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97 Suzuki Bandit Won't Start

M

MovieSurferGuy

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Jun 14, 2005
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Help, I'm stumped. The bike ran fine until about a mile, where it wouldn't hold idle, then straight up died. When attempting to start it again, the engine turned over but didn't catch unless the throttle was held wide open. After it did start, the bike could barely hold idle with the throttle at 50% to 100%. If it was closed, it would die, and going from half throttle to full throttle yielded no change in RPM. After I walked the bike home, it wouldn't start at all.

UPDATE: 01/16

The sparkplugs were replaces with fancy new iridium ones, the new battery tenderized and fully charged, and the carbs were taken out n cleaned again. The bike started out fine, but after about 5 minutes, the problem of not running unless the throttle held wide open arose again. After about 15 minutes of sitting, the bike started up again fine, only to die within 5 minutes once again. The lack of spark has been solved; it was due to the dying battery. All of your help is appreciated.

As for the bikes maintenance history, I have no idea. This bike is 3rd hand with 77k miles on it. If anyone took that bet with Ironbutt, they lost. Unfortunately, I have more will to do the work myself than funds to pay someone else to do it for me, so I must rely on the very helpful community and their shared experience. Member for 5 years; you guys are great!

UPDATE 01/22:

Am told I should order a new regulator/rectifier. The battery was getting 14.8 volts instead of 14.4. Is .4 volts enough to kill idle after the bike has warmed up?
 
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Clogged idle jet(s)?

Im no guru but my situation was similar on my interceptor It wouldnt idle without having the choke wide open and even then I had to keep the throttle open anytime I was riding. Stop lights were the worst ..

Clogged jets... Maybe adjust fuel/air mixture screw also?
 
No spark? Check the signal generator - take off the round cover on the right side of the engine, maybe something is out of wack. Also if the battery is low there is a chance there isn't enough amperage to make spark and crank the engine at the same time, but I don't think this is it.
 
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Petelite said:
No spark? Check the signal generator - take off the round cover on the right side of the engine, maybe something is out of wack. Also if the battery is low there is a chance there isn't enough amperage to make spark and crank the engine at the same time, but I don't think this is it.
Click to expand...

That might solve the spark issue. The battery pack being used was running at about 30% by the time the loss of spark occurred. The only running at idle with wide open throttle still baffles me though.
 
Fuel, air, compression, spark. You clearly have a spark issue. Resolve that first. Pull all four plugs and check each for spark. I don't know your skill. Make darn sure the plug is touching a grounded, conductive surface and the PETCOCK IS OFF.
 
Fuel, air, compression, spark. You clearly have a spark issue. Resolve that first. Pull all four plugs and check each for spark. I don't know your skill. Make darn sure the plug is touching a grounded, conductive surface and the PETCOCK IS OFF.

EDIT: Running at wide open throttle. Sheesh. Carb issue.

Edit 2: Why the double post? Mods, feel free to delete previous post.
 
MovieSurferGuy said:
That might solve the spark issue. The battery pack being used was running at about 30% by the time the loss of spark occurred. The only running at idle with wide open throttle still baffles me though.
Click to expand...

Battery pack?? Are you running a total loss ignition system? (No alternator, just battery power?) If so, and it's too dischaged, you'll have problems making adequate spark. Just because you can see a spark doesn't mean it's strong enough to ignite the fuel air mix under compression and with all that turbulence.
 
Little history would help.. but I bet you $10 that thing has never had a proper tune up..
 
Is it the origional battery? If so it's time for a new one. I'd charge it first & try it again. Get a volt-ohm meter & check before running, & WHILE running. You should have ~12v when not running & charged, & 14v+ when running when the alternator is putting out voltage. If not, you've found the problem...
 
MovieSurferGuy said:
Help, I'm stumped. The bike ran fine until about a mile, where it wouldn't hold idle, then straight up died. When attempting to start it again, the engine turned over but didn't catch unless the throttle was held wide open. After it did start, the bike could barely hold idle with the throttle at 50% to 100%. If it was closed, it would die, and going from half throttle to full throttle yielded no change in RPM. After I walked the bike home, it wouldn't start at all.

The carbs were drained, and all four showed clean fuel coming out. We then pulled one of the spark plugs to check spark, and the sparkplug sparked at first, but after a few tries with the starter, stopped sparking altogether. The coilpacks were cool to the touch and have been recently replaced. When looking into the cylinder, we could see fuel being squirted onto the piston. I've got new sparkplugs on order, but is there anything else it could be?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Some Suzuki's have weak ignition systems. I'd start with a multimeter and check the pickUps, one may have got loose. the book should give you a resistance to look for. Also, you may have lost a coil so check the pri/sec resistance on those as well.:thumbup
 
EastBayDave said:
Is it the origional battery? If so it's time for a new one. I'd charge it first & try it again. Get a volt-ohm meter & check before running, & WHILE running. You should have ~12v when not running & charged, & 14v+ when running when the alternator is putting out voltage. If not, you've found the problem...
Click to expand...

12 volts is a dead battery. You need to be more specific when stating the voltage of fully charged lead acid battery. A fully charged new battery will be ~12.8. A fully charged but older used battery that's still in decent condition will be ~12.6 - 12.7. Anything lower than that and it's not fully charged. At ~11.9 - 12.0 it's considered fully discharged and useless for starting the bike.
 
The sparkplugs were replaces with fancy new iridium ones, the new battery tenderized and fully charged, and the carbs were taken out n cleaned again. The bike started almost instantly. idled at 3k, but after about 5 minutes, the problem of not running unless the throttle held wide open arose again. After about 15 minutes of sitting, the bike started up again fine idling at 3k once again, only to die within 5 minutes once again. The lack of spark has been solved; it was due to the dying battery. All of your help is appreciated.

As for the bikes maintenance history, I have no idea. This bike is 3rd hand with 77k miles on it. If anyone took that bet with Ironbutt, they lost. Unfortunately, I have more will to do the work myself than funds to pay someone else to do it for me, so I must rely on the very helpful community and their shared experience. Member for 5 years; you guys are great!
 
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Bump for an update:

Am told I should order a new regulator/rectifier. The battery was getting 14.8 volts instead of 14.4. Is .4 volts enough to kill idle after the bike has warmed up?
 
MovieSurferGuy said:
Bump for an update:

Am told I should order a new regulator/rectifier. The battery was getting 14.8 volts instead of 14.4. Is .4 volts enough to kill idle after the bike has warmed up?
Click to expand...
I don't think it will "kill idle" but will kill battery by overcharging. I'm curious what the actual correct spec is for your regulator output? That will answer the question...

I think the "kill idle" thing is unrelated...
 
Check fuel peacock, vacuum line pinched. My 2002 bandit has no working off position anymore, the diaphram thingy in valve went bad. first it fill carbs on prime, but would run out of gas once the bowls ran dry. Now it does not need engine vacuum to continue to flow fuel in run position.
 
alot of these knuckle heads seems to know very little about carbs

dosnt really sound like a spark issue, but then again its hard to figure out whats really going on with very little info.

why dont you try starting it up again and then open the carb drain screws if all four pour gas then you know the carbs had fuel if one or more do NOT flow fuel you have found your problem.

also pics of your old plugs helps

and yuou stated that you cant afford to pay someone else to work on your bike, does that mean you have cleaned the carbs yourself?

theres 2 parts on every carb the inexperianced tend to miss the idle screw and the main nozzle behind your main jets.
also on a bike that old (for the record i love 90's bikes lol [my main bike atm is a 95 lol]) you may also want to check the rubber bits of your carbs like the diaphrams at the top of each carb.

and for the record you can normally get someone like myself or skip to figure out the problem of your bike for the same cost or less then 4 overpriced plugs and a rectifier.

:twofinger
 
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The ignition system isn't so delicate that .4 volts over spec will effect it. I doubt that's the problem, but what do I know.
 
14.8 doesn't sound so bad to me.

You might wanna check your idle mixture screws on the carbs -- also, make sure that your throttle cable is adjusted correctly, so it's idling in the right range. 3k sounds way too high for 'idle.'
 
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