Cylinder #1 fouling plugs, others run clean

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kirkwilson

kirkwilson

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I just got my GL1100. It had been sitting for a while and it starts right up but at first after it warmed up it ran lousy- backfired, wouldn't idle, etc. Pulling the plugs showed all were black. New plugs in, drained the gas and refilled with fresh fuel. It ran a lot better but when I pulled the plugs again 2,3,and 4 were clean and #1 was black as could be. Started looking things over and all 4 clamps on the rubber from the intake runners to the carbs were loose. Tightened them and again big improvement but #1 (fresh plug) was black again. It has spark but the ceramic plug cap on #1 is missing a chunk out of the end- but it attaches to the plug securely. The PO had the carbs rebuilt by Pistol Pete here in east TN last fall. Supposedly they were sync'd and completely rebuilt to the tune of over $500. We adjusted the valve lash today and found #1 intake to be slightly too tight so adjusted it to spec - all the others were at spec. Still missing and #1 plug black. I have a vacuum gauge and we tried to sync the carbs but it's a digital meter and we could never get a steady reading- it was all over the place some we didn't adjust anything. The PO has agreed to have the dealer fix the problem but if it is something simple I'd like to save him the expense. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks.
 
its obviously the no1 carb i think ....put a new plug in it ....and put in 8oz of ATF in the gas when you fill it up and keep doing it .....it will probably get better and better and not cost your buddy or PO anything unless you want him to buy the plug.....if pistol pete rebuilt the carbs its proably not much wrong a little
cleaning wont clear up using ATF....
 
We used Seafoam in the gas and changed the plug 3x- #1 is black as soon as the engine warms up- I've been buying the plugs- I'd just like to know what's fouling them-
 
Black and sooty it's over rich which is usually caused by too high of float setting, maybe idle jets too rich also.
Out of sync wouldnt cause one plug to get black.
How long has the seafoam run in?
 
We ran aerosol carb cleaner through it yesterday with the filter out and it didn't seem to help. We added 2.5 oz Seafoam to 2.5 gal this morning. Ran periodically trying to find the problem over about 6hrs- I guess about 30 minutes running total.

Am I right that cyl 1 and 2 both run off the right hand coil, and 3 and 4 run off the left? Seems to me that if it was a coil problem then there would be problem with cyl 2 firing as well. We did pull the #1 plug wire off the plug in the head and put another plug in the wire cap, grounded the threads, and started it up- we had spark. Checked the plug cap resistance- It was 4.7k ohm which the book says is good. There is a chunk out of the ceramic plug cap but it's at the very end and the cap grips the top of the plug well. Doesn't seem to be an ignition problem.

Is there a way to check the float level or the idle jet without taking the carb (s) out?

Thanks!
 
You could have a problem with that plug cap shorting to ground.
I had to replace mine after hearing a "tick,tick" of the spark jumping to ground. I went with 7MM auto type wires and boots.
Your right about the coils, 4,3 share and 2,1 share so you should see a problem on 2 also.

Float level has to be checked with carbs off.
Idle jets can be turned only one revolution if the limiters are still on them, all the way in and all the way out if the limiters have been removed or cut off.
If you can I'd turn the #1 idle mixture screw all the way in then 2 turns out and try that.
Note how many turns it goes in for reference.

I would run a full can of Seafoam thru over 2 tanks, the problem may clear up.
After that try the ATF joedrum mentioned, you'll be surprised.
 
There is some good advise there! I also had my carbs done by Pistol Pete, but ended up having to reset all of my floats because gas was leaking into the intakes when the bike was sitting. Yes, the carbs have to come off and it is time consuming, but not hard to do.
 
Thanks to all- Maybe the float is just stuck from the bike sitting. I think I'll drain the chamber and shoot some carb cleaner up in there, then put the plug back in and let it sit a while. I'll try more Seafoam and then the ATF.

I am impressed at how well the bike runs on 3 cylinders, though!
 
that sounds good ......istill think its not much.....on the ignition it could effect just one cylinder .....ithink it gose like this when both wires fire the load will try to fire the weakess wire and starve the other wire.....its best to rebuild the ignition system on a old wing just to get it out of the way as being a problem.....wires and coils for sure and go though all the connections...

but i do think its a stuck float or somthing like that....
 
Plug caps have built in resistors;if its bad that plug won`t fire.Unscrew(yes there screwed on to the wires,and the wires screw into the coils making them easy to replace)the cap on the number 1 cyl. and put that one on cyl.3(for example)and put the one from 3 on no.1, run it and then check the plugs.If thats not it,at least you can rule that out and look elsewhere.But if your still running the almost 30 year old plug wires.......GET RID OF EM!A few feet of plug wire for 10 bucks or so and I think I paid about 30 bucks for a set of new caps...made a world of difference.
 

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