gpz550 ignition switch

So turns out it was the battery, I sanded down a little bit and cleaned all of my grounded points while waiting for the battery.

new battery had no issue cranking at all.

BUT

now my engine is seized, right when it feels like its about to catch and turn over, i get a clack noise and it then stops.
I'll try to break it free with oil, but might be time to rebuild.

Do you have a video?
The bike ran before, so I doubt it would suddenly need a rebuild.

I can try to get a video today,

Last time I rode it, I was an a hurry to get home, and the voltage drops caused some pretty loud misfires, probably about 3.

Could something like that cause it to just give up? It idled still when I got home. but has been sitting still for almost a month after that.

also dont entirely trust the health of the piston rings, i've been burning oil pretty fast.

Here are the attempts,

By chance I captured a heinous noise in attempt 2. (Also by chance I think i found a vacuum leak lol)

didn't want to drain the new battery too low.

also I while I was taking out the battery there was a faint bit of smoke coming out of the air box

I was thinking about doing a drop of oil down each cyl, and giving it the night to sit.
What do you think it is?

attempt 1:



attempt 2:

Your battery and starter are (stong) good. If you look closer to your second Video you can see a blow by smoke coming out of the bottom
of the #4 intake boot (mis-firing) @ 0.18 sec.
Have you check your ignition Timing?

As Scirocco said, the cranking speed and vigor seem really good. Keep trickle charging the battery to keep it topped up.

If it doesn't start from the amount of cranking in the videos, then there is definitely something else wrong. It could just be no fuel. You should be on prime. The heinous sound is just backlash in the primary chain due to irregular firing. It sounds almost like it is only running on two cylinders... and not good at all on those two.

Like Scirocco said, I would be looking at electrical issues first since you did so much electrical work.

Take out all four plugs and look for spark. Also check timing while the plugs are out with a timing light. That will show if the timing is at the wrong time, even if the bike is not running and just cranking. Don't crank for more than a few seconds, and let it sit to cool down for several minutes after each try.

When checking for spark make sure all four plugs are on the engine so there is an electrical path for every spark to the engine otherwise you will damage the igniter or the coils. With all four plugs out it will be a lot less stressful on the starter and battery.

I'll start with spark, Is it fine to use the painted engine part for a path? gpz engine paint seems pretty thick.

Ignition timing im not very keen on, but ill do my research.

Also is there any harm in putting a drop of oil in each cyl while i have the plugs out?

So, took out all spark plugs re gaped them (which they re fairly new, so im not too worried about them) and check them all for spark.

they all make spark, and i put a drop of oil in each cyl to sit over night.

I'll try to start it tomorrow morning, after that i guess im checking the ignition timing.

Does ignition timing just come out of position like that? It was previously running great. But i guess there is no harm in checking it, i'll have to buy one of those strobe timing tools

Also the primary chain, making the backlash again, could it cause any major harm?

No luck this morning, let prime flow gas, and starter just span with nothing happening.

it is a bit cold, and the bike has been sitting for a month.

it is a bit tedious, because i dont have access to an outlet. so I have to uninstall my battery and walk back up to my apartment to charge it.

I'm glad I got my initial issue solved, but man this is just one thing after another.


I didnt realize I had electronic ignition, i assumed it was points because I have been using a z550 manual :l

how exactly do you set electronic ignition on a non running bike?

Also does the orientation of the leads on the ignition coils matter? im pretty sure I have them on correctly but curious about that.

One common issue is getting the the firing order 180 degrees out. This can happen when swapping wires or re-assembling the ignition advancer. The rotor can go on backward.

Make sure the right coil has a black wire and it fires cyl 1 and 4.
The left coil gets a green wire and fires cyl 2 and 3.

Then make sure the point of the rotor points toward the "Tec" logo when the engine is at TDC for 1 and 4.

Normally when the ignition is 180 out, nothing happens at all. But in some instances, the ignition can have a ghost spark that is also 180 out. This is a very weak spark , but could be enough to run a cylinder or two for second.

Ill check that. is the T next to the 1•4 not TDC for those?

I did re confirm that the coils leads are in the correct spots.

I was able to get it running for a second two separate times, so I think it wants to run.

i pulled the plugs again and the valves seem to be operating fine. tried at bump starting but my driveway space isnt long enough.

hope im not wearing out my battery too much. how many crank should I pull the battery and recharge it? I've been pulling it once it goes under 12.5 volts to be safe...

managed to get the almost running state on clip,
Is it possible for the gas to have gone bad within a month?
It's 91, octane. at this point i might pull the carbs off anyways to replace the boots, (I have new boots ready to go)

althought the fuel in the fuel filter looks fine, and flows good.