Rockster Will Crank But Not Start

[bocceball]

Greetings,

I replaced the clutch slave cylinder on my 04 Rockster last fall. After I was finished, I took her out for a spin and everything was working as it should. I removed the battery and brought it inside. She sat outside for the winter.

I reinstalled the battery and tried to start her earlier this spring. She wouldn't turn over. So I removed the battery and the starter. I load-tested the battery (bad) and took the starter to Autozone. They tested it and it worked as it should. I reinstalled the starter and installed a new battery. Now she will crank but not start.

Key in switch and in the on position – all lights on as normal.
Kickstand down or up and bike in neutral – the pump runs.
(If the kickstand is down and in gear – the pump doesn't run.)

I have spark but no fuel. So...

I removed the tank and drained the gas. I removed the fuel pump assembly to check to see if any of the hoses were off. They weren't. I changed the fuel filter while I had it apart. I reassembled it and put new gas in it. Still cranks but will not start.

I used the procedure to reset the computer – still cranks but will not start.

I have been sifting through as many posts as I can on my problem and I am still scratching my head. I looked at the wiring harness on the left side of the steering head. I removed the wire tie and cut the sheath. The wires looked normal. I did the same thing on the other side with the same result. What are my other options?

My 97 528i stopped running yesterday. Must be the German flu. I spent yesterday on my porch, drinking beer and shaking my fist at all of the motorcycles that passed by. At least the lawnmower will start for me.

Thanks for reading my post.

[sweatmark]

I hesitate to offer any guess, as your troubleshooting has been extremely thorough (better than what I would do before moving to porch-beer-cursing catharsis).

Kill switch? (unlikely if you have verified both spark and fuel pump running)
Fuel lines correctly attached at quick-connects? (did you confirm fuel through injectors?)
Any chance that an intake air leak is creating startup trouble?

Good luck with this.

[riceburner]

blocked tank air-breather?

(this will prevent fuel getting out of the tank).

[bocceball]

Where is the tank air breather located?

How do I check to see if it is blocked?

If it is blocked, how do I unblock it?

[jas]

Does the bike still have the charcoil canister or did it come with one? The tube may be bound up after tank installation. Side stand switch?

[jfslater98]

How do you know you have spark? Did you pull the plug wires and use a tester?

You can also confirm that fuel is coming out of the tank by pulling the injector, aiming it in a plastic cup or something and cranking it over.

That's all I can contribute... for now.

[Boxerpunk]

After reïnstalling the battery, did you twist the throttle several times with ignition in, before starting ?

[Boxer]

Having removed the tank so many times recently, it is entirely possible that you aren't reseating the right TB cable sheath. Very simple thing to do and miss, but can have odd repercussions. I had it happen once and looked for everything. Bike would not start! When I found it, I felt very stupid. If you're hearing the fuel pump come on with the key, you obviously have reconnected the electrical connection on the right side of the tank upon reinstallation. Of course it could be something more complicated, and very likely is. But after doing all the tests suggested start looking for a worn or loose wire somewhere.

[bocceball]

Thanks for the input.

The charcoal canister was filled with water. Apparently, I connected the vent tube from the tank to the A inlet on the canister. Also, the vacuum switch had small charcoal particles on the inlet side. I cleaned out the vacuum switch, removed water from the canister and let everything sit it the hot sun for a few days. I reconnected everything properly.

I checked for spark by pulling a plug and grounding it to the engine. The plug looked like it had seen better days so I ordered and installed new ones (through Amazon.com) I checked for fuel by pulling the injector and trying to start it. There is gas coming out of the injector.

How would I know if the right TB cable sheath isn't seated properly? It was running after I replaced the clutch slave cylinder and I didn't touch the TBs.

[jas]

You may want to remove the charcoal canister altogether, lots of good information on this site for a quick removal.

Did you check to make sure the throttle cable is seated correctly in the ferrule? It is common for this to become unseated during tank removal and installation.

Also, not the cause, but you may wish to check the vacuum lines to insure they are in good shape.

[bocceball]

Not sure how this happened, but she is now running.

I asked my friend to come over and verify what I saw.

We first pulled the stick coils, disconnected them, and checked that each one was getting battery voltage with the key in the "on" position. They were. (By we I mean me. Mark just told me what to do and watched.)

We reinstalled the right side side stick coil.

We removed the left side spark plug and connected it to the stick coil. I found a place on the block to ground it to check for spark.

There was spark. There was also combustion in the cylinder.

I reinstalled the left side spark plug and she started right up.

I don't doubt Mark's motorcycles skills and I am not even going to venture a guess as to why she wouldn't start for me.

I am just glad I get to ride her.

Case closed?

B

[jfslater98]

The charcoal canister was filled with water.

This might have been it. After you dried everything out, did you still have problems? I didn't see this part in your original post.