turn the tickover up?
Won't start/idle without holding throttle...
So long story short, my '97 TLS hasn't moved in ~3 years. I had the tank leak, would try a fix here and there, but lost interest through life and frustration. After a new gasket and half a dozen attempts with various sealants, I've finally got it holding fuel (slathered with Seal-All). I re-assembled everything I tore down, it fired it up, and I felt like John Britten reincarnate....
...then it died, and I came crashing back to my greenhorn reality.
I can hear it trying to bumble into idle, and it will fire if I crack and hold the throttle, but when I release it will die. My superlative engineering expertise points to an A/F issue, but I'm not sure where to tackle first. I can hear the pump prime. After the headache of the leak, I'm desperatley hoping it isn't my fuel filter (which, naturally, I didn't inspect before sealing). It showed signs of needing a TB sync when I parked it, but of course I can't adjust them or the TPS until I get it to consistently idle.
The plugs are new (cr8eix), albeit they've been in the bike for a year. They look okay, but I know TL's are notrious for fouling; could that be the case when they're virtually unused, though? All the fluids are new. Dealer mode shows c00, but my TPS bar is never in the middle (usually bottom). I have a manual, but I'm hoping it's something that requires less surgery than the troublshooting steps.
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
...then it died, and I came crashing back to my greenhorn reality.
I can hear it trying to bumble into idle, and it will fire if I crack and hold the throttle, but when I release it will die. My superlative engineering expertise points to an A/F issue, but I'm not sure where to tackle first. I can hear the pump prime. After the headache of the leak, I'm desperatley hoping it isn't my fuel filter (which, naturally, I didn't inspect before sealing). It showed signs of needing a TB sync when I parked it, but of course I can't adjust them or the TPS until I get it to consistently idle.
The plugs are new (cr8eix), albeit they've been in the bike for a year. They look okay, but I know TL's are notrious for fouling; could that be the case when they're virtually unused, though? All the fluids are new. Dealer mode shows c00, but my TPS bar is never in the middle (usually bottom). I have a manual, but I'm hoping it's something that requires less surgery than the troublshooting steps.
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
3 years could mean all sorts of things like bunged up injectors and as you say, fuel filters. Try a shot of injector cleaner as a first pass. You might also want to do the rounds of all the electrical connectors just to check nothing is obviously furred up. Plugs probably are ok but an inspection won't go amiss. TPS itself might also be slightly oxidised. It might clean up with a little use but the tracks might be marked where it sat for so long.
Since the bike sat for a while, I'd venture to say it's your fuel line that are gunged up. It will not hurt to replace the plugs. It is at this point the cheapest/least time consuming troubleshooting step you can do. That said, you TPS bar is low. Try to set your idle adjust to have it running on middle is see if she doesn't die. Remember the number of turns you're giving it because you may need to reset it down to adjust the TPS. Assuming you have your fast idle ON.
As the others have said, use the fast idle lever, or turn up the idle speed screw to increase the RPM. Then you can warm it up and look at a few things to establish a base line. If it wants more throttle, give it to it. Technically, you can't set the TPS until it is running on the warm map anyway.So .....
it will fire if I crack and hold the throttle, but when I release it will die. ...
Dealer mode shows c00, but my TPS bar is never in the middle (usually bottom). .....
BTW: if you have the fast idle asjuster ON, your TPS should be at the top level. To me, that's indication that your TPS is not set properly, if it were a bike that idled properly in the first place. But, first things first I guess: being able to idle. :O
I loosened and re-seated the plugs, charged the battery for a bit, came back and it fired immediatley with the fast-idle on. I raised the idle to 1500 with the adjustment knob, and it steadily climbed to 120F before I shut it off. I'm not sure what happened, but I don't much care as long as I'm back in the game.
The issue of the moment now is smoke and smells. At first I was worried that it's electrical, but I think it's coming from my radiator. It's white, and I sprayed the fins with a hose yesterday, so I'm hoping it's just steam dissipating. The bike sat without coolant for a while though, so I'm slightly paranoid that it's starving while what I added is cycling through. If anyone recignizes impending doom, feel free to berate me.
Aside from that, assuming it still starts in the morning, I guess I'll I do the TPS/TB's and hope it continues to cooperate.
Thanks again for the help.
The issue of the moment now is smoke and smells. At first I was worried that it's electrical, but I think it's coming from my radiator. It's white, and I sprayed the fins with a hose yesterday, so I'm hoping it's just steam dissipating. The bike sat without coolant for a while though, so I'm slightly paranoid that it's starving while what I added is cycling through. If anyone recignizes impending doom, feel free to berate me.
Aside from that, assuming it still starts in the morning, I guess I'll I do the TPS/TB's and hope it continues to cooperate.
Thanks again for the help.
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
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