Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Oh,sorry.
Reminds me of a post a while back (not here) that included “… a friend of my mother’s car” or something, so you think “what it’s the car whose got the friend” ?
Thanks everyone,
All good advice (well not so much the poetry). When on my pogoing test run I filled up so there is plenty of fuel. I will check everything I touched or even went near. If push comes to shove I will refit the old pump to eliminate the new one but it is a dispiriting thought. Can’t do anything until the weekend as it is that go to work in the dark come home in the dark time of year and I work on the bike in the street. Will keep you all informed.
Tis a pain when this happens BUT all WILL be well in the end and “Summers Comming!” …
Ah! A glass half full person. Me too!
Whether it’s half full or half empty, it clearly needs topping up.
Hi everyone,
Today I tightened the jubilee clips on the fuel hoses (disconnected and remade the union to the back of the pump as I wanted to take the electrical connections off). The electrical connections posts are aluminium and had a whitish coating of aluminium oxide so I cleaned these up with a file and also the connectors themselves. I checked the ecu plug was fully seated and gently tugged on each individual wire to see if any had broken off inside the plug. Everything seemed sound. I tightened the ecu heat sink bolts and also the bolt on the ecu earth lead. Visual checked revealed nothing dislodged or unseated. Running is still lamentable. I am now inclining towards an under pressure feed to the injectors as there was no sign of fuel recirculating to the tank via the pressure regulator. So I guess it is refit the old pump time. Ho hum!
.. FFS... ... if that's true and not just look like ally ...I remember on my old '95 Ford (now expired) a lot of the plug connector pins were gold plated because they MUST be reliable.
Well if it cures the crap running then at least you can send the “New” pump back for a replacement buddy.
Annies Virago runs a fuel pump, easily replaced by either a car type one OR a Kawasaki one at less than a 3rd of what Yamaha want.
Bought a new one ONCE from Yamaha dealer (£180)it had me cussing like a good un as it did NOT work. Took it back they did not have a replacement , went to a motor factors got one almost identical for a car £28.99, When that one died I found that there are other bikes that run the type of Mikuni carbs so figured the fuel pump must be similar, Kawasaki one new £35 2nd hand £12 …
The point is nowadays just because you replace an item with a new one DOES not mean it actually works, Jmee tore his hair out over his brakes only to find the new master cyl didn’t do the job.
Is it possible to trace the fuel pressure drop/existence by starting at the pump and gently loosening each union?
Have used this on the EV to eradicate an air lock and wondered if it would work.
Bearing in mind that it’s a pressurised system you would have to ‘go steady’
Best of luck
Steve
Hi everyone,
Raining today so no progress. Mike, I agree that it seems strange that the electrical connection posts are aluminium and I am not entirely sure about the threaded post (would seem like a recipe for disaster given how soft a metal aluminium is) but the base of the post where the electrical connection is made is definitely aluminium. The white bloom of the oxide layer was unmistakable as was its softness under the file. Steve, I will try to do some testing but two of the key fuel unions can only accessed with the battery out so testing will be difficult. Depressing to think new parts can be faulty. This is a Bosch component after all and I would have thought bench testing would fairly straightforward as part of the QA process.
One other thought- do you have an electric petcock on your tank? The connections on those can easily break. Maybe worth checking.
Hi everyone,
Sunny but cold in my outdoor garage today. Have refitted the old fuel pump (the one good thing about this sorry saga is that I am now a whizz at getting the fuel pumps in and out). The bike runs better but not properly. Symptoms are the same but less pronounced; slow and rough idle with a hesitant and non linear throttle response. Rolling off the throttle causes the revs to drop like a stone with the bike stalling frequently when the throttle is completely closed. Just to add insult to injury, the old pump is no longer making a whining noise so I assume this was due to some crud in its internals which has shaken out in the process of removing and refitting the pump. Ideas please! I am now tending towards air being sucked into the system via the fuel unions. I presume this would have to be the two unions on the suck side of the pump.
Get some thickish grease on your finger and apply round the fuel unions. That will stop air being sucked in. It will at least prove a point.
Good idea Brian, I have a tub of thick grease in the back of the car so I can try this tomorrow (weather permitting).
Richard
It could be that the poor running has nothing to do with the pump, actually, it’s been something else all along…
It’s possible Mike but I prefer to use Occam’s razor. After the fuel filter change the bike was running fine. After the fuel pump change it wasn’t. Simplest explanation is that the fuel pump or something I disturbed whilst swapping it out is the source of the problem.
Hope so!
Hi everyone,
It is like Spring out there. If only I had a bike to ride! This morning I have tightened the jubilee clips on the three unions I disturbed (petcock, fuel pump inlet and fuel pump outlet) to within an inch of their lives. The clips are quite clearly compressing the rubber tube and the tubes are fully home on their spigots. The bike seems to be running slightly better but I am starting to doubt my judgement on this. It certainly isn’t running properly. Does anyone know the function of the white switch/ajuster on the back of the ECU under a black plastic cover? The ECU is a Magneti Marelli IAW15M.C3. The bike is just about ridable so I may end up taking it to Baldrick in Eltham.