bike runs bad when its cold or wet

Hey all,

My '82 750 Seca runs pretty rough in the cold and wet weather. In the cold weather I cannot get it to smooth out with the enrichment circuit. I am constantly moving the lever around trying to get it to run on all 4 cyl. But as soon as I am stopped at a light I can push the enrichment lever off and she smooths right out and idles right at 1050. When the weather gets to 60 F I have no such problem after a one or two minute warm up.

In the wet weather she runs pretty rough even at idle.

I am guessing two separate problems. What do you all think?

 

Possibly. XJ coils are known to develop hairline cracks and therefore become susceptible to moisture. I'd start there, there have been a couple threads in regard to the various means of repairing them. Also, I don't see "new air filter" in your list, is it?

 

bf52

Thanks. I was thinking of trying some kind of moisture repellant to see if that corrects the wet riding issue. I found some silicon grease made by Dow Corning (DC-4) that is specifically made to insulate ignition systems against moisture. I know it would have to be reapplied every so often but that seems like a painless solution to the issue.

I did replace the air filter at the beginning of the season. When I cleaned the carbs when I got the bike, I don't think I did a thorough job o f the enrichment circuit. Could that be a part of my cold weather problem?

 

I agree with bigfitz52...check those ignition coils. This comes up a lot and is a problem you have to rule out given the symptoms you are describing. And I've seen tons of instructions and options for replacing them, many involving refurbishment and others outright replacement by after market coils. I've not had the problem yet so I've left well enough alone, but I'm guessing eventually I'll have to tackle this.

 

I just repaired a problem with my 650 that was only present in the cold and or damp. Mine started with an occasional stumble at highway speeds and finally got to where it would cut out badly under acceleration. I could find no tell tale cracks on my coils and they ohmed well even when running water over them. The pick up coils checked good too. I eventually changed the CDI on a shot and that took care of the problem.

 

Mbrew,

I will sure keep that in mind.

 

It might not hurt to at least pull the connectors off your TCI/CDI unit and be sure everything's clean. You could also pop it open and have a look but I'd start with all the connectors. Also look at your fusebox, especially the "IGN" fuseholders.