2011 TE310 Won't start. After washing?

[Kotto25]

Well I washed the bike yesterday and now she won't start. Not sure whether or not it has anything to do with the fact that I washed it. I should have started it before washing to make sure all was good.
Anyway, it sounds like it wants to start, but just doesn't turn over. I have killed and recharged the battery twice trying to get it to start. All of the connections look good and I have tried disconnecting the temp sensor but still won't start.

Rode it Saturday and all was good.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[OlderHuskyRider]

Anyway, it sounds like it wants to start, but just doesn't turn over.

The statement above is a little confusing, does the starter turn the bike over and over, cranking the engine, but it won't fire OR is the starter not turning the bike over at all?

Has it dried out, is it still not starting after many hours after the water? How many hours?


I've had problems with this as well and I have found if I keep the water away from the left side engine, left side throttle body, I can wash it and it will still run.

Here's a water test I did on my older engine bike. Notice I stayed away from the left side throttle body. On the left side, I was testing the gear position sensotr which I suspected for over a year, and it's not that.

 

[Kotto25]

Sorry for the confusion. The engine cranks, but won't fire. I can smell fuel so I don't think that is the problem. Maybe I have a bad plug. Any tip on getting to it to check. I'll look it up.

The bike has about 1500 miles on it. I just got it about a month ago and have ridden it about 4 times. A couple hours each time and haven't had any problems until yesterday.

I washed it yesterday. Wouldn't start and figured I must have got something wet. Waited and tried again today with the same results.

Thanks again for any help.

 

[reveille]

Sounds like the tps sensor on the left side of the throttle body. They should be greased to waterproof the connections.

 

[OlderHuskyRider]

Pull the plug and check for quality of spark: blue = good, yellow = poor

 

[lummy450]

all huskies don't like water what happens is the water gets into the sparkplug well and shorts across the head leaving an intermittent or no spark
remove your plug cap and blow out well , ENSURE THE DRAIN HOLE at base of plug is not blocked
get a grommet the same size as your plug head and cut it in half, push it over you plug and down to the top of the well , now use your plug cap to force it down hard
creating a seal over your well . this will keep your well free of water.
ive fixed may huskies that "didn't like water" and now I can cross water that drowns most bikes with not even a hiccup

 

[lummy450]

I tried the same experiment with the hose on my 08 450 and it still ran without a miss then one day it acted up out in the bush that's when I noticed my cap wasn't sealing properly for no reason at all. maybe just wear??

 

[Kotto25]

Thanks everyone. I think it must have been water down by the plug. I removed it to check for spark and put it back after it looked and tested good. Fired up right after that. I'll have to do the grommet thing in the near future.

Thanks again for helping a newbie out.

 

[Xcuvator]

Thanks everyone. I think it must have been water down by the plug. I removed it to check for spark and put it back after it looked and tested good. Fired up right after that. I'll have to do the grommet thing in the near future.

Thanks again for helping a newbie out.

When the dirt in the plug cap gets wet it creates a path to ground of less resistance (less than jumping the plug gap) for the high tension spark plug voltage.
I try to clean the dirt out on a regular basis.

 

[R_Little]

I had the same problem on my 2010 Te250. Bike would miss like crazy when water got under the tank.

my coil was bad...allowing water into the coil by the mounting lugs.

found it by spraying water under the tank

 

[Jim Craft]

Can someone post some pics... the grommet description is not clear in my head. does the gromet seat between the plug boot and the plug? why do I need to cut it in half? I think it is exactly what is happening to my bike except it start but just dies when I hit the throttle... this is all after washing it.... I suspect after sitting in the sun today it will start tonight. thanks.

 

[Jim Craft]

Since I cant figure out how to start a new post-forum subject I will just mention it here and hope someone can either help me post it with a good description or help me fix my bike.

I bought my bike with the power up mods already installed. It ran fine in all conditions the first year. The air intake boot somehow came loose causing unknown problems for over a year. found that and fixed it. This spring I got water in my sparkplug boot... fixed that but it now will not cold start with out twisting throttle, even though it is FInjected, and pops a lot on deceleration but the worse thing about it is it runs progressively worse as I climb above about 3200 feet... eventually it just wont rev up.... as I lower the altitude it runs better again. Riding season is here and I can't find anyone to work on this for me in the Northwest area... can someone help? I unplug the TPS and the fan turns on and the bike wont start so I know that seems to be working... after that I got nothing... it there possibly water in some other component? the sparkplug boot happened after washing the bike.... thanks.

 

[buc]

Can someone post some pics... the grommet description is not clear in my head. does the gromet seat between the plug boot and the plug? why do I need to cut it in half? I think it is exactly what is happening to my bike except it start but just dies when I hit the throttle... this is all after washing it.... I suspect after sitting in the sun today it will start tonight. thanks.

I've also had some issues with my bike not starting after washing, and I'd also be interested to hear more about this if anyone understands.
I'm also really curious about what lummy450 said about the "DRAIN HOLE at base of plug". Does any one have some pictures of this drain hole?

 

[DavegWiththeTE]

I've also had some issues with my bike not starting after washing, and I'd also be interested to hear more about this if anyone understands.
I'm also really curious about what lummy450 said about the "DRAIN HOLE at base of plug". Does any one have some pictures of this drain hole?

Very late response but if anyone is still having similar issues I recently was able to pinpoint my water/ignition problem. I was inspecting my spark plug boot after reading this thread, and while inspecting the area where the boot meets the top of the motor I discovered the real problem. My spark plug wire leading into the boot was able to pull right out of the boot. So while not having a tight fit in the boot the wire was also leading downward towards the boot and allowing water to drip right into it. A little black silicone with a wire meets the boot and I haven't had any water related flame out since.

 

[Bajabenz]

I was having this same issue with a 09’ te510 I purchased. Never gave me trouble riding in heavy rain but even a quick rinse with a low power electric pressure washer or at a coin op car wash and the bike would refuse to fire up afterwards. Every once in a while you’d get an occasional pop or even run for a few seconds then quickly die. After a day (drying out) it would be back to normal an start/run fine. I didn’t like the idea of having a dirt bike that was allergic to water an within minutes of deciding I was going to get to the root of it I found the previous owner had made some sort of bandaid repair to the plug wire and the boot. Rubber boot was cut lengthwise and had heat shrink around it. Also top portion of plug was broken and missing . Problem solved with a different coil from my 2010 parts bike and a new plug

 

[pvduke]

washing yer bike:

Lessons learned!

- use a VERY fine mist. or else. use more elbow grease, less water pressure.
- everywhere water can go, it will. so prepare for that. clean plug hole BEFORE and AFTER with compressed air. packing a plug hole increases chances of corrosion and problems. keep them clean and he connections tight and greased. dielectric grease everything unless the manual says not to- it stinks so wear gloves. 4t the weep hole tells ya you got an oil leak etc...it should still weep if the top is gunked up in most cases. if yer cleaning yer plug hole, toss a new plug in. ya pulled the cap so why not. it's cheap and tells ya what the motor is doing by reading the old one. if its good, toss it in yer bag in the new plug box and tape it shut with the paper guard on it.
- really important: cover your air filter with something. and after you wash yer scooter, throw the damn air filter away. and then put a new one on. ya gota 5k dollar race motor in it, yeh, ya wanna cheap out on the most important thing next to oil (George taught me that- he talks, I'm all EARS. PERIOD). serial. new air filter, every ride or bath. just that simple. cleaning them breaks them down. i use twin-air everything. nothing gets by it. my bike aint cheap...at all. cheap insurance. no-toil stuff in hot weather = yuuuuck and wild animals coming after you (it's vegetable oil, it stinks and sucks if it gets on your bike and gear).
- plug yer pipe! water kills packing. and engines.

ok, yer all done and yer scooter is nice and shiny (hells yeh!), the bikini chicks are all over ya, the pink sweater-neck Mr. Mom next door is purple-green jealous and ready to barf looking at that RIDE on the STAND in your DRIVEWAY.... now what?

- blow the whole bike off with air, or ride it dry (AFTER ya stick in a new air filer), dry off brakes, dry off and lube nipples, every pivot gets love (including the shock and arm!), glob grease on yer axles/spacers and check your spoke tension and lube them too with WD or Boes9, dry chain 100% and lube it when warm from riding. find places water can hide and get it out of there (i pull the tank b4 washing). got EFI? disconnect and blow out every single connection, let it dry overnight and coat with DE grease unless otherwise stated. no more codes, bam, done with that.

Note to you all: dirt and moisture are the #1 cause of codes- 100%. bank on that.

while ya got the tools out- it's nuts-n-bolts time! esp the rear sprocket!

this is the tip of the iceberg. but it's easier than chasing "NOW WHAT?!" b4 race day, and, ya learn about ye scooter. YMMV. but the more love ya give yer scooter, the more miles of smiles ya get. so just do it damnit.

all of the above sans the swing arm should take around 2 hours. i know guys that spend that time amor-alling instead of proper service. then when it's tire time....guess what....they call me cuz the axles wont come out lol.
don garlits once told me- "boy, looks dont git ya down the track, but they sure help when ya caint"

!!!

barooooop!