Fuel Pressure Regulator?

[BOAT]

She's a '95 Cali 1100i and she won't start.

Fuel pump whines away WITHOUT STOPPING as usual. I found that the pump is pumping very well. Fills a cup in seconds. Good pressure, too.

Has to be the Fuel Pressure Regulator (GU29112760), right? What else could it be? Trouble is Curtis (Harpers MG) tells me the part is no longer available, but he's going to try to find one. I sure wish he had better news.

I got this bike 1 year ago last month. It's been quite a ride. It seems I'm too often asking for help, but here I am again. I appreciate any insights into a solution.

[Wayne Orwig]

Is there spark? Maybe the timing sensor is not working.
Are the injectors getting pulsed?

[rodekyll]

"Good pressure?"  What is your target pressure (we know, I'm asking if BOAT knows)?  Can you tell the difference between 30# and 40# by looking?  You can build a pressure tester from a cheap NAPA (~$8) pressure gauge, a brass T and a couple of barbs.  This discussion is a waste of time without knowing the baseline.

Is the regulator's atmospheric vent unrestricted?  The pressure diaphragm doesn't work without venting.  If someone blocked it (attached a hose, maybe?) all bets for pressure are off.

Pump not stopping on initial prime is bad.  It should go about 3sec and shut off.  This is a safety thing.  It keeps you from spewing 42# of fuel all over the accident site.  We've had a few literal crash-and-burn stories on the forum here that illustrate the results.  I'd find out why the relay isn't shutting off and fix it.

I find it very suspicious that both your fuel pump relay AND the pressure regulator are malfunctioning.  One of those conditions would be rare to near extinction.  The odds of having both happen at the same time on the same bike are astronomical.  I'd also be looking for some common source for the problems -- a bad ecu or one of Roper's shaved apes trying to fix a simple problem by masking it with another, bigger problem.

[BOAT]

Thanks guys, I checked the spark and there ain't none. I get a spark when I turn on the ignition, then while she's spinning there's no spark. When she stops turning over there's another spark, before turning off the ignition. So, now we know why she won't start. There is spark but not when it matters.

 But how come the fuel pump continues to pump?

Please explain timing sensor possibility?

[pehayes]

Twice I had a failure on a 98EV.  Crank but no spark.  Turned out to be a dirty connection where the timing wheel pigtail meets the main harness under the tank.  The 98EV has two timing sensors.  One is on the bell housing and senses the flywheel/ringgear rotation.  The second is on the timing chest and senses the cam wheel rotation.  You probably have the same two.  The flywheel sensor is dry and tends to pick up metallic swarf from the ringgear and clutch.  Clean it.  The timing chest sensor is in oil and doesn't often fail.  But, its wire makes a sharp bend at the sensor and that can be trouble.  In my case it was where the sensor pigtail joined into the main harness.  Clean and re-stress the Molex connectors.

Regardless, the fuel pump should stop on a 3-5 second cycle.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Kiwi_Roy]

As Rodekyll says the pump should only prime for 3 seconds then stop.

Then it starts again while cranking not before.
It starts when it picks up pulses from the rotation sensor (someone will have to tell me which one)

Are you absolutely sure you have the battery around the right way?

[Wayne Orwig]

I'm not sure the ECU normally sparks with power on and off like that.
The fuel pump on that ECU should time out after about 8 seconds. The newer ECU is about 3 seconds. So the ECU is not operating correctly. You need to try to get the error codes.

You did not happen to change any connections on the battery did you? I think I have heard that one of the battery leads being switched around causes that exact thing.

[BOAT]

You're dead on, Wayne.  No coincidence with the fuel pump running non-stop and no spark, I simply cleaned the batt ground to frame (and the flywheel timing sensor). Bingo!! I'm here to testify to Dave's warning in Guzziology that it is vital to have a clean ground wire. Lucked out this time........