Triumphrat

I'm looking for some clues to this mystery:

I was headed down the road in traffic doing 35 or so. Maybe 5 minutes
into my ride home from work. My '96 T900 just sort of dies out. I
pulled in the clutch, popped it and hit the gas - nothing. Coast to a
stop and check the gas (gage reads 1/4 full) - open the tank and it
looks about 1/2 full. I fiddle with the fuel tap (which way is
reserve, up or down?). Nothing seems to help. I crank it over and not
even a pop or sputter. Before long the battery dies. I pushed the bike
back to a garage up the street, pull the seat and fiddle with it a bit
more, but of course the battery's dead. I ask for a jump-start. One of
the mechanics brings out a booster unit and we hook it up. It cranked
over and started right up. Hmmm... Should I risk riding it home? After
a few minutes of listening to it run, I take the chance. It runs fine
all the way home (9 miles or so). I kept the revs up, just in case it
wants to die again.

So - any suggestions? It didn't sputter or pop as if it was starving
for fuel so my first guess would be ignition-related. If my battery
was dying, could starting the bike zap enough juice to drop voltage
sufficient that the ignition system and/or fuel pump would drop out at
lower RPMs?
I'm going to replace the battery anyway - there's no way to tell how
old it is, but the P.O. didn't bother maintaining it over the winter
and it's been losing juice after just a few idle days in the garage.

But now it'll take a while before I can trust the bike again. Unless I
can find a solid reason for dying and fix it.

TIA
Neil

VR6

My Bonneville would die suddenly. The tach would instantaneously drop to zero, no sputtering like it was starving for fuel. I checked the signal from the coil and it was different to both plugs. I replaced the coil under warranty but when I went for a test ride it died as usual. No spark to either plug for an indeterminate period of time. It would start after some time but I could only expect about 10 to 12 miles before it would occur again. The dealer is sending me a new CDI so I will swap it out and see if it happens again. If it does it is beyond me what is going on. All connections are secure, kickstand switch snug, stator pickup snug, etc. I'll let you know, you may be experiencing the same?

VR6 :-D

jkhaug

Did you leave the choke on? I've noticed that if I take off riding with the choke on, the motor stalls out after a couple of minutes.

gararnett

Swampy, I think the answer from the Yahoo group is probably right - the crank position sensor. And cheaper than a new cdi.

Let us know if you get it fixed.

__________________
Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow.

Yea, the position sensor failure sounds common. It was cheap enough ($67 from Great Bay) that I hedge my bet and ordered one. Meanwhile, I'll pick up a battery tomorrow, and I can test the engine heat-related sensor failure on a few around town jaunts.
Let youse know.

Thanx,
Neil

Update: I replaced the battery and position sensor and the bike is running well. Did about 90 miles yesterday between the commute and an evening ride without a hickup. Except that the temp light started flickering on the way home. 75 degrees ambient temps. Spirited riding thru suburban territory. It ewent away as I got into more steady speeds on rural roads. But the light started to flicker again when I had it idling in the driveway. Someone suggested a ground wire modification that was part of a TSB. Any info or experience?

Neil

Sometimes it is the obvious that we miss (it usually is with me). Is your coolant topped off? When was the last time you serviced it?

jimballard

Swampy, the coolant light seems to be a problem on some Trophys. There's a service bulletin in the downloads about repositioning the ground wire to stop the problem. I put Water Wetter in my cooling system and it seemed to do the trick, the light will flicker only when the bike is parked and idling, then will go out when the fan comes on. Just to be sure, I bought a small hand-held digital thermometer to check the running temps, and it will read a high of 224F, which doesn't seem too bad.

Hope this helps some: Jim

__________________
Jim Ballard

The older I get, the faster I was....until lately!! (Speed IS the fountain of youth)!

I checked the coolant level in the overflow tank and it was up to proper levels, but someone else (here or on the Yahoo group) had a problem where the line to the overflow had disconnected and, although the tank level looked ok, the coolant in the rad was low. I need to peel off the lh fairing and take a look. While I have everything peeled off I can check and mod that ground wire as well. I need to do fork seals so I'll have everything torn down for a few days anyway.

The portable temp gage sounds interesting for general purposes. What model and where did you get it?

Thanx,
Neil