R1100RS Spluttering

[BladeBaiter]

I realise I'm an RS riding imposter but an R1100 engine is an R1100 engine and someone in this group might be able to help me (please) so,

I don't know whether spluttering describes it correctly: It came on gradually, about a week or two ago. It would occationally "gulp" under acceleration, and then carry on through it, without a following backfire or anything; just as if the motor died for half a second as it went through the rev range (between 3 and 4 thousand revs). Yesterday and this morning though, after about ten miles of my journey, the gulp turned into a really impassable splutter. When accelerating hard (to overtake), when the motor reaches 3 or 4 thousand revs it virtually dies untill I roll the throttle off to a more gentle rate. I have no idea whether this is a fueling or an electrical fault. If it was a normally carburated bike I would think that it felt as if the float-valves were set too low. The fact that it does it after ten miles of running makes me suspect the coils are breaking down. The bike has done 90,000 miles. Can anyone help with this one?
_________________
Keith Dunn (R1100RS SE)

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

If it was a Range Rover, I'd say it was the fuel pump, but as it's an RS, I'll go for hall effect switch - this stopped me dead one morning. So did the RR fuel pump, come to think of it.

Search site for Hall Effect testing etc.

Cracking bike the RS!

Good luck!

 

[BladeBaiter]

Thankyou Bin,

I shall do that.

Keith

 

[BladeBaiter]

Apparently, if the Hall Effect switch is breaking down the Rev Counter goes crazy at the same time; my Rev Counter is acting normaly, so I'm guessing that it's not the Hall Effect switch. (What does the Hall Effect Switch actually do??)

Some suggestions that it could be the fuel filter lead me to change the fuel filter yesterday: It did make a substancial difference; during last night's and this morning's rides I noticed no spluttering as before and I thought that it was cured; but this afternoon the gulping had returned with avengeance: On the way home this evening, midway through an overtake on a VFR, it gulped so wide that the VFR retook me, mid gulp, and I was forced to chase it all the way to the Retendon Turnpike. I suspect that the latter part of that was down to the wiring in my brain though, not the bike.

So I still have the problem. I am beginning to suspect the Coils or the HT Leads. I will look further into the Hall Effect effect. Any other ideas, anyone?

Keith

 

[Taipan]

Hi Mate
Some interesting reading here http://ibmwr.org/r-tech/oilheads/index.shtml
It may throw some light on stuff for you?
Best
Dave

 

[Mzokk]

Sounds like the hall sensor. A friend of mine had similar symptoms on a boxer cup in the Pyrenees last year. Thankfully it didn't give up the ghost completely until he returned home!!

 

[skywalker]

Apparently, if the Hall Effect switch is breaking down the Rev Counter goes crazy at the same time; my Rev Counter is acting normaly, so I'm guessing that it's not the Hall Effect switch. (What does the Hall Effect Switch actually do??)

Some suggestions that it could be the fuel filter lead me to change the fuel filter yesterday: It did make a substancial difference; during last night's and this morning's rides I noticed no spluttering as before and I thought that it was cured; but this afternoon the gulping had returned with avengeance: On the way home this evening, midway through an overtake on a VFR, it gulped so wide that the VFR retook me, mid gulp, and I was forced to chase it all the way to the Retendon Turnpike. I suspect that the latter part of that was down to the wiring in my brain though, not the bike.

So I still have the problem. I am beginning to suspect the Coils or the HT Leads. I will look further into the Hall Effect effect. Any other ideas, anyone?

Keith

Hi
Only ever had one coil failure and that was on an R1100Rt with approx 80k on it.The fault would only appear after approx 20 miles. How ever we 've had more hall sensor failures than you might think. some symptons include things like a large crackling noise under the tank, tacho needle working erractically. The hall sensor is basically an electronic set of points.
Also check the fuel pump relay, i've had those pack in too but my money's on the hall sensor

 

[BladeBaiter]

Thanks all,

I spoke with Lou Crump today, who is a Boxer Engine Guru; He is trying to help me diagnose the problem too. He says that it could be any number of things: tappets too tight; air leaking into worn seals; hall effect sensor; tank vent pipes blocked.
He has never known a coil to break down on an 1100RS.
Whilst riding home last night I thought that I'd experiment: I suspected that the tank vent pipe may be blocked, so when the bike started playing up I stopped and opened the filler cap and rode the rest of the journey with it loose, thinking that it would vent freely and if that cured the problem then I'd sussed it. It seemed to cure it at first but some miles later it was gulping and spluttering again.
But, apparently, according to Lou, a blocked vent pipe may still cause these symptoms even with the filler cap loose. So I'm making that job number one: Clear the vent pipes.

Thanks again

Keith

 

[Rob Farmer]

follow this old thread http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1766&highlight=fault+codes and read the fault codes yourself...it may point you in the right direction. if it's a Hall sensor then it should show on a code.

 

[BladeBaiter]

What a Clever Dic

Thanks for the advice and for the links they were very useful. The Diagnostic memory code reading thing is a bit clever, isn't it. I won't try it because, a) I haven't got a voltmeter and b) Cannon (the dealer) told me that even if they rig my bike to their diagnostic thingy it would tell them a lot, unless something has completely failed. It still might be worth borrowing a voltmeter and having a go though, just out of interest.

Cheers

Keith

 

[BladeBaiter]

Thanks very much for all your help.

I took the bike to Lou Crump today and it is now sorted

It turned out that it was a combination of factors making the bike run this way:

The air-box had 1/4 pint of oil in the bottom of it (because I had overfilled the engine slightly ; the tappets were all over the place, some too loose, some too tight; the air-screw on the left injector body was wound out 3 1/2 turns instead of 1 1/2; the CO reading was not right; the seals between the air-box and the tubes were missing.

I hold my hand up for overfilling the engine oil but the rest of these issues shouldn't have arisen, not 3,000 miles after a very expensive major service at a franchised dealer.

The bike now purrs like a contented pussy and I have learned two valuable lessons: Don't overfill the engine oil and don't overspend at the dealer's.

Thanks again for the help, I have at least learned a lot about my bike.

Keith