Motor Running Rough

littlelamb

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Yesterday, 23:22
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Aug 27, 2014
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My Ride
Triumph Thunderbird Sport
I have a 2004 Tbird Sport 6500 miles and have been riding it at lest once a week this summer. Suddenly one day when I tried to start it, it sounds like it is running on 2 cylinders and the tacho did not work. So I thought I changed all spark plugs (they are the original plugs since I bought the bike new in 2004). The new spark plugs did not make any difference, so I consulted the manual and thought I had one or more bad coils, because I heard before that if the tacho Sdoes not register it could be the electrical ignition circuit of the first cylinder has issue. So I changed all 3 ignition coils with new Nogoly Profire coils. That did not cure the problems either. So that is where I am at. Has anyone had similar experience, or does anyone have any advice for me?
 
Have you checked your battery connections at all and made sure that they are solid, also is the actual battery still ok?
 
Little Lamb, I have the 1995 Thunderbird 900. I have never had this problem myself, but I have the Triumph workshop manual in front of me ( Well our bikes are the same apart from a few things ) and it says to check the following.

Battery voltage low
IC Igniter faulty
Ignition pick up coil faulty ( Mine went 2 years ago and your dead in the water if it does. you can normal ride your bike from cold for about 10 miles then it starts to play up, like you have no petrol in the tank, then you conk out. )

Fuel / Air mixture incorrect
Pilot screw incorrectly adjusted / blocked
Air bleed pipes bleed holes blocked,
Air cleaner clogged (Just a thought here check all the rubbers before and after the carbs mine perished 2 years ago and it was only when I replaced the air box that I noticed it )
Choke starter plunger stuck open
Fuel level in carbs to high/low
Carburetor mounting loose
Air cleaner duct loose

You have checked all the things that the manual says to check so there's no point in telling you to check what you've already checked before.

One other thing to have a look at check your ignition switch, give it a shot of WD40, sometimes it could be just dirt and all the contacts or not singing on the same page.
Another thing to check is the fuse's, I had an FJ1200 with an electrical fault ( Some of the symptoms were the same as your problem now ) that a electrician couldn't even sort out. Long story short the fuse's were badly furred up. I used wet and dry to clean them all up, slapped a bit of Vaseline on them, and the problem never came back.

Below is a link to a micro fish to your bike, it might help you to see a breakdown of your bike in order to get to the route of the problem.

Triumph Parts / World of Triumph

Good luck
 
Good reply MOT TUP TUP
 
Little Lamb, I have the 1995 Thunderbird 900. I have never had this problem myself, but I have the Triumph workshop manual in front of me ( Well our bikes are the same apart from a few things ) and it says to check the following.

Battery voltage low
IC Igniter faulty
Ignition pick up coil faulty ( Mine went 2 years ago and your dead in the water if it does. you can normal ride your bike from cold for about 10 miles then it starts to play up, like you have no petrol in the tank, then you conk out. )

Fuel / Air mixture incorrect
Pilot screw incorrectly adjusted / blocked
Air bleed pipes bleed holes blocked,
Air cleaner clogged (Just a thought here check all the rubbers before and after the carbs mine perished 2 years ago and it was only when I replaced the air box that I noticed it )
Choke starter plunger stuck open
Fuel level in carbs to high/low
Carburetor mounting loose
Air cleaner duct loose

You have checked all the things that the manual says to check so there's no point in telling you to check what you've already checked before.

One other thing to have a look at check your ignition switch, give it a shot of WD40, sometimes it could be just dirt and all the contacts or not singing on the same page.
Another thing to check is the fuse's, I had an FJ1200 with an electrical fault ( Some of the symptoms were the same as your problem now ) that a electrician couldn't even sort out. Long story short the fuse's were badly furred up. I used wet and dry to clean them all up, slapped a bit of Vaseline on them, and the problem never came back.

Below is a link to a micro fish to your bike, it might help you to see a breakdown of your bike in order to get to the route of the problem.

Triumph Parts / World of Triumph

Good luck
 
Thank you DaveM and Mad On. I will note your answers. Additional info from further trouble shooting: Spark plug no. 1 does not fire and it looks like new (I replaced them when this problem surfaced) no sign of burn mark or residue of gas or oil, while the other 2 plugs fire and look normal with burn mark and residue of oil and gas. Anymore thought with this new finding? appreciate your inputs.
 
If No 1 plug isn't firing the problem must be the connection or so I would think. Check all your connections to see if they're clean and tight. This sound daft but have you tried tracing back after your new coils towards the main wiring loom, maybe there's a brake in a wire somewhere. I have my nose in my workshop manual again, and for no spark the manual says try the following in accordance with what you've already checked above.

Spark plug cap or high tension wire faulty.
Spark plug cap incorrectly fitted ( Don't think that this one would apply to you ).
Neutral, or side stand switch faulty.
Ignition or engine stop switch shorted.

Wiring shorted or open between the following

Ignition ( Main ) switch or engine kill switch
Igniter and engine kill switch
Igniter and ignition HT coils
Ignition HT coils and spark plugs
Igniter and pick up coils.

Have you tried putting the original No 1 coil back on to see if this would work, it would be a real pain if somehow you'd bought a duff ( New ) coil.
Electrical faults are a pain in the bum as you just can't see them.
I'm off to Germany in the morning for 2 weeks, I really hope that you'll get it sorted, and when I'm next on line I hope that to be the case.
Good Luck ( Again :y2: )
 
I have a 2004 Tbird Sport 6500 miles and have been riding it at lest once a week this summer. Suddenly one day when I tried to start it, it sounds like it is running on 2 cylinders and the tacho did not work. So I thought I changed all spark plugs (they are the original plugs since I bought the bike new in 2004). The new spark plugs did not make any difference, so I consulted the manual and thought I had one or more bad coils, because I heard before that if the tacho Sdoes not register it could be the electrical ignition circuit of the first cylinder has issue. So I changed all 3 ignition coils with new Nogoly Profire coils. That did not cure the problems either. So that is where I am at. Has anyone had similar experience, or does anyone have any advice for me?
 
Thanks for your replay again Mad On.
My response to your latest reply:
I checked all 3 the spark plug wires, they measured 5.3 kOhms, plus minus fraction; so I think they are all good.
I made sure all plugs are correctly fitted.
I may need to check the side stand/neutral switch to see if it is not faulty.
How to figure out if the ignition or engine stop switch is faulty?
I am curious and will put back the original coil on no. 1 cylinder to see what might happen.
All the listed wiring short or open would be challenging to find out.

I am an electrical engineer and could understand wiring. However with no complete tools and unfamiliarity with the layout of the components, it would still be tough. This is the first time I even took off the gas tank from the bike, but I am getting acquainted with the whole things. By the way, I also checked all the fuses in case any of them burnt. They are all good. There should be 5 fuses altogether according to the diagram.

Mad On, I really appreciate your response. Thanks again.
 
Thank you DaveM and Mad On. I will note your answers. Additional info from further trouble shooting: Spark plug no. 1 does not fire and it looks like new (I replaced them when this problem surfaced) no sign of burn mark or residue of gas or oil, while the other 2 plugs fire and look normal with burn mark and residue of oil and gas. Anymore thought with this new finding? appreciate your inputs.

Would the fact that there is no residue of gas or oil not point to the possibility that there is no fuel reaching no 1.? Just a thought.
 
Devo I was just going to say that ! It sounds like no fuel to me ....maybe a stuck float or a blockage on that carb ?
 
Thanks Devo and Shanered6 for your comments, and it makes sense. No fuel could be caused by float stuck or fuel blockage, but also as I mentioned there is no spark on no. 1 as I checked it. That is why the spark plug still looks like new. The problem could be a combination of both electrical and fuel.

Problem statement: Motor suddenly running rought on 2 cylinders and tachometer does not register (the needle does not move); this happen one day suddenly while I had been riding the bike on regular basis, at least once a week, and the bike has only 6500 miles since I bought it new 10 years ago.

To summarize my findings so far:
1. Spark plugs are all new; I changed them
2. Ignition coils are new; I changed them
3. Tachometer does not work
4. Spark plug no. 1 does not ignite; while the other 2 ignite.
5. Spark plug wires are all healthy; I measured all to be about 5.3 kOhms
6. All 5 fuses are good.
7. Spark plug no. 1 does not show any burn mark or fuel/oil residue; which means no fuel goes in.
8. The engine tried to turn over.

So here is where I am at. if anyone has anymore thoughts please post. I appreciate everyone's inputs so far.
 
Have you tested for power to the coil ? Have you tried swapping over one of the coils to see if you get a spark then ?
 
Have you tested for power to the coil ? Have you tried swapping over one of the coils to see if you get a spark then ?
Yes, I have tested both as you stated above and those are good. So I gave up and turned the bike in to triumph shop (Howard) last week. I don't have the ignition tester like the he does, and I have known Howard for many years and he has repaired my other triumph bikes before. He treated the bikes he repairs like his own. I told him to be 100% that it is the module that is the problem, because it cannot be returned and it is expensive. He knows that.

After some more diagnostic of his own, he thinks it is the ignition module. and to be very sure he is sending the module to another independent tester in Oregon who can test the module to the fullest. That is where I am now. I will keep you posted. Thanks for your replies, and others too.

Does anyone know if there is any specific brand of module that is better than others? The bad one that came originally with the bike is Gill. I don't have the best trust for this brand due to this experience.
 
Yes, I have tested both as you stated above and those are good. So I gave up and turned the bike in to triumph shop (Howard) last week. I don't have the ignition tester like the he does, and I have known Howard for many years and he has repaired my other triumph bikes before. He treated the bikes he repairs like his own. I told him to be 100% that it is the module that is the problem, because it cannot be returned and it is expensive. He knows that.

After some more diagnostic of his own, he thinks it is the ignition module. and to be very sure he is sending the module to another independent tester in Oregon who can test the module to the fullest. That is where I am now. I will keep you posted. Thanks for your replies, and others too.

Does anyone know if there is any specific brand of module that is better than others? The bad one that came originally with the bike is Gill. I don't have the best trust for this brand due to this experience.
Hi I know this was 5 years ago.But i have the exact same problem even down to the tachometer not working can you remember what happened to resolve this problem?

thanks Carl
 
littlelamb has not been on here since 2014, so I doubt you'll get a response from them.
 
I to have this problem but mine is on number 3 cylinder on the right sitting on bike. Its doing my head in so any help will be really appreciated.
 
I to have this problem but mine is on number 3 cylinder on the right sitting on bike. Its doing my head in so any help will be really appreciated.
I would also like to know how the problem was resolved in 2014, but I guess we won't find out if a new ignition module was the answer. My 2000 Thunderbird has just over 4000 miles and has the 3 original Ignition Coils but so far no Tachometer glitches or failure to fire on all 3 Cylinders. I just want to point out that the original troubleshooting checklist stated that "all 5 fuses are good " when in fact there are 6 fuses on the Thunderbird. There are 5 in the Fuse Box and an "In Line" 6th located down by the Ignition Module. According to the Triumph Service Manual the "In Line fuse services the Starter Solenoid and Ignition System. Hope this helps somebody.
 
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