Dead Dog

haze324

Active Member
Need help with a diagnosis fellas.

I have an 03 pitbull, only issue I've ever had is the gas cap creating a vaccum, but other than that its all been great.

I woke up this morning and washed the bike (this could be the problem) and went riding about an hour into the ride the bike started sputtering/hesitating a bit and then it finally shut off. I thought it was the gas cap. I pulled over let her sit for a minute and after 2 tries we were back the road no issues.

Went to a BBQ and then rode for about another hour. Did the same thing but this time she wouldn't crank back up. She would turn over give one pop and thats it. Other times she wouldn't turn over. I went to get a friends truck came back about 30 minutes later and on the first try she fired right up, but died 20 seconds later. We loaded her up and took her home. At my friends house she cranked right up again and I rode her around the block and she shut off again. These times there were no sputters just turned off.


- something similar happend to a friends bike a long time ago and I remember his ignitition module had a short of some sorts and kept shutting off and killing the bike. Gonna check this tommorrow.

Not knowing exactly how the BDM wiring works, i'm not too sure where else to look. Perhaps a short, maybe a loose wire that rattles loose when the bike vibrates. Any tips on where to start looking i'd appreciate it guys.

Thanks
 

Cobrafast1

Active Member
Haze.

From the sound of it you have two problems.

1. The gas cap creates a vaccuum and does not let the carb get gas.

2. The ignition system may have moisture from you wash job, which can cause intermittent problems.

You might try using an air compressor around all the wiring connections and terminals to dry things out.

Another thing to try is at night time in complete darkness, start the bike up after removing the seat and look for arcing or sparks. That will tell you where you have a ground from worn wiring or maybe a loose connection. You might want to put a towel or something over the headlight and other lights do lower the ambient light in the area. Those little sparks are hard to see.

I would say, it is an electrical problem from the sound of it.

As for the gas cap, modify it or replace it with one that allow for atmospheric balancing. A vaccuum will keep the gas from getting to the carb, if it is strong enough.

Good Luck
 
Last edited:

jwoolf

Well-Known Member
Mine got wet once too and had the same symptoms. It did it on and off for a couple of weeks.

If you take it out and it dies again, try flipping to run switch to off and then flip it back on while it's still rolling. That would bring mine right back to life.

That's not a fix but, it's a good test to see if you can narrow it down.
 

Oscar Maldonado

Guru
Calendar Participant
If something did get wet to cause your problem chances are that it'll be alright tomorrow. It happens to me every once in a while. Try it tomorrow and give us a heads up.
 

CCRainman

Well-Known Member
If you need a wiring diagram, just give a shout. I'll fax one to you. Did you get any bad gas? Check to see if you are getting fuel, maybe there could be something causing your float to get stuck or junk in the fuel bowl.
 

haze324

Active Member
If you need a wiring diagram, just give a shout. I'll fax one to you. Did you get any bad gas? Check to see if you are getting fuel, maybe there could be something causing your float to get stuck or junk in the fuel bowl.
I'm gonna dry it up well tommorrow and also check the gas. At first i thought it could be gas because of the sputtering, but this morning when I was washing the bike I was in a bit of a hurry and was splattering a little more water than usual. I'll check both and let you guys know.

Thanks for the tips.
 

LamboV12

Active Member
I'm with Cobra on this one - but I don't think problem is wet ign because after an hour of riding, you should have blown away any water - unless it got into the fuel system... I use a leaf blower after washing to blow dry.

Let us know what happens today if u run it (I know it's raining all day)

2) Are you sure you have the vent problem fixed? Sounds similar to the problem I had on my previous dog, a huskey. I had two fuel caps and one side takes a vented cap, and the other side takes a non-vented cap.
 
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