What the hell is going on?

[RedexRobB]

Ok, ive been away the past few days at my girlfriends in Ipswich. Went to start the XJR this morning and nothing. Pushed the starter and it just went click. I thought the engine had seized or summit, tried bump starting it and the rear wheel just locked up

Also noticed that petrol is coming out of a pipe underneath, i traced the pipe back and it goes to the air box. So the air box is full of petrol and i now have an almost empty tank of fuel also

Gave it a few more tries bump starting and the engine now turns, ahh must be the starter motor playing up, gave it a few whacks and it turns the engine but the battery is now flat :smt013 Of course, tried bumping it and there not enough in the battery to get it started, which means i had to go out this morning to get a charger. The petrol did stop coming out of the pipe but since ive been out and back its letting some more out. Ive also checked the plugs and they are dry as a bone.

Last thing i did with the bike was travel 60 miles from home back to uni, any ideas why its done this cos im completely at loss as to why. My only guess is i filled it up with petrol before i left and some toad has got in the carbs, but why would it flood the airbox with fuel? Either that or someone has tipped the bike over and picked it up and i dont know anything about it.

[RedexRobB]

Ive found the problem! its the fuel tap! The XJR has a vacuum tap which only works when the engine is running. This has fecked up and causes the carbs to flood, so the tap is permanently on

Consequently this floods the carbs as theres no fuel pump and also floods the airbox, which is where the petrol was coming from and has emptied my tank right down to reserve . Luckily the crank case breather is set to the back of the box and is also raised so hopefully nothing as gone into the motor. Ive checked the smell at the oil filler cap and seems ok.

Luckily i got a spare tap at home i can use. Unfortunately the tap doesnt hav an 'off' position So long as i can get it started i can run it on reserve then just switch to 'on' when i park up.

[kwakbiker]

Glad ya got it sorted

[RedexRobB]

Well i think i have, i got the battery charged up and whacked it in, but it wouldnt start Just ended up flattening the battery again

The engine turned over nicely tho which pleased me alot. I think the carbs are probably just empty of fuel perhaps, but even witht he tap on reserve nothing came out of the pipe so im guessing there really is bugger all in the tank.

Gona wait till i get the tap first, me mum is gonna send me the spare one ive got, thats when ill fill it up proper. That way i know the tap wont be buggered and loose a tank of fuel again

[richie400ss]

change the oil
half an hour's work
not worth gambling

[RedexRobB]

Good point actually, ill change that soon as i have money.

Finally got the bugger started. Got the spare fuel tap yesterday and fitted it but still wouldnt start, then it started pissing down proper so left it till today, just to wake up in the morning and find out some toad face had tipped my bike over :smt013 If i find em im gonna hurt them needless to say! Not only did it empty the fuel i filled it up with yesterday through the air box, it also made my bike dirty! Like i say pain will be inflicted!

Anyways, flattened the battery trying to start it but it got close i have to say, so put battery back on charge and stuck the plugs in the oven

Tried again, it wouldnt have it, so spent half an hour pushing my bike up the small incline at the back of my halls trying to bump start it, it was getting closer and closer to starting then it did hesitantly fire up! f*** yeah thats feels good! Ive never worked so hard just to get a bike started and was one of the most satisfying moments in my life when it did!

[just_colin]

what does putting your plugs in the oven do exactly?

[masterofinsanity]

it warms them up mate, they will fire better when warm, also dries out any fuel deposits.

[the_avenging_bucket]

preheat oven to 200 degrees. bake plugs for 40 minutes or until crisp. serve with fries and beer.
hehe