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Hello from Oregon!

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by StarGeneral, Jul 2, 2020.

  1. StarGeneral

    StarGeneral Active Member

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    I do, it is the recommended sintered brass style. every bit of the fuel line including the filter section runs below the petcock as well (I use the 90-degree style cone filters).
     
  2. lostboy

    lostboy Well-Known Member

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    Well it's not the filter then. It was worth a shot.
     
  3. Toyobaru866

    Toyobaru866 Active Member

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    Maybe it's a much too simple thought but can't you rule out the petcock and fuel line just by doing a flow test? So measure the amount of fuel that flows every minute. You would say that 1 liter every 3 minutes would be enough? If you want to I can measure the flow of my OEM petcock.
     
  4. Huntchuks

    Huntchuks Well-Known Member

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    The flow could affect fuel starvation issues. When you start out the bowls are full. As you ride, the floats go down and fuel flows in but if the inflow rate is just a tad slow, eventually you would end up with a level that is too low. If you have cool looking colored semi-transparent fuel lines, which have thin walls, it is conceivable that a sharp bend could restrict the flow also. Just ideas and possibilities.
     
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  5. Toyobaru866

    Toyobaru866 Active Member

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    Tank was off so did a little test. The OEM petcock with 20 inch fuel line hanging down takes about 40 seconds to pass 1 liter of fuel.
     
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  6. Huntchuks

    Huntchuks Well-Known Member

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    More than enough, I would say. Check for sharp bends in the fuel lines next. Other than that, it's something else.
     
  7. StarGeneral

    StarGeneral Active Member

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    Once I get out to the garage this weekend I'll try the drip test with my cheap-o petcock and with the OEM one that I have coming. We'll see how they stack up.
     
  8. StarGeneral

    StarGeneral Active Member

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    Update:

    Tried to flow test with the existing aftermarket petcock. On PRI it took over 4 minutes to fill most of a 1 liter bottle, nowhere close to 40 seconds.

    In comparing with the OEM-style petcock (Taiyo-Giken) on PRI, that still took about 2-3 minutes to fill a 1 liter bottle.

    The old petcock had some rubber bits in it, a much smaller fuel outlet port, and was not working properly in the RES position, so I suspect that it was pretty much trashed anyway, however the issue is still present with the new petcock.

    At this point I suspect the TCI, an issue with the Fuel cap not venting (will need to try the drip test with the gas cap open), or contaminants in the tank somehow clogging the screen on the petcock.

    I did try running the bike with the fuel cap open, made no difference, so maybe not an issue with the vent.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2021
  9. chacal

    chacal Moderator Moderator Supporting Vendor Premium Member

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    40 seconds for 1 liter of flow sounds incredible. That's a LOT of fuel thru a 1/4" ID hose that is operating at atmospheric pressure.

    But, even 2-3 minutes for a flow of 1 liter should be just fine. These engines can't possibly use that much fuel, even at WOT and full load.

    If running with the gas cap open still results in the issue, then you are correct, the cap is not the problem.
     
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  10. Toyobaru866

    Toyobaru866 Active Member

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    Well it does, mine is an almost new OEM petcock.
     
  11. StarGeneral

    StarGeneral Active Member

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    New (old) TCI came today along with a lot of all the relays and switches that go to my XJ (figured it can't hurt to have spares anyway). Another reason I picked this one is because it seems to have some "legitimate" work done to it. See the photos below. I've never seen this type of sticker on one of these. I also noted that the mounting plate screws on the back have been sharpied over so it is obvious if someone has tampered with the unit...The sticker says "Return Void if removed 1333"

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  12. StarGeneral

    StarGeneral Active Member

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    Who had money on the TCI being the issue? :D

    Just came back from about two hours of riding. The TCI was the issue. I'm not having any of the misfire/bog or stalling when hot / not starting when hot issues anymore. Runs great! Still be taking the carbs to church this Winter though.
     
  13. Toyobaru866

    Toyobaru866 Active Member

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    Wow, that's good news!
     
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  14. Toyobaru866

    Toyobaru866 Active Member

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    Well then I think hogfiddles wins the grand prize!
     
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  15. Dan Gardner

    Dan Gardner Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    @StarGeneral if the big problem with the carbs is one or two of the outer throttle shaft seals, then those can be replaced with the rack on the bike. Might be a band-aid to get you through until you break and build the whole rack.

    Just an idea.
     
  16. StarGeneral

    StarGeneral Active Member

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    That's actually a good point. yes only the outer right one was...questionable! Maybe I'll replace it with the rack on the bike like ya said. Thanks for the idea! Hadn't thought of that.
     
  17. StarGeneral

    StarGeneral Active Member

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    Latest update: after replacing the faulty TCI my friend and I went on a repeat of our earlier ride. We rode for about 3 hours and the bike did not miss a beat! We started about 7:30 and I rode out to meet him. Got to see the sun cresting and coming up over the mountains which was awesome...minimal traffic out in the country that time of day.

    After I got home, due to the bugs being out I decided to give the bike a wash. I'm aware that you should only rinse with the necessary amount of water and so I did so using what I perceived was the least amount of water needed to get the job done. After hand-drying I started her up and let her idle for a while to dry things out, turned it off, and parked the bike inside so I could begin the process of syncing the carbs (no, I hadn't had an opportunity to sync till today lol) and then do some colortuning with my new Colortune plug (thanks Len!).

    Anyhow, prior to this I decided to hot-shot the carbs with some seafoam. I drained the bowls (after freeing the drain screws for the first time with some penetrating oil), and then filled them back up with seafoam. Let that soak in for about an hour, then started the bike and let it idle for a second or two, shut her down and walked away.

    When I came back, the bike was INCREDIBLY difficult to start. I tried and tried to start her up but no amount of fiddling with choke would do it. Eventually had to pull the plugs and crank it over because A) I drained the battery and B) figured by this time I had flooded the engine out with gas. Plugs were wet as expected, cranked over and let her dry out a while.

    On the second attempt I got the bike to fire up, however it was idling horribly low and if I tried to crack the throttle past 2k rpm the tach needle would jump and the bike would bog something horrible (sounded like the butterflies were fluttering). No matter what I did the bike would not idle well - I couldn't understand it. Not my first rodeo with Seafoam.

    I figured oh well, I'll let it idle where it's happy and see if it burns something off that's stuck in the bowls or other...but no dice. About 4 minutes later I crack the throttle and the bike just cuts out. Power's not out as the display and lights are on. I turn the key off, restart and it idles for about 10 seconds, then dies...At this point I'm thinking oh shit did I fry my new TCI somehow?

    At this point I start inspecting the Rectifier/TCI area and notice some water still seeping out. I cut the power and pull the cover of my TCI - nope no water in there (though I did get a good look at the minty board repair that someone else had done! Looked like a professional job for sure). But some was coming out of the area where the rectifier sits. Started it up again and kept bike revved at around 2k rpm. Within 10 seconds bike flat out dies, so at this point I'm like "OK...that's defo not carbs...probably something electrical for sure". Pulled the plug off the rectifier and am seeing the Red wire terminal slot looking slightly melty, not burnt yet but not normal. Also now noticing that the battery is on the charger...it looks like it's bulging a bit and I can see the top edge of the casing is not flush with the body of the battery - could it have been overcharged somehow?

    Keep in mind this is not the original rectifier, this is one I swapped onto the bike from my parts bin when I was trying to troubleshoot the TCI.

    I start the bike again and wiggle wires near the Rectifier - yes it cuts out. I try again, this time wiggling the wires isn't making a difference, so I give the rectifier a little tap with my wrench and the bike cuts out on queue lol.

    Fast forward to today - I swapped in my original Rectifier - all these issues completely gone. Battery didn't boil down and seems to be holding a charge so I'm throwing it back on the bike and will closely monitor for now.

    Got my Carb sync done today (my first one ever) and was able to get her dialed in. Got the YICS chamber cleaned out to shiny-clean level, picked the YICS holes clean and made sure they were carbon-free, then installed the YICS tool with some motor oil.

    After sync, the bike now idles smooth right about 1100 RPM which it has NEVER done - I've been running it around 1500 RPM to "mask" the bogging issues I'd have off-idle till now. Pre-sync readings showed quite a bit of variance between the cylinders, so no huge surprise it's idling better now.

    Tomorrow I'll be doing the Colortune and Re-sync :D
     
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  18. chacal

    chacal Moderator Moderator Supporting Vendor Premium Member

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    Good job young man!
     
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  19. StarGeneral

    StarGeneral Active Member

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    Figured I'd share the video I put together of the restoration footage I shot.
     
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  20. chacal

    chacal Moderator Moderator Supporting Vendor Premium Member

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    UPDATE: Great job young man!
     
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