Kawasaki ER-5... POWER LOSS!

[jase1989]

Hi, I have a problem with my er 5. I only bought it yesterday!
It was all running fine a slight back fire on the exhaust but I thought it was all ok.

Now today I went out on my bike and it just started to splutter abit and then lost all power. My rev counter dont work so I dont know what revs it goes up to ect but I have the throttle pulled as far back as it goes and it crawls to 60mph and now and then it flicks back to full power and the revs shoot up and its back to normal but then it dies again?

It has an after market exhaust the previous owner put on its called viper on the can but ive not seen it before and it also has a K&N filter on but I dont think he has had the carbs rejetted or anything,

Any ideas what it could be it just dont seem to rev adn takes ages to build up speed

[stinkwheel]

Where to start..

A K&N filter in the airbox or a pod one?

Did the rev counter work when you got it? That could be symptomatic of something else. It's an electronic rev counter that runs off the igniter box. They don't normally fail which could indicate a wiring fault or a charging fault.

What year is it?

Do you have a multimeter? Check it's charging (measure voltage across the battery terminals with the engine running, should be around14-15V and rises slightly as you rev it up).

Check the air filter. A clogged air filter can cause what you describe. As can a variety of other things including a dodgy ignition switch (had this twice on kawasaki 500 twins), water in the fuel, a blocked tank breather (try running with the fuel cap open) or a bad wiring connection on the ignition system.

Anyone know if they used those dodgy alternator rotors fitted to old model GPZs in the ER5 too?

Obviously, if you got it from a dealer, take it back there.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[jase1989]

The rev counter didnt work when I bought it - didnt really think I would need one.

Its a year 2000, A4 model i think. I dont have a multimeter so I cant test it. I can go check the air filter tomorrow.

Thanks for the ideas, seems strange why it works then dont work :S

[Glenben92]

Possibly plug caps? make sure everything in the ignition circuit is intact, clean and dry.
____________________
57 Huoniao HN125-8 - , 97 Kawasaki GPZ500S -
99 Yamaha FZS 600 -
Mod 2 Passed - 01/10/2010

[flumpy7]

Sounds obvious but is the choke on or sticking?
____________________
2012 Sinnis apache

[stinkwheel]

l'm thinking electrical problem to be honest. Two reasons:
1) It usually is.
2) Your rev counter isn't working.

As I said before, the rev counter takes a signal from the CDI box, when the ignition sparks, it sends a pulse to the rev counter. More pulses = higher needle position. It's unusual for an electronic rev counter to break (never had it happen, and I've had most things that can break on a bike do so). That suggests to me that either the wiring to it is damaged or the CDI isn't sending it a pulse.

So, it's not unreasonable to assume there is at least one dodgy wire, connection or componant in the ignition system as things currently stand. Where there's one, there could be two.

It may be a worthwhile exercise going over the bike, undoing any connector blocks you can find, having a good look for any corrosion (both on the terminals and where the wire enters them), giving them a spray of WD40 and reconnecting them.

Of particular importance would be the CDI connector block, both IC igniter connectors, the connector that joins the wires coming from the engine to the loom and the two terminals that attach to the ignition coils.

For interest, I'd also check the connector block on the starter solenoid which also contains the main fuse. There is a wire in there that has corroded away to nothing on all three EX500 based bikes I've owned. That wire supplies power to the whole bikes electrical system and they can do odd things when it's on its way out (rev counter malfunctions amongst them).

I could of course be proved wrong and you have a blocked jet or something but there is an old addage for motorcycle repairs "9 out of 10 carburettion problems are electrical.".
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[ms51ves3]

[jase1989]

I have started uni so I haven't had time to look at it much, the guy I bought it off said he had the same problem before and it was due to the air filter so tomorrow I am going to put the original one back in.

As for the rev counter I did a little googling and found it was more then likely due to teh reg/rec, It got replaced in june. So should be ok now.?

[Ariel Badger]

Sounds like you are loosing combustion on one cylinder. Change the plugs.
____________________
Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[Imonster]

[stinkwheel]

[stinkwheel]

[Bull]

[Willson]

Had this sort of problem, changed the plugs and everything was OK.

If you it's a carb problem then make sure they are sync'ed, and that the end of the carb vent tube is not too close to the air intake as this will cause fuel starvation and the engine won't rev about 5000rpm and will have poor performance above 3500. (Says my Haynes manual). Also check the fuel filters, pipes, vacuum hoses, air filter etc are in good condition and pipes aren't pinched.

Hope this helps.
____________________
Benson: Wouldn't life be easier if we were all turtles?
Me: Pig on bread = The way forward.
Riding: '00 Suzuki SV650S. Previous: '99 Kawasaki ER5 - sold, '02 Suzuki GZ125 Marauder - sold

[jase1989]

[Bull]

[joe.]

i had the exact same problem with my gpz500, it turns out it was misfiring from a failing coil pack
cheers
joe
____________________
current: firestorm
previous:gsxr 750, rsv, fz6, xj6, firestorm, bandit 600/825, zx7r, gpz500, gs500, zzr600, xj600, zzr600, cbr 600, xj600, cb500, Kawasaki Gpz500, Aprilia rs125, Suzuki gs 125, Kawasaki gpz 500, Suzuki gt 185, Yamaha dtr 125, Yamaha ybr 125, cagiva mito, Yamaha dtr 125, Honda ns 125, Honda cb 125t, derbi senda, gilera dna, peugoet speedfight, gilera runner, mbk mach G, gilera gsm, derbi gpr, peugeot speedfight, italjet formula, derbi predator. since january 2009.

[jase1989]

I had that multimeter on it and it was around 14.2V while revving it went up but only slighty by 0.1-0.01 decimals is that normal?

I have noticed though that only one of the exhaust pipes is getting hot from a cold start, The left one is so hot you can just about touch it but the right is so cold you can touch it as much as you want. Does that mean its just running on one cylinder? Is that why the power comes back when its running back to two and then going again? It doesnt seem to come back anymore. I have stopped riding it for now anyway untill I can fix it.

Thank you

[stinkwheel]

Voltage is normal, your charging system is working.

Running on one cylinder with the other kicking in would certainly explain your symptoms.

There are a few tests you can do because you now know exactly where to concentrate.

Looking at the wiring diagram, an ER5 uses a wasted spark which narrows it down some.

After changing the plugs (this might fix it). Try swapping the plug leads over. If the misfire changes sides, it's definately an electrical problem and almost certainly somewhere between your plug cap and the CDI unit. Also unplug, clean and reattach the two electrical connectors on the coil.

If it doesn't change sides, it's unlikely to be an electrical problem and I'd probably be looking at the carbs next.

So, assuming it's electrical ( dodgy carb wouldn't normally kick in and out like that). I would next swap over the connectors on the coils (they have two wires attached to each coil, take them of one coil and attach them to the other, asuming they reach).

In this case, if the misfire stays on the same side, you have a duff coil/HT lead/plug cap. If it changes sides, you have a wiring fault further up the line (power supply to the coil or between the CDI and the coil).

You can test the coil, HT lead and plug cap using your multimeter. I'll have a look to see if I can find the readings you need when I get home.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[jase1989]

So next step wouold be to get some new spark plugs and then if that doesnt work swop over the cap that goes over the sparks and see if it changes sides or not? I am ok to do that? Im sorry for all the silly questins, Ive not really got involved with any bikes before

[ms51ves3]

You may as well try swapping the caps first before buying plugs, as swapping the caps over costs you nothing but time

[stinkwheel]

[ms51ves3]

[stinkwheel]

[ms51ves3]