! Frank

Dave, I picked up a tube of the Permatex version of Hylomar at O'Reilys. They didn't have it in stock and had to get it from their warehouse, and it surprised me how old the package looked (I know this isn't a problem). It certainly isn't used by many. I intend on using it to seal my alternator cover. I've put the gasket on twice now dry, and it lasts until the oil gets HOT (long high speed run on a hot day) and then starts leaking--both times in exactly the same place. I was planning on coating both sides of a new gasket with Hylomar. I realize that Hylomar is intended to be used without a gasket, but how do you think it'll work with one? Frank D.

FLB, You may have come up with something. When it misses, it's not 1 or 2 cylinders, it sounds and feels like all 6 get weak. I think it has a knock sensor and I will unplug it. You don't want to unplug the cooant sensor on this wreck. The sensor is underneath the throttle body in the side of the intake manifold. You have to pull the throttle body to get to it. It's good though (actually it's new--we broke the connector on the old one pulling it out when the socket cocked. I tested the old on in a pot of hot water, and it was electrically fine). Thanks, Frank

Joe, I just looked at the latest print that Gary posted and here's what I think. Take a jumper and connect the L/W (Blue with a white stripe) wire that goes to the side stand switch to ground. If it runs OK, your sidestand switch is bad. If not, your Starting circuit cutoff relay assemble has a bad diode in it and it needs to be replaced. Like Gary, I have no experience working on a 2nd gen, but this is what the print shows. Look at the print. Item 37 is the neutral switch, and it grounds the SB wire (Sky Blue) when the bike is in neutral. The SB wire is connected to the center bottom of the starting cutoff relay assy. (#21). When the bike is in neutral, the 3 diodes in the center of #21 have their cathodes (the sideways line) tied to neutral, and this will also pull the SB/W wire to ground thru the top diode. SB/W is connected to #46, your neutral LED, and it will light. The left diode will pull the B/Y (Black with Yellow strip) to ground AND pick up the left relay. This enables the start pushbutton and the bike can crank if desired. Also the L/W wire (Blue with a white stripe) is pulled to ground. THis is the one you're interested in...It goes through the ignition switch, and grounds the L/B (Blue with a Black stripe) which goes to the ignition module. I believe this shuts the ignition off when it isn't grounded. This means it must be grounded to run. It also goes to the clutch switch, and if the clutch is pulled in the clutch switch connects it to the B/Y wire, which is the starter PB enable, so you can crank. So now you have your bike running, in neutral, and the center stand is up. #24 is the side stand switch, and the L/W wire is supposed to be grounded when the sidestand is UP. The L/W wire goes to good old #21, and the diode there will pull the L/Y wire to ground, which will allow your bike to keep on running, and also crank if you pull in the clutch. One more thing...If you are using a digital meter to check the diodes, make sure you put the selector switch in the diode position, not the ohm position. If you are using an analog meter, the resistance position is what you use. Make sure you ground the black lead and use the red lead to test so that the diodes will be forward biased (or so they can turn on). Good Luck, Frank D.

First off, I don't think the catalytic converter is plugged because when the motor is cold it takes off like a scalded cat (pun not intended, but...) Now, here's where it gets interesting. Barb and I were on the expressway runing about 65MPH this morning, and for the heck of it I floored it. It kicked down to 2nd and ran right up to 5000 RPM and shifted, and then pulled good in 3rd gear-not missing at all. In no time at all, we were past 80MPH. After I did this, it quit missing when you went past 1/3 throttle for a bit. I dug out the Chilton's manual, and saw what terminal on the ECM the lead from the 02 sensor went to. I pulled a couple of panels off the interior and pulled the ECM down where I could get to the wires. I found the O2 sensor wire, and connected my Digital Volt Meter(DVM) to it. The O2 sensor is good, and the system bounces above and below .5 volts like it's supposed to in closed loop operation. When I drove it and pushed it to 1/3 throttle and it started to miss a bit, the output from the O2 sensor still was bouncing aroiund .5 volt. It's not going lean like I thought. The plugs are about 3 years old, and probably have about 60K on them. They're Champion double platinum, so I'm wondering if they may be the cause. Plug wires are pretty inexpensive also, so I'll probably put a new set of a different brand plugs and also some plug wires on it and see where we stand then. I'll probably wait until a warmer spell though. Those back plugs and wires are a b**ch to get to==you get to them from underneath, and it's best to lower the subframe. Frank

Mike, The first thing I did was to change the fuel filter. A couple of days ago, I did check the fuel pressure. With the engine off, and the fuel pump cycled a few times, the pressure was 43#, which is correct. When I started it, it did not reduce to 38# like it should have. I found the vacuum hose to the pressure regulator cracked. I fixed that and the pressure went down to 38# at idle. When I blipped the throttle, it went up to 43# like it should. I also brake torqued the engine until it started missing and the gauge never moved off of 43#. It's not running out of fuel pressure. Afterwards, the van ran a little worse (lower fuel pressure made it a little leaner). So now I need to find a scanner for it. I've been online and found some OBD2 to OBD1 adapter cables, and if they work I have an OBD2 scanner that displays the sensor output. I should have an answer from the vendor in a couple of days. IT's not the end of the world, it runs good enough to drive, if you stay under 1/3 throttle. Frank

Tom, This is a port fuel injection engine, so no stove pipe to heat the imcoming air, and nothing to freeze. However, I also dealt with that problem with carbuerated cars, and that was one of the first things I checked when I had one that went lean or backfired. I know this one is going lean by the way it acts--it looses power bad when you open the throttle too much after it's warmed up, but it recovers instantly if you let the pedal up a little. Also, it has backfired a couple of times. Also, when I fixed the fuel pressure regulator vacuum hose, it actually got worse, not better (less fuel pressure). Brian, Thanks, but hang on for a bit. I'll get back to you with a pm so we can exchange info. Of course, I will insure it if I borrow it. Frank

Keem, Thanks for the data, it looks like the cable and the free shareware may be the way to go with this thing to view the sensor outputs. Frank

KIC, I've already been there....O'Reilys had an Innova 3120LAT that works with OBD 1 & OBD2, except on OBD1 it only reads error codes. Autozone only had a scanner for OBD2 cars. My check engine light is NOT on, and when I do a manual dump of the codes it told me that I had a code 31. In the Chiltons manual for my van it has no code 31. It jumps from code 26 to 34 for a 3.8 engine. The Innova tester said that I my engine coolant temperature was too high, but it didn't turn on the cooling fans!!! I pulled the temp. sensor and it checked good. My O2 sensor bad is code 13, and when I bought the van it had that error code. I replaced the O2 sensor (7 years ago and a lot of miles, it could be bad) and things have been fine. Brian, I searched for the manual for the AXR6000, and couldn't find it. Is the actual manufacturer AutoXray, or do they have an other name? Do you know if it just reads fault codes for OBD1, or will it read and display the output from the sensors?? It would sure help if I could watch what was causing it to go lean. Today, it's snowing here, so I really can't apply the throttle enough to see if it's fixed, but after we put the coolant temp sensor back in and put the throttle body back on, I disconnected the negative battery terminal to reset the fault shown on the Innova. I drove it a bit, and I have no codes showing now. Here's what I have checked so far. This is from an Email to a friend, so it's a bit long. I have a 93 3.8L Silhouette van with a zillion miles on it (the odometer quit a long time ago). It's been running great, but now it idles smooth and runs OK at light throttle, but past about 1/3 throttle, it goes lean and starts missing bad. The plugs are OK, and there are no open plug wires. I've run a can of injector cleaner through it and changed the fuel filter, no help. I checked the fuel pressure, and it wasn't reducing when the motor was started, but I found the vacuum hose to the presure regulator had split. I replaced it and the fuel pressure is correct (38# @ idle, and goes up to 43# when you blip the throttle), and does NOT reduce when you load the motor. The IAT sensor and the TPS are good. I cleaned the MAF (wasn't very dirty) and tested it. At idle it has 2.4KHZ output, and when you blip the throttle, it goes up to about 7KHZ. O'reiley's had an OBD-1 readout, but when I hooked it up it told me that it couldn't communicate with my vehicle (yes, the key was ON). I'm out of ideas and any help would be appreciated. Since I wrote the above, there is another update... Frank and I found the problem with the O'Reilly scanner (wrong digit in the VIN code input into the scanner) and hooked it up. It said that the temperature sensor was indicating that the coolant was too hot. I didn't think that was correct because the temperature gauge is reading normal (it uses a different sensor) and the computer wasn't turning on the cooling fans, but we took it apart last night (the sensor is in a nasty spot) and pulled the sensor. The socket slipped when we were removing it and the connector cracked. However, it measured good @ room temperature. We installed a new sensor and are putting it back together this morning, but I am expecting it to be the same. I tested the old scanner by heating it in a coffee can, measuring the temperature and resistance of the sensor--it was good. I think that the scanner is reading wrong. I can tell the wires to the computer are OK because when I turn the key on I have 5.0 volts across the leads and with the key off, I measure 300K ohms to ground from the sensor lead. BTW, the throttle body is clean (amazing because I cleaned it 7 years ago when I first bought it--new gasoline must be better like they say). I jumpered the OBD 1 plug and made it flash the error codes in memory. It says that I have an error code 31. Number 31 code is NOT listed in the Chilton maintenance manual for my van. I did an internet search for it, and found it is used in a Buick Turbo 3.8 and it indicates a waste gate problem. I found another chart online that says it is the PRNDL switch. On mine, that works fine, and it wouldn't cause the engine to miss anyway. Frank D.

Does anybody have an OBD 1 scanner that I can borrow? I'm looking for one that will read all of the outputs from the sensors. I've got a 1993 Olds. Silhouette that goes lean when you apply more than 1/3 throttle. I've checked the fuel pressure, the mass air flow sensor and a bunch of different things but everything seems to be good. I rented a $400 scanner from O'Reilys, but it only reads error codes on OBD 1 and it seems to have a problem doing that correctly. I need to watch all of the sensor outputs and see if I can see what's happening. Thanks, Frank D.

Steve, I did miss Thursday this week. I mean I thought it was Thursday and actually it was Friday==I guess that means I've already accomplished not knowing what day it was. Actually I've been finished working since Dec 19th. I had some vacation and flexible holidays so on the 3rd I just went in to clean out my desk and say goodbye. Frank D.

On January 3rd. I also retired. I managed the Electrical department for a small steel plant and about 4 years ago we were bought out by a big company from Brazil. All of the foreign BS they keep pushing on us got to me, and I sang that Johhny Paycheck song to them (Take this job and shove it). I've been working full time for 46 years and I finally had my fill. I'm sure the Venture will get a lot more use now, as will my fishing gear and ham radio gear. Of course, I've got a lot of things I want to get done, so no sitting around for me. It sure does feel good not to get those 3 AM phone calls with the stupid questions and also not to have all those 'great' meetings that took up so much time. Frank D.

A friend of mine suggested that I use Hylomar universal blue non-hardening gasket sealant to cure my alternator cover leak. After looking it up on-line, it looks like it'd be great. Anybody ever use it? http://www.newmantools.com/chemicals/hylomar.htm Frank D.