Rain Soaked FJ600 Won't Start

My 85 FJ600 has been running great for the past few months, that is until this past Saturday. I had it trailered up to take it to a Novice Class Track Day event at Nelson Ledges Road Course in Garretsville Ohio. From about 6:30AM until 9:30AM when I got home (the event was rained out) it was exposed to a torrential down pour as my trailer is not enclosed.
Now the bike won’t start at all. It cranks and cranks but no ignition. It has intermittent spark across the four cylinders. I have had a fan blowing on it for several days in an attempt to get it to dry out. I am pretty sure it is ignition related which I will have to troubleshoot. But when I pull the plugs they aren’t wet from fuel, so I can’t rule out fuel issues either.
Any thoughts on a rain soaked carb gumming up? I drained the float bowls and still no ignition. Are there any tricks for drying out the wires/ignition items?
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks
Tom

 

Spray the plug wires and coils down with WD-40 . That will displace the water (that's actualy what it is for). Let the WD-4o dry out for a few minutes so it does not catch fire, then you can check for spark (carb cleaner will drive the water out too, just wait a bit longer for all of it to evaporate). I think you'll find that you have cracked wires, or a cracked coil. Find a dark garage, or wait until after dark and you will likely see a lightshow as you thumb the starter.

 

Thanks I will give it a try tomorrow

 

IF yuo do see sparks jumping from where they should not be, then you will need to address that problem in one of two ways.

1. new coils and coil wires.

2. Wrap the existing wires with self-amalgamating tape and coat the coils in epoxy.

 

we used to spray about five coats of polyurethane varnish on our dirt bike coils but the wires on those were replaceable

 

east of Cleveland.......you're lucky it didn't get washed away

 

Well I sprayed everything electrical with CRC Wire Drier and let it dry. I checked spark and all four had a decent spark. Still no ignition. It finally sputtered a bit but it wouldn't catch fire. It almost seemed like a fuel issue. maybe water got into the gas. I emptied out the tank completely and drained the bowls. Pulled the plugs and I am leaving the cylinders open tonight hoping some fresh gas might help.

 

That could be. If the fuel tank cap vent is missing its check ball, or the seal is cracked, water can get into the tank.

 

All is good in Auburn Township. She started today. And running great. One question though. After a hot lap around the town, I measured the exhaust pipe temps with an infrared. Three at 390 degrees #4 at 425. Too lean?

 

Could be. Pull your plugs and post pics.

 

Like I said, Now the bikes starts and runs fine. I am worried about it being a bit lean. Put in fresh plugs and rode it for about 25 miles. I measured the exhaust pipe temps, 1 thru 3 at about 400 to 420F #4 is still hotter about 520F. I pulled the plugs and if I can figure it out the pictures should be attached. One other question though, The bike doesn't really like to idle, I have to keep it at about 1750 or 2,000 RPM if I have to sit at a light for a while. Is this a lean issue too?

 

I have no idea which plug is which, but you are lean all the way across. When was the last time you went through the carbs? I mean a full cleaning and inspection, including setting the fuel levels.

 

Last July I did a complete tear apart and clean new float needles Orings throttle shaft and float height set and sync. I am not an expert, what would cause the lean condition? Float height (too high or too low) or pilot screw?

 

Could be float height, could be the pilot screws adjustment. You replaced the throttle shaft sals, so thhe chances of a vacuum leak there is low. What condition are the intake boots, and vacuum port caps in? Are you using a paper air filter or an aftermarket gauze filter?

 

The intake boots from the carb to cylinder are brand new. Vacuum caps could stand to be replaced but they seem to fit tight. Original type paper oem air filter.

The boots from the air box to the carbs have shrunken and I had a hell of time getting a good seal. I eventually fastened them securely to the carb with hose clamps and then sealed around the air box flanges with some permatex gasket maker. So Iam thinking they are tight

 

Ok then. What are the pilot screws set at? 2.5 turns out from a soft seat is a good baseline.
When was the last time you checked the valve clearances? This is mainly for making sure we're not going to be chasing our tails as we work through this problem.

 

Valves were set right in the middle of the range about 250 miles ago. I don't recall what the pilot screw was set at when the carbs were put together last summer. I will soft seat them to 2.5 later today
Thank you for sticking with me and my problems
TR

 

I checked and reset the pilot screws. They were at 2 5/8. I set them to 2 3/4 but I did not get a chance to ride the bike. Assuming they are still lean, what is next?
Thanks
TR