i hate rain... help!

so i got an 82 and an 80 maxim 650. it seems every time it rains, they wont start..... typically the 80 will fire, and stall a mile down the road, and the 82 will do nothing until i let her dry... both are tarped, but i think im dealing with condensation. this morning my 80 just turned and turned with no avail.... while the 82(my parts bike) fired up..... so i was forced to ride my parts bike to work... not as happy as i want to be. question is has anyone diagnosed this problem yet? i know you need air fuel spark.... as i sit here and think of electricity and water, id assume...... were getting plenty of air... when i pull the fuel line, and turn her over she shoots fuel, so carbs are getting it... wich leaves spark. i would guess its the coil packs or wires getting "wet" any suggestions? anyone had and solve this problem? and again.... its only after it rains. other than that theyre both top notch

 

Do a search for coils, or moisture in coils etc you will find lots of reading material. Best bet is to replace coils, and wires with aftermarket ones which happen to be available on this site from chacal.

 

I live in southeren Ontario and we get humidity bigtime.
My bike is kept in a shed and gets damp.
Every connection on my bike is stuffed full of dielectric grease. Plugs, wires, and all.
I don't ever have a problem with moisture or the dreaded green death that always happens to wet connections. Try it.
There are loads of bullet conections inside the headlight. Rain and stuff can get into there from the harness hole at the back and pool up.
hope this helps
Dry all connections and goop em

 

You have pretty much diagnosed it yourself.

No fire after rain is a good indication of moisture in the electrical system. An old trick is to spray the electrical system with WD40 to drive out the moisture. Highly suspect would be the plug wires.

Also check the electrical connetions for corrosion, and secure fit. Use dieletric grease (electrical grease) in electrical connections to reduce moisture intrusion.

Ghost

 

Just like after a wash, ...

The saturated wires and wet cylinder head cause the current to find an easier path to ground.

 

Why not try to start it at night and see where the electrical storm is. We could always find the bad plug wire on the old Chevy after dark.

MN

 

I'd still lean more towards the idea that old wires, old coils, and old caps have problems with moisture they didn't have when new.

As part of the fuel injection conversion on my bike, I also switched coils. I used coils from a Saturn SC, with Belkin silicone caps at the coil ends, Accel 7mm solid core silicone wire (had to buy 100 feet of it for another project years ago, and am still getting good use from that roll), and new NGK resistor caps at the plug ends. I've cleaned that engine with Foamy Engine Brite and a power washer at the DIY car wash and ridden it right off a couple of times. I've ridden that bike in pouring rain to the point that I was completely soaked to the bone. Under none of these circumstances did I have even the slightest stumble or other problem.

 

My bike hates the rain and humidity as well.

And like Rick said-after a wash she tends to miss untill
dry as a bone. I take all kinds of precausions to keep water
from getting near the coils etc. but it is what it is.

 

el cheapo waterproofing / trouble shooting trick

Wrap up your plug wires with vinyl electrical tape using a half lap spiral wrapping.

Ghost

 

What are your plug gaps set to??
I set my XJ gaps at 0.027 after learning the coils on these bikes are "touchy".

 

Something everyone seems to overlook:

Cleanliness. If everything under the tank is all grubby dirty/dusty (including the coils) that dirt will tend to attract and hold moisture. That, and the way the coils mount/ground in the first place.

Pop the tank, and CLEAN everything up. CLEAN original plug wires, rejuvenated with a wipe down with a WD40-soaked shop towel afterwards, won't "leak" spark. CLEAN coils won't be nearly as susceptible to moisture. Take a look at the coils' mounting/grounding points. If the screws are all rusty, remove them carefully, replace with new if need be, but clean it all up.

I'll bet it's a lot less susceptible to moisture afterward.

 

Do you know that the coils will run un-mounted ??

but +1 on the cleanliness.

 

She fired up again guys. Douched with wd.... and took a hair dryer to everything. Badda bing..... now justneed to prepare so she doesn't do it again. I'm sure kicking her and calling her a c*** didn't help much. Probably hurt her feelings