My Max quit on the freeway

[Hijinx1812]

Update:

I went through everything I could think of. Sprayed the hell out of the side stand switch, tore everything apart and found a loose connector (I think it was to the pickup coil - thanks Sean!), cleaned and lubed all the connectors I came across, changed my spark plug wires while I had it torn apart (had never been done), and rebuilt my airbox with new snorkels & cleaned the hell out of it while it was apart (the snorkels were as hard as a rock on the carb side). The bike fired right up. Over and over it fired up no problem. I took it on a test ride. Every little bump I hit, the bike stalled. It would fire back up, but stall again on the next bump. It also didn’t like hard acceleration. When I’d open the throttle up, it would backfire a little and sound like it was missing.

Also, is the fuel pump supposed to click every time you turn on the key or is intermittent depending on the fuel level in the float bowls? Mine will click like crazy sometimes, once or twice other times, and sometimes not at all. I’m curious if it might be a fuel pump or solenoid issue.

With this new round of info, does anyone have any fresh ideas?

Thanks for everyone’s help. I’m going nuts because the only thing I had to look forward to on my “vacation” was going for rides everyday. Now it seems like all I’m doing is wrenching.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

Ok....we checked the obvious. Lets think about the no so obvious. How about grounds? Is there possibly a main ground wire that is deteriorated? Same with a power feed wire?

Lets think of this from the bikes perspective. What is moving when a bike accelerates, decelerates, and goes over bumps. First thing that comes to mind is the suspension. Rear doesnt have wires around it that flex with the suspension. But the front does. Continuity tests may not be enough now. You may actually have to apply a load to the circuit while wiggling. I cant tell you how many times I have personally been burned by a wire that was partially deteriorated.

Next, what else moves? Liquids. Fuel and oil are the main sloshers. Not saying either of these are it, but a bad oil level sender back feeding? Fuel level sender doing the same? I have seen electrical systems do all types of things that didnt seem to have an association with what was actually wrong.

The engine moving in the frame? Not enough for you to see, but maybe enough to flex something open and closed with motion.

The final thing I can think of that moves on the bike is you. Your weight shifts during acceleration, deceleration and bumps. Is there a short in the throttle housing when you crank that wrist? Wires under the seat getting wiggled about? I People sometimes contribute to a problem that they are unaware they are the problem of. I had a car years and years and years ago come in. Random intermittent stalling. Each and every time it was brought to the shop, ran perfect. One of the times it happened, the womans friends came with her to drop the car and tell us what happened. When the car was dropped off, it started like nothing was wrong. Me, being the sexist bigoted pig I was called, told all the womans friends to get into the back seat. The car died. The weight of these women collapsed the body of the car onto the sending unit shorting out the pump. Not implying anything directly to you, but its something to think of. Is your weight contributing to something under that seat?

One more thing I dont recall you mentioning....did you bypass the affected safety circuits or just cleaned them? Broken parts are broken parts no matter how clean they look. I would bypass every lousy safety circuit just to make sure I know for a fact it isnt something stupid.

My Virago had a bad engine kill switch some years back. I would be able to drive real steady. Give it gas, sometimes I would go. More times, it felt like someone shut the ignition off. Every time I twisted the throttle, it pulled on something that broke the continuity. Cleaning it, resoldering wires and re-routing the wires cured it.

 

[Hijinx1812]

Ok....we checked the obvious. Lets think about the no so obvious. How about grounds? Is there possibly a main ground wire that is deteriorated? Same with a power feed wire?

Lets think of this from the bikes perspective. What is moving when a bike accelerates, decelerates, and goes over bumps. First thing that comes to mind is the suspension. Rear doesnt have wires around it that flex with the suspension. But the front does. Continuity tests may not be enough now. You may actually have to apply a load to the circuit while wiggling. I cant tell you how many times I have personally been burned by a wire that was partially deteriorated.

Next, what else moves? Liquids. Fuel and oil are the main sloshers. Not saying either of these are it, but a bad oil level sender back feeding? Fuel level sender doing the same? I have seen electrical systems do all types of things that didnt seem to have an association with what was actually wrong.

The engine moving in the frame? Not enough for you to see, but maybe enough to flex something open and closed with motion.

The final thing I can think of that moves on the bike is you. Your weight shifts during acceleration, deceleration and bumps. Is there a short in the throttle housing when you crank that wrist? Wires under the seat getting wiggled about? I People sometimes contribute to a problem that they are unaware they are the problem of. I had a car years and years and years ago come in. Random intermittent stalling. Each and every time it was brought to the shop, ran perfect. One of the times it happened, the womans friends came with her to drop the car and tell us what happened. When the car was dropped off, it started like nothing was wrong. Me, being the sexist bigoted pig I was called, told all the womans friends to get into the back seat. The car died. The weight of these women collapsed the body of the car onto the sending unit shorting out the pump. Not implying anything directly to you, but its something to think of. Is your weight contributing to something under that seat?

One more thing I dont recall you mentioning....did you bypass the affected safety circuits or just cleaned them? Broken parts are broken parts no matter how clean they look. I would bypass every lousy safety circuit just to make sure I know for a fact it isnt something stupid.

My Virago had a bad engine kill switch some years back. I would be able to drive real steady. Give it gas, sometimes I would go. More times, it felt like someone shut the ignition off. Every time I twisted the throttle, it pulled on something that broke the continuity. Cleaning it, resoldering wires and re-routing the wires cured it.

You may be onto something with the weight thing. I’m a svelt 209, but none of this happened before I swapped my seat over to a Corbin. The Corbin seat fits a lot more snug than the sportmax seat I had on it before. I wonder if my weight shifting on it is grounding something out somewhere. Back to the garage! Thanks for the lead (no pun intended)!

 

[putin]

Update:

I went through everything I could think of. Sprayed the hell out of the side stand switch, tore everything apart and found a loose connector (I think it was to the pickup coil - thanks Sean!), cleaned and lubed all the connectors I came across, changed my spark plug wires while I had it torn apart (had never been done), and rebuilt my airbox with new snorkels & cleaned the hell out of it while it was apart (the snorkels were as hard as a rock on the carb side). The bike fired right up. Over and over it fired up no problem. I took it on a test ride. Every little bump I hit, the bike stalled. It would fire back up, but stall again on the next bump. It also didn’t like hard acceleration. When I’d open the throttle up, it would backfire a little and sound like it was missing.

Also, is the fuel pump supposed to click every time you turn on the key or is intermittent depending on the fuel level in the float bowls? Mine will click like crazy sometimes, once or twice other times, and sometimes not at all. I’m curious if it might be a fuel pump or solenoid issue.

With this new round of info, does anyone have any fresh ideas?

Thanks for everyone’s help. I’m going nuts because the only thing I had to look forward to on my “vacation” was going for rides everyday. Now it seems like all I’m doing is wrenching.

I would try waive it side to side in garage on neutral, put it at the angle, bump it at something. Try to find exact moment when it stalls. Hard to do it while riding. Looks to me like problem with fuel supply. If it electrical contact, why it reconnect after the bump when you start bike again?

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

I would try waive it side to side in garage on neutral, put it at the angle, bump it at something. Try to find exact moment when it stalls. Hard to do it while riding. Looks to me like problem with fuel supply. If it electrical contact, why it reconnect after the bump when you start bike again?

It has to be electrical. Unless the carbs were EXTREMELY low on fuel, the fuel bowl will keep enough fuel in it to keep it running. I think even low fuel in the carb bowls, moderate bumps and acceleration shouldnt shut the bike down, Usually, low fuel in the carbs will cause more driveability issues than stalling issues unless extremely low conditions. Kinda like the new Kawi I bought. Petcock wasnt flowing enough fuel into the fuel pump. But the bike wouldnt start after that until I refilled the carb bowls. I am leaning toward electrical. Busted wires will cause all types of havoc.

 

[putin]

It has to be electrical. Unless the carbs were EXTREMELY low on fuel, the fuel bowl will keep enough fuel in it to keep it running. I think even low fuel in the carb bowls, moderate bumps and acceleration shouldnt shut the bike down, Usually, low fuel in the carbs will cause more driveability issues than stalling issues unless extremely low conditions. Kinda like the new Kawi I bought. Petcock wasnt flowing enough fuel into the fuel pump. But the bike wouldnt start after that until I refilled the carb bowls. I am leaning toward electrical. Busted wires will cause all types of havoc.

Interesting what will be the problem.

 

[sdt354]

I'm thinking, by-pass the key switch and go for a ride. It has happened to me. And they do wear out.

 

[Fire-medic]

I'm thinking, by-pass the key switch and go for a ride. It has happened to me. And they do wear out.

Yes, that's a good tip, there's a couple of threads about rebuilding the switch pods, checking the ignition switch should be something to-do. While I haven't had a bad VMax ignition switch, I've had them on trucks and cars.

https://www.vmaxforum.net/threads/how-to-recondition-the-ignition-switch.17281/

https://www.vmaxforum.net/threads/how-to-recondition-the-clutch-side-switch-pod.20783/

https://www.vmaxforum.net/threads/h...ts-of-the-throttle-side-switch-housing.17272/

 

[ouchez]

Update:

I went through everything I could think of. Sprayed the hell out of the side stand switch, tore everything apart and found a loose connector (I think it was to the pickup coil - thanks Sean!), cleaned and lubed all the connectors I came across, changed my spark plug wires while I had it torn apart (had never been done), and rebuilt my airbox with new snorkels & cleaned the hell out of it while it was apart (the snorkels were as hard as a rock on the carb side). The bike fired right up. Over and over it fired up no problem. I took it on a test ride. Every little bump I hit, the bike stalled. It would fire back up, but stall again on the next bump. It also didn’t like hard acceleration. When I’d open the throttle up, it would backfire a little and sound like it was missing.

Also, is the fuel pump supposed to click every time you turn on the key or is intermittent depending on the fuel level in the float bowls? Mine will click like crazy sometimes, once or twice other times, and sometimes not at all. I’m curious if it might be a fuel pump or solenoid issue.

With this new round of info, does anyone have any fresh ideas?



Thanks for everyone’s help. I’m going nuts because the only thing I had to look forward to on my “vacation” was going for rides everyday. Now it seems like all I’m doing is wrenching.

You may be onto something with the weight thing. I’m a svelt 209, but none of this happened before I swapped my seat over to a Corbin. The Corbin seat fits a lot more snug than the sportmax seat I had on it before. I wonder if my weight shifting on it is grounding something out somewhere. Back to the garage! Thanks for the lead (no pun intended)!

As to your weight,,I float around 150-147,,and my 05 can be scary performance wise. There have been times when I backed off from power roll on's when it appeared the front wheel was ready to come up, and MAX is pure stock. I run the UFO seat, love it,,and I hope you solve your issues.

 

[Hijinx1812]

Round 2:
I went back in and tested the resistance to the pickup coil and it read a steady 108 ohms (80-120 is the range). The connector itself had worked its way in front of the battery and seemed like it was a little loose. I cleaned it up and all the rest of the connections around it. I let it warm up completely and took it out. It ran fine - I hit every bump I could find and threw it wide open a couple of times. It didn’t miss a beat. The question is whether or not that connector was the issue or if there’s something else looming & it’s just coincidence that it ran fine today. In all honesty, it felt like it had more power than usual. I’ll just have to ride the heck out of it to find out if it’s ok! Thanks for everyone’s suggestions- I really appreciate it!

 

[PATMAX]

My 1990 had the same issue. I could go across town or down the block. Got to be a crapshoot whether I make it back. When it died, it died right now like electrical. Gas delivery issues have always been sputtering shut downs. I ended up finding my stator going bad. One morning it would start instantly and run fine. Sometimes it would die and it could be restarted later and ridden home. I’m guessing Stator in this case.

 

[putin]

Round 2:
I went back in and tested the resistance to the pickup coil and it read a steady 108 ohms (80-120 is the range). The connector itself had worked its way in front of the battery and seemed like it was a little loose. I cleaned it up and all the rest of the connections around it. I let it warm up completely and took it out. It ran fine - I hit every bump I could find and threw it wide open a couple of times. It didn’t miss a beat. The question is whether or not that connector was the issue or if there’s something else looming & it’s just coincidence that it ran fine today. In all honesty, it felt like it had more power than usual. I’ll just have to ride the heck out of it to find out if it’s ok! Thanks for everyone’s suggestions- I really appreciate it!

Looks like that was a coil. Good for you! Congrats!

 

[Hijinx1812]

Looks like that was a coil. Good for you! Congrats!

Nope. I got to the bottom of my driveway, put it in gear, it stalled on me again, and it won’t start. I do have a stator in my garage. I’ll test the one on my bike once I calm down & go from there.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

Nope. I got to the bottom of my driveway, put it in gear, it stalled on me again, and it won’t start. I do have a stator in my garage. I’ll test the one on my bike once I calm down & go from there.

When you mean it wont start, do you mean it cranks over but will not fire? Or is there no crank at all? If it cranks over but no fire....yank a plug wire off and see if you are getting spark. If there is no spark, head toward the pickup coil first. Possible CDI box or still dealing with a hidden wire issue.

 

[Hijinx1812]

The bike turns over no problem. It ran perfectly fine yesterday - great actually - and nothing today. Nothing changed. I literally parked it in my garage and walked away from it after riding it yesterday. It fired right up today, idled just fine, and quit when I put it into gear.

The pickup coil tested perfect at 108 ohms. I’m wondering if it’s my stator like Patmax suggested.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

I am not gonna tell you if you part is bad or good. But here is my thoughts on resistance.....it tells you if something is connected. Thats all. For example....say you have a wire, it doesnt matter what gauge or length, and that wire has say 50 individual strands to make that wire up. Break 48 of those strands and test that wire. That wire will show near 0 ohms resistance. Those 2 strands will make a bad wire seem good.

I suggested that continuity testing may not be enough now. You need to apply a load to the parts to see if they are actually capable of handling the load.

For wires, its easy. You need a halogen bulb, a jump box or external 12V battery, some wire preferably with alligator clips, and a DVOM. To determine of a wire is capable of carrying a load, find the beginning of the wire and the end. Then you will be making a simple closed loop circuit with the parts mentioned. Its best NOT to use the bikes battery system cause you can inadvertently backfeed into someplace you dont want electricity. When you create you circuit and the halogen bulb is illuminated, use your DVOM set to DCV. Should look like the letter V with 3 dots underneath. From the halogen bulb to right after the wire you are testing, you place the leads. A good wire will read .2V or less. If your voltage is higher, you have a bad wire.

To test the pickup coil, it should produce AC voltage when the engine is cranking. Set DVOM to VAC. That should look like V~. WIth the DVOM connected, engine cranking, you should see between .5V to 2.5V. I dont know what the actual spec is, I am going off what I know of pickup coils in general. The pickup may ohm out fine, but maybe the wire or coil is incapable of carrying the load it produces.

In the end, you may be on the right path. It may be a stator. While I know the stator costs you nothing at this time, its a parts shotgun approach. I personally rather spend the time testing before replacing parts. Its cheaper that way.

 

[Fire-medic]

It fired right up today, idled just fine, and quit when I put it into gear

That makes me suspicious of the circuitry which is the safety switch for the sidestand. That's exactly what should happen if your sidestand is left-down, and you put it into-gear. Look into the circuitry for that.

 

[desert_max]

That makes me suspicious of the circuitry which is the safety switch for the sidestand. That's exactly what should happen if your sidestand is left-down, and you put it into-gear. Look into the circuitry for that.

Or temporarily bypass it...

 

[Hijinx1812]

I tested the stator this morning. It was reading between 1.8 & 2.1 ohms. I’m pretty sure that was one of the problems. I swapped it out & it seems like it’s running fine again. But then again it seemed like it was running fine 2 days ago. Pighuntingpuppy - I’ll go through that next if need be.

 

[stevewgardner]

One of the things I have done before was to purposely get a machine to quit and then put ice bags on the suspect component (or ice water, depending on the component) and try to start it. Do it one at a time, because order of test in these things matters.