Carb problem or ?

Bike sat for 10+ years. I soaked the carbs on my 82 1100. I hooked the Morgan Carbtune up and got 1&2 equal then when I looked at 3&4 I noticed no vaccum reading on either cyl. I adjusted the screw between 2&3 and now have vaccum on #3 (same reading as 1&2)but still none on #4. I tried adjusting between 3&4 but it made no difference. I thought maybe a hole in diaphram on #4 so I pulled the top off but couldn't see anything wrong. I started the bike back up and pulled #4 wire and it made no difference on how the bike ran. Same thing with #3. I pulled the plugs on 3&4 and they are black. I checked and have good blue spark on both cyl.s. I sprayed water on all 4 pipes and seem to steam off equal on all cyl.s. I don't have a compression gauge but it blows my hand away at idle. If I blip the throttle 1,2&3 all raise the gauge the same but nothing on #4.What should I check???

Update

The rain quit for a while so I went out and swaped diaphrams between #1&4. Made no difference.I'm still confused as to why the exhaust is hot but pulling the plug wire makes no difference in rpm's. No vaccum,hot exhaust pipe,plug wire off makes no difference....What the heck?!

Post edited by: 1982KZ1100D1, at: 2007/11/25 15:35

Looking at your signature, I see you are from Texas... is Mike supposed to be your name or the town you are from. If it is your name, put your bike year/model and your town in the sig as someone local might be able to help you out. I strongly suspect you don't really know how to diagnose a non-firing cylinder or sporadically firing cylinders.

I suspect you have an ignition issue or perhaps compression issue.

If you see nothing on the vacuum gauges for a cylinder, the cylinder isn't firing. Help me out with some info and I can walk you through the steps needed to fix the problem. Fix your sig... thanks wg

First thing I'd do is replace both the black plugs (at least those two), and I'd also check the valve clearances.

Number four throttle may be sticking and causing the zero reading, I'd take a look at the throttle butterfly (the disk inside the carb) and see if it was closing all the way.

Sorry, I figured 1982KZ1100D1 as a user name would explain it all as far as bike info but here goes... It's a 1982 Kawasaki KZ1100-D1 Spectre completely stock with 21K miles located in Smithville Tx. about 45 miles east of Austin. I bought it not running but supposedly ran until parked 10 years ago. I get a good strong consistent blue spark with the new but now black #3 &4 plugs when just stuck in the wires and laying on the head while running.The plug wires look to be original and #2 is arcing at the boot but 1,3&4 haven't shown any signs of arcing. I know I need to just replace the old plug wires but it seems like there is more to it. I could very well be wrong though.I don't have a compression gauge anymore as it and lots of other tools were stolen a few years back. I guess I really need to get another if I'm going to tinker with old bikes now. The carbs were soaked in berryman chem dip,rinsed in water and blown dry with compressor. I checked for smooth throttle shaft operation and checked to make sure the pistons were smooth and equal to each other as far as coming back when raised with my finger before I mounted the carbs back on the bike.I'll see if I can get some new wires this week and check price on a compression gauge. Sounds like thats the next steps to be taken. Thanks , Mike

1982KZ1100D1 wrote:

...pulled #4 wire and it made no difference... blip the throttle 1,2&3 all raise the gauge the same but nothing on #4....

Might try swapping #1/4 plug wires to see if problem moves from #4 to #1. Could help diagnosis.

Did you disassemble the carburetors before putting them in the Berrymans dip?

Yes,I aggitated for 2 min.s every 15 min.s for 4 hours each. This new cleaner sure isn't like they used to make it. I also had the fun of scrubbing all the loosened black paint off. I cleaned the diaphrams by hand with spray cleaner.

To my best knowledge....which isn't that much, shouldn\t you not use carb cleaner on the diaphrams since they are made of rubber?

Frank wrote:

To my best knowledge....which isn't that much, shouldn\t you not use carb cleaner on the diaphrams since they are made of rubber?

I destroyed the ones from my 78 400b that way.

The reformulated Berrymans isn't very strong. I wouldn't SOAK a diaphragm in it but if you rubbed it on a diaphragm and then cleaned it off, it would do no harm. The old formula would have dissolved a diaphragm in minutes...


First thing is to determine which cylinder(s) are not firing. Use a pump bottle with water or orange cleaner or something. Warm the bike. If you spray water on a cylinder that is firing, the water will VAPORIZE. If the cylinder isn't firing, it will still be hot but the water will roll off. FIGURE OUT WHICH CYLINDER(S) ARE NOT FIRING!

OK, your KZ1100 has an electronic ignition. Keep in mind that when you figure out which cylinders are not firing, that they should fire 1 & 4 and 2 & 3. If you have ONE cylinder not firing, the FIRST test is to swap plug wires with the other cylinder on that coil. That is, if #1 isn't firing, swap 1 and 4. If #2 isn't firing, swap 2 and 3. See if the problem moves. If it does, this indicates a BAD WIRE OR BAD PLUG CAP. If the problem doesn't move, this indicates a bad spark plug or bad compression on that cylinder.

If you have TWO non-firing cylinders, your course of action depends on which two. If they are ADJACENT cylinders... like 1 and 2 or 3 and 4, then the problem may be compression OR carburetor/fuel related. If the problem is on 1 and 4 or 2 and 3, then the ignition is the likely place to start looking. If it is ignition, it will be a PICKUP COIL, the IGNITER or IGNITION COIL or could also be faulty wiring or a bad connector between any of these components.

If one or more cylinders don't fire or fire sporadically at idle but then they kick in at higher rpms, dirty carbs are a likely candidate.

Keep in mind that when you are messing around, until you figure out WHY cylinders are not firing, you will be quickly fouling plugs. Clean or replace the plugs each time you try a new test or fix. It is best to use NGK B8ES spark plugs as other brands (the kind your would come up with from an autoparts store cross reference) like Autolite or Champion will not have reliable cross reference info and may actually be the wrong heat range.

Last... check the power going to your coils... see the COIL REPOWERING note on our website. If you can, check your compression (don't rely on a finger) and adjust your valves... if valve clearances are too tight, the valves won't open enough for combustion to occur... especially when the engine warms. We have a "VALVE CLEARANCE" tech article as well that might help there.

Thanks everyone. I think I REALLY need to get a compression gauge. Like I stated in my first post "I'm still confused as to why the exhaust is hot but pulling the plug wire makes no difference in rpm's. No vaccum,hot exhaust pipe,plug wire off makes no difference....What the heck?!" Seems like if the exhaust pipe is hot the cyl is firing BUT no vaccum and pulling the plug wire makes no difference in the way it's running and black plug tells me it's NOT firing.
STRANGE

the cylinder and pipe will be hot from heat transfer from the firing other cylinder. even if the one you're looking at isn't. do the spray bottle test mentioned earlier. it should bubble and evaporate quickly if firing, and just run down the pipe if not.