Hi all,

In the last 48 hours my bike has suddenly developed a misfire. I just thought I'd share my experience thus far in case somebody has the same problem.

It started off while I was riding, about 30 minutes into the ride the bike developed a misfire (read as: it sounded like a ducati with even less power). What was weird though, is that she only had the misfire when at low rpm, low throttle opening, or a mix of the two. When i was at WOT or in rpm higher than 4k the misfire cleared and the bike rode as normal. My first conclusion was that I must have a bad sparkplug.

So this morning I changed all the plugs (if your hands a larger than a toddlers, it's quite difficult), there was one fouled sparkplug to confirm my assumptions, I reassembled the fairings thinking all is well and took her for a test run. The misfire was gone and all was well, but low and behold, the minute she got warm enough for the fan to engage, the misfire returned. Quite angry about the situation I returned home and waited for the bike to cool down. 4 hours later she was 1 bar on the temp readout on the display and I decided to test my new theory of the problem being heat related. When the bike started the misfire was still there, i revved her once and the misfire cleared. Took her for a test ride and all was well until she heated up and the misfire returned again and once again if i opened the throttle beyond 4k rpm the misfire cleared.

I got home let her cool off and disassembled her again. The same cylinder that had a fouled plug, cylinder 3 in case it's relevant to anybody, had once again covered the plug in fuel. I the noticed what I hadn't noticed earlier, the coil pack (pencil coil to the more old school gents) had left a layer of oxidated powder on the top of the plug. I used a screwdriver from my precision set and inserted it into the coil and when I removed it, it was covered in oxidation (surface rust powder). After some research (Google is our friend), I found that this is a common sign of coil breakdown and that the solution is to replace the coil.

I phoned the local dealership, the price of a single coil is 1247 rand (ZAR if you wish to use a currency converter), I then phoned the local bike scrap yards to find a second hand unit. They did not have one from a Kawasaki, but did have one from another bike and "We're kind of sure it will work on your bike but we dont guarantee anything and won't be responsible for any damages etc". This left me with only one choice and that's to take the dealer part. I confirmed my train of thought with a few of my friends who are more knowledgable than myself and they all agreed with my conclusions. So I have ordered the new coil pack from Kawasaki and they say that it will be delivered to the dealership tomorrow evening.

I will post my findings with regards to if the problem was resolved or not.

* Last updated by: GuyBaulch on 11/11/2013 @ 8:44 AM *

That would make sense. If it does not burn the fuel on a stroke and then more is added......it's rich. Not enough oxygen to burn the double...or more...fuel load and it will be dirty.

Hope that's all...because you don't want to add a bad injector to the list.

Let us know.......

Great work on the diagnosis bud! I think you hit the nail on the head! A lot of great info you shared here! I remember reading an old thread on here recently about your same issue where a stick coil had gone bad and oxidized itself on the inside.

I doubt it's the injector because normally injector issues are constant, not affected by temperature9. There is a chance though, so yes, lets hope not. My theory is that when the revs climb the electrical levels do too unto a point atleast, which would explain the misfire clearing at 4k rpm, because thats the point the electrical current surpasses the resistance caused by the rust.

Thats my theory anyway, I could be wrong and if one of the forum members have a better understanding and could explain it to me differently, I am open to being taught a thing or two.

Thanks nasty, I actually searched for a thread along these lines but didnt find anything. Probably had different keywords in it to what I was using in the search.

I don't remember the name of the thread but it started with someone thinking they had fuel pump/delivery issues. Several pages and about a year later the problem was finally diagnosed(corrosion from a bad stick coil). I'm always flipping through old threads and learning whatever I can about this bike in my free time.

Verify your PCV ground is valid. Very common complaint.

Hagrid,

Would it show as an error on the PCV software if it were grounded incorrectly? The thing is it has never been a problem until 2 days ago, and I have had the PCV for over 6 months. Do you still believe it could be a problem?

Mine was running perfect right up until I headed out on a trip. At the bottom of the hill it suddenly went to 3 cylinders. Since I was already on the way and had people waiting for me I ended up riding it all weekend as a triple. I determined I had a bad coil. Bought a complete used set on e-bay for $20. Problem solved and I now have 3 spares.

Mad

The PCV grounded to the overflow bottle stay is a well documented problem manifesting as a gremlin. Its easy to diagnose though. Move the ground to better location and start the bike. Did the problem go away? If not at least you have the left fairing off. If the coils are bad you need the fairings removed anyway.

When the 14 first came out mid 06 I was one of then lucky new owners. When I bought the PC and saw the instructions I decided to ground mine via a cover bolt. After a few months we heard of odd and mysterious problems........that later turned out to be the PC ground.

I told 'em so

* Last updated by: 06BlueZX14 on 11/11/2013 @ 5:47 PM *

I forgot about the PC. Will that really make only one plug foul?

Thanks for the heads up hagrid, I will be fitting the new coil today and will check where the pcv is grounded to, just as an extra safety precaution.

When your refitting them smear some Dielectric Grease on the boot so it smears the inside of the boot and the plug head when it seats home.
Or remove the plugs and lube the head up.
Makes it easier to get the boots off and will stop the corrosion.

Please excuse my ignorance 1400r, dielecteic grease? Is that a conductive grease?

It's a special grease used on electric parts.

Click here for the stuff you want.
If you can, buy the permtex brand.

* Last updated by: nasty on 11/13/2013 @ 4:55 AM *

Dielectric grease is actually an insulator, its main purpose here is to lubricate the boot and ceramic insulator, prevent corrosion and (in theory) reduce arcing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicone_grease

Ah ok, will have to get some. Fitted the new coil today, the mifire is still there a bit, but it's a lot less severe. It clears in low rpm 1500ish if I have the throttle open ane when I idle for 4-5 seconds it clears by itself. And it only happens when I decelerate using gears. If I pull the clutch in and use the brakes to slow down, then she doesnt misfire at all. She also starts up fine even when hot which she couldnt do previously.

Now I am wondering if the motor doesn't maybe have to work itself clean. The fact that changing the coil had an effect on the misfire makes me believe it was definitely the cause. Opinions?

* Last updated by: GuyBaulch on 11/13/2013 @ 10:19 AM *

"misfire still there"...geez...sorry to hear that.You're getting no coding on the dash?Usually the FI code will come up...and a red light.Did you(again)check the plug?What a hassle...sorry to hear this.Is it possible you got some 'iffy' fuel?Maybe run some fuel system cleaner through there...two doses one after the other...maybe see if that helps?I know that's pretty 'unmechanical' advice...but you never know...just might clear things up.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 11/13/2013 @ 10:36 AM *

I'd have put in new plugs while there.......I'd rather buy them than take it apart again.

If you have a laser temp reader you can start it cold and watch the temps rise on the 4 header tubes. Will tell you which cyl. Maybe it's dirty.........maybe that plug is not good.

The computer (DFI) thinks all is well........so still not too serious.

No codes at all. Third set of new plugs in a row since the problem started and always cylinder 3.

1. I walk up to a cold engine, start it less than 2 seconds which fires off hundreds of rounds.
2. I now shut the engine down, feel each header close to the head.
3. I now eliminate any pig that takes over any kind of fueling.
4. I check compression if it was not a faulty pig.
5. I swap spark sticks so I now find that #4 is faulty... Using the #3 stick coil = Bad stick coil.
6. I have no clue what the mileage is, nor if there is a tight valve/burnt valve/bent valve when hot... She signs offoul.

Did you swap sticks? Move 3 and 4......if problem stays at 3 then I'd check voltage and compression of 3.

You will need to either touch or probe the header for temps......to know which is cold.

* Last updated by: 06BlueZX14 on 11/13/2013 @ 5:25 PM *

Hi hub, I was hoping you'd join into the conversation at some point. Mileage is 7200km on the bike, the problem started at 7080km. When she is cold or at 3 blocks on the guage, there is no misfire. Header pipes get equally hot. Only once she gets 4 blocks hot and the fan kicks in does she start to misfire on 3. I am going to run some fuel system cleaner through her the, with the previous tank the fuel station was busy having it's tanks filled while I was filling up so there is a possibility for dirt, she has a brand bew coil on 3, but I will swap itnout with number 4 for interest sake to see if the problem stays on 3.

06BlueZx14, I have replaced the number 3 coil with a brand new coil from dealership. If problem persists I will have to get voltmeter out and check voltages.

7200km is low for said year. Lets assume it's a 2006-7. Lets try a fuel cleaner like you mentioned. I was away from the computer for a few days with a honey due list, or I would have saved you the reach around for the stick coil. Since it was still #3 happening, she would go something like this.

Fuel = Low mileage may have clogged #3 injector.
Compression = This is more or less we weed out this variable because it runs fine at certain rpms?
Spark = This is more we weeded out this variable, we bought a new part and still the same. So that now says, swap the #3 injector for #4, so cylinder 4 now fouls = Fuel related, not spark, not compression.. IF... It went something like that.