Died at a stop sign

[Kiwi]

So, I've had this bike running relatively smoothly for 500 miles now.
on the way home from work it died at a stop sign.  I pulled over, and after a few attempts got it started again.  It died 1/4 mile down the road at the next sign.  I switch over to res ( thinking i am out of gas ) and continue on to the gas station with no problems.
I go to fill it up, and it has plenty of gas ! I could barely fit 1 gallon in.
It would not start after being stopped at the pump.  I proceeded to roll it to the side of the building and start messing with it.
I pulled the gas tank, fuel was flowing from it fine.
I looked into the carbs, when i pulled the throttle gas come out the nozzles.
I opened the bowl drains and both had plenty of gas in them.
After all this, i decided to put it back together and cross my fingers.
She started up without much problem !
Any idea's what might have caused this?

Also, 20 minutes closer to home it seemed to bog down a bit at the last two stop signs.

The temp gauge was about 3/4 of the way to the right in the green.  Outside temp was around 90.  The last work i did on the bike was roughly syncing the carbs ( waiting on a better tool to do a good job ).

[YellowJacket!]

Sounds like the vent in your fuel cap may be clogged.  Next time it happens, try removing your fuel cap, put it on prime and start it up.

Another problem may be a kink in your fuel line.  My line makes a 90 degree turn right before the petcock.  The turn causes the line to almost kink.  One day it got a bit too hot and the fuel line got soft and kinked off.  I have since changed over to a heavier duty fuel line that does not kink.

David

[Kiwi]

Well, it did it again.  This time the bike had not been used for about  2 days.  I have replaced the fuel line and installed one of those clear glass filters.

Then i took it on a ride to the hard ware store, and after being inside for 10 minutes.  It would not start.  It did crank just fine.
It was about a 15 min ride to the store.
I noticed at a stop light that the high beam light on my dash flickered slightly at idle, but not at any speed.  The head light did not seem to have the same problem.

I did the same thing as last, drained the carbs etc.  Fuel in the bowls, and fuel was coming out of the accelerator nozzles.
After about 20 min of messing around.  It started again, and i rode home.

The battery is less than 2 months old.

Perhaps a charging issue?

Any more suggestions?

[kiwibum]

Carry a spare spark plug with you. When it stops lift the spark plug wires off and pop your spare plug in and rest it against the engine, turn the engine over and see if there is a spark. If it is very weak or none it maybe a problem with the TCI unit breaking down when getting hot.

[Kiwi]

I will give that a shot.  I think I eliminated the battery.  It only took 2 hours to recharge,   The shortest yet

[Lucky]

Allways suspect the charging system.. 

[kev10104]

I was having similar issues and changed my plugs and no more issues.

[Kiwi]

The plugs have 600 miles on them ( changed them when i got the bike ).  But that is a nice cheap solution so i'm going to give it a shot.

[akvision]

A flickering high beam lite indicates some sort of issue. 
Maybe an intermittent short.  check all the connections  and look for frayed/rubbed wire.

good luck

[Kiwi]

It seemed to flicker in time with the engine.  An only at low speeds ( or it flickered so fast at higher rev's i could not see it ).  Would this suggest any specific wires?

[akvision]

I think a general inspection is in order.  Just use some critical thinking and go on a search for possible electrical faults. Look of loose connections, corrosion, frayed wire, rubbed or pinched wire and the sort.  The high beam lite should be on when the switch is flipped and off at all other times.  Seems basic to me.

Go find the fault. Hunt and chase it down.. some thing is not right and if you look carefully the solution will be looking at you.  Solutions, that's why we like these bikes.. they are a challenge.
good hunting.

[YellowJacket!]

Check your fuse block.  Mentioned this in another post and it seems that it was the solution.  Make sure all the tabs are stiff and not worn or chracked.  You'll probably find that one or more of the tabs is either very weak and corroded or will break off when you squeeze it.  A repair will be in order.
Better yet, you will probably want to upgrade it to a more modern blade type automotive fuse block.

David

[GT @ oh.]

original fuse boxes are suspect.......mine was shot within the first 5yrs.......but rust is a major pain here with the humidity as such.

[The Prophet of Doom]

Where can I get a fuse box that fits the original holes, and doesn't poke up too much.  Ideally someone who will ship to the South Pacific
I can't stand the look of those in-line types.

[Kiwi]

 I have a new fuse block.  I got it from an automotive store.  I have thursday off, so I'll be going through the wiring then

[Kiwi]

Well, it did it to me again.
I rode for a little while, went into a store,  and now it won't start.
I'm just sitting around waiting for the bike to cool off.

[Kiwi]

Well, I got it started and got home.  I push started it and it started right up.
As soon as it cools down,  I'm going to start doing some testing

[gmac]

I would focus at least for now on an electronic issue, it may be a vapor lock problem but one step at a time and that would be my last guess.

It almost sounds like a bad coil. Bad coils will work fine until they get hot (have seen a lot of singles that won't run after they get warm for this reason). The top of the engine will get hotter after it is shut off as the heat migrates to the top end, under the tank, and towards the coils (leave your ignition on after you shut the bike off and watch the temp gauge, it will go up), but it seems odd that it wouldn't start at all, as the chance that both coills are bad isn't likely so I would think it would at least pop on one end.

I would run it or ride it for a few minutes, shut it off, try to start it right away, and try to start it after about the time you were in the store. If it doesn't start leave it alone for a while, and then see if it starts. At least this way you know if it starts that nothing you did changed anything.

I would definately check spark when it won't start, at least that way you can start to narrow it down to a spark problem or fuel problem.

[Rikugun]

If it weren't for the flickering light I would have guessed vapor lock as a possibility. Was it 90 or higher the second time it quit? Have the 500 miles accumulated been at 90 or higher? The more I ride mine the more I realize it's vulnerability to high ambient temps despite being liquid cooled.

It's possible you have 2 issues - vapor lock and an electrical issue occurring concurrently. Either way, if the flickering lights are a new symptom it needs to be investigated. I've also seen where ignition components i.e. coils, trigger coils, etc. will begin to fail with heat but don't see how they'd light a HB indicator?

Lucky's comment regarding the charging system can't be underestimated. It couldn't hurt to start with a charged battery and check running battery voltage at 3-4 k for under/over voltage.

[gmac]

Another thought, getting back to basic engine troubleshooting, if it has fuel, sprark, timing, and compression it will run (if you have never been to a threshing show and seen the old engines run it is worth the trip, if you can't find one let me know and I will make a video of one of mine and send it to you).

When it won't start, pull the front plug (with a deep socket, 3/8 to 1/2 adapter, and back to a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter and a ratchet you can get it out pretty easily, 3" extension might work but if I remember right that gets a little tall) and see if it is wet or bone dry. Obviosly bone dry means no fuel, wet means either flooded or no spark, then check the spark.