ZX6r issues
 

I just bought a '96 6r (from one of the members here actually). It's got a few issues, but I'm very happy with the deal I got on it. Anyway the main problem I want to get taken care of right now is that it won't start (go figure that this is on the top of my list [;)] ).

Here is a little bit of the history that I know of it. The bike was laid down some time ago...suffered some body damage but still seemed to run fine. I guess it was used every so often since then, but never used as a roadbike because of the damage. They went to take it out a couple weeks ago (if I remember right it had been a while), and they had trouble keeping the bike running. They noticed that if they kept the starter button held in, the bike would stay running...as soon as they would let it go, the bike would pop a couple of times and stall. I guess they checked just a few things, but not sure of the details. They said they didn't spend a whole lot of time on it because there wasn't really a reason to.

I went down to look at/pick up the bike on Saturday and we couldn't get it started at all. I beleive the battery is the original one and it's VERY dead, he was turning it over off of a charger. The starter wasn't turning over incredibly fast, but it sounded like it was plenty to get it started. They sprayed some starting fluid into the carbs trying to get it to fire and nothing. There were a few strange things going on too. With the key on the headlight stays off (not sure if it's supposed to or not?), when pressing the starter button the light stays off also. If you turn on the turn signal with the key on it does nothing, however if you use the turn signal with the starter button pressed in it will work. Tailight comes on as normal. Fuses are all good. We were looking a thing that appeared to be a fuel pump (sorry I'm not extremely technical), and we disconnected the out line and turned the bike over and no gas would come out. We took both lines off of the pump and it didn't seem like it was working then at first either. However after turning the bike over for a little while we started to hear the pump make noise. During that time we had pulled one of the spark plugs (the one on the far left), and when hooked up and grounded to the frame you would see a small spark every so often (seemed very random, probably sparked 1-3 seconds apart). We put in a new plug and it was slightly better, but basically the same results. Throughout this time we were also trying to check all the wires and connections the best that we could.

It was getting late and we had a long drive so we worked out a deal on the bike as it sits. I now have it at home, but I forgot a short fuel line down there so I have to grab another one before I can get it hooked back up properly. I'm going to do that today.

Sorry for the long winded post...I may have left a few things out, so if you need more details please let me know. Thanks for any help/ideas you can give.

-Josh

well first...the headlights on kawasaki's don't come on until the bike is running. if the bike has been sitting for a while i would consider taking the carbs off and cleaning them. get new plugs and replace the battery. also drain the fuel and put fresh gas in.

I would definitely replace the battery first thing (opt for the lifetime warranty if you get the chance), fill and charge it, then re-assess the situation. It sounds like there are a few electrical gremlins, but I've seen a low charge/dead cell battery cause some weird things to happen. I'd go ahead and put some fresh gas in just to be safe, but the low voltage would be my biggest worry.

Thanks guys....Got all winter to get her fixed up....gonna play around with the battery later on tonight. Thanks again.

-Josh

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Ridin Disorder [/i]
[B]well first...the headlights on kawasaki's don't come on until the bike is running. if the bike has been sitting for a while i would consider taking the carbs off and cleaning them. get new plugs and replace the battery. also drain the fuel and put fresh gas in. [/B][/QUOTE]

is that true to for the old kawi's too.. i mean the headlight wont come on unless its running...

Update....I'm not sure if it's because we were using a different charger to start it or what, but if fired up no problem tonight. The problem now is back to the original one that the guys were telling me about....need to keep the starter button held in or else it won't stay running. It will sit there and idle nice, but if you let it go it dies.

Turn signals worked with just the key on also...they weren't the other night.

Thanks for any help.

-Josh

sounds like an ignition prob 2 me, I dunno much about the 96 model, but maybe it has a bad relay or somethin. I now have a 03 zx6r and it is true that the lights don't come on until you hit the start button. Does the headlight stay on after you hit the start button? as far as I know it should stay on from the second you let go of the button whether the bike is running or not....
Good luck:cheers

you need a new battery i did this with one of my friends f4 and it did the same thing start off a charger but wouldnt stay running
as soon as you put that new battery in it should work fine