IDLE PROBLEMS CB400/4

[Erwin83]

Very interesting all this.
I'm having the same problem. Bike won't idle once engine is hot. Warm, it runs beautifully, but HOT.. the idle keeps slowing down and dying. I've tried airscrew settings 2,5 / 2 / 1,75 / 2,25. It's makes a small difference, but it will definately not idle for long.

Plug 'reads' rich with a carbon matt-black color.

If I understand correctly, either the plugs, or the caps should have resistance, right? So not both, and not neither.

I have recently replaced plugs (DR8ES?), caps (VD05F + XD05F), coils and points. Got 4 new NGK plugs on the shelve.
How do I recognize if my caps are with or without resistance, and how to recognize if the plug are with or without resistance (does the R in the type name give it away)?

thanks

[Johnwebley]

yes ,the "R" stands for resister,

  if you have a multi meter,you can check the plug caps,

  check your advance,and timing,the plugs should be  cleanish after a run and tickover ,try to lean the tickover even more

[Erwin83]

My multimeter has died a while ago and still needs replacing 
The ngk plug caps read 5 kOhm on them.

So i just tried the denso plugs, and the ngk d8ea. Why so fast after oneanother you wonder?
Well, after running idle a while (warming up has always been fine), the engine now starts running on 2 (?) cylinders and dies. Restarting gives a rough 2 cilinder rumble.

On further research, the coils (new ones from wemoto) feel totally different in temperature. One is just warm, the other hot, almost painful to touch...
I have to say, the 2 wemoto coils are a slightly different version between eachother. Think something is up there?

What's this about? 

[Johnwebley]

you could swap plug leads 1-4 with 2-3,and alter contact breaker cables,see if the trouble migrates,

 I had similar issues with a DSS supplied coils,one failed after less than a year

 if you can borrow a meter check the coil windings  when warm

[Erwin83]

So, tried again today and bike started on 2 cylinders right away. No warm up required. Unplugged caps 1 and 4 and found that the new wemoto coil which was installed on the right side didn't function anymore.

I put the original coil back and bike runs fine on all 4 again.

Strange of the wemoto product.. hope they are reasonable with guarantee. Obviously i altered the coil to fit and trimmed the leads...

[Nurse Julie]

Update on the idle problem on Hettie the CB400/4.
After changing the DR8ES's for the D8EA's  the fluctuating idle problem was resolved. Anyone reading this that sees the DR8ES's that David Silver sells for the 400, it is a wrong listing IF you have resisted plug caps fitted, which most of us do.

Now, on to the next problem. Last year, only on one occasion I had a rattle from the engine somewhere. It only lasted a couple of miles and then went away. I didn't think too much about it to be honest. Riding this season the rattle has returned on several occasions, most probably from the top end, possibly on the left somewhere, and there has been a slight loss of power associated with the rattle. What with the oil misting in the airbox, probably due to increased crank case pressure and now this noise, I have taken Hettie off the road.
The plan will be a complete engine strip, assessment and rebuild over the winter. I really want to do this myself if I can, with lots of advice from him indoors obviously. I will start a new thread for this.

In the meantime, luckily, I have plenty of other bikes to ride so will still be out and about enjoying what is left of the summer.

[paul G]

Can't you put a web cam up in the workshop. Might get better ratings than the Osbourne's 

[Nurse Julie]

Can't you put a web cam up in the workshop. Might get better ratings than the Osbourne's 

Haha, now that would be a laugh. According to Graham I can't even hold a spanner correctly and it does get somewhat fractious when we're working together.....so it would definitely be akin to the Osbourns in full swing 

[petermigreen]

Haha, now that would be a laugh. According to Graham I can't even hold a spanner correctly and it does get somewhat fractious when we're working together.....so it would definitely be akin to the Osbourns in full swing 

Wait, there's a correct way to hold a spanner? I bet I'm doing it wrong

[Nurse Julie]

Haha, now that would be a laugh. According to Graham I can't even hold a spanner correctly and it does get somewhat fractious when we're working together.....so it would definitely be akin to the Osbourns in full swing 

Wait, there's a correct way to hold a spanner? I bet I'm doing it wrong

I have been told I  also don't know how to use a screw driver or ratchet and sockets correctly and as for using a Vernier correctly.....forget it. I am OK with a hammer but usually use the 'wrong' hammer 

[MCTID]

My Missus is a wonderful person....and I do love her to bits.....honest. But she has a completely different way of doing things than I do. If I wallpaper and paint a room, I'll clear EVERYTHING out first and cover the carpets with substantial dust sheets etc (get the picture), removing or masking stuff up which might get covered in paint or paste, but she will just shift the furniture around as she goes. DOH. If she grouts tiles, she will wear her distance glasses (instead of her reading glasses - i.e. for close up work) and the grout is just a bloody mess with great gobs of it in the gaps. DOH. She always comes up with the solution to any problem I'm having with the daftest possible answer and the one that - although I have given it some thought, I have also discarded it early in the process..........always earning (well getting - at any rate) my peculiar brand of evil sarcasm which I have finely honed over my 67 years - and is not to be taken lightly. Luckily she doesn't hold grudges and we always get on fine after the dust has settled.

I have tried over the years to 'train' her - as I was trained during my Apprenticeship, but it's really no use, as she is just wired differently. Her Sister is just the same and she always breaks stuff trying to install or build it - usually because she either doesn't have the right tools or doesn't know how to use the right tool.  She is always complimentary when I fit something for her.....but I always say that it's easier for me because I was trained how to do it and shown how to do it by good Tradesmen.

I don't know what the answer is (I'd be a millionaire if I did) but I have found that if she stays out of my way when I'm working....and doesn't offer her brand of barmy advice, we can get along fine and the jobs she wants doing eventually get done. She asked me yesterday 'When am I going to stop buying bike parts' ........having just received yet another old Triumph Engine in a bloody big crate ! I just smiled and she said nothing, so maybe she's getting the message after 25 years.

Having said all that, she's dead funny, a bloody great cook and a great judge of character and I love her to bits.........and I wouldn't swap her for all the tea in China.

[Nurse Julie]

Ahhh, that's really sweet. Yes, I am learning that saying nothing and staying out of the way is usually the best policy. As for getting in a mess, you ought to see the mess I make when I'm plastering a room !!!