Dear SuzukiSavage.com community,

This is a first post for me.  I rescued a stock 2002 with 13,000 miles on it that one of my students had abandoned in his back yard for a couple of years.  When I got it I decided to pay a local shop to get it in good, safe running shape (fluids, brakes, carburetor, new battery, front fork seals, etc).  That ended up being a lot more expensive then I had expected and so I have been happy to find this resource and learn a little from the collective expertise at this site.  The bike has been running great and my 19 year old son and I have been having a blast riding it around town for the last year and a half (3500 miles).

This week my son brought the bike home from work and told me that it was behaving badly and that he could not keep it running.  I was finally able to take a look at it this morning.  The bike starts right up and then quickly kills unless you give it lots of throttle.  Even after allowing it to warm and riding it around a bit it kills quickly at idle.  Now, I know this could be lots of different things.  However, my son commented that he had seen some sparks fly out from under the seat at the starter cable and that got me looking at the electrical system.  It doesn't look bad (I have not taken anything apart but I don't see any cinders or obvious shorts).  I did notice that the bolt that connects the starter cable to the battery is becoming extremely hot as soon as the ignition switch is keyed on.  Can anybody let me know if this is normal?  I have been reading this afternoon and I worry that my son might have left the key in the on position without running the bike and done damage to the ignitor box.  I will need to confirm that with him.  But does that sound feasible?  Are there easy ways other than swapping out the cable/ignitor box to diagnose this?  What other things should I be checking?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Quote:
"I did notice that the bolt that connects the starter cable to the battery is
becoming extremely hot as soon as the ignition switch is keyed on.
Can anybody let me know if this is normal?"

Answer:
No. That is not normal.
It probably indicates a bad connection.
The high resistance causes it to get hot.
Remove and clean the connector.
Check the wire for corrosion or looseness.
Re-install and be sure the bolt tightens correctly.

But....  Check The Petcock !

xyz wrote on 11/08/14 at 14:31:20:

...  pay a local shop  ...  ended up being a lot more expensive then I had expected ...  

 Now you know.


xyz wrote on 11/08/14 at 14:31:20:

...  The bike starts right up and then quickly kills unless you give it lots of throttle.  

 At first first sounds like 'crap' gas, (with water in it)
  However,  Next statement.

xyz wrote on 11/08/14 at 14:31:20:

...  my son commented that he had seen some sparks fly out from under the seat at the starter cable ...  I did notice that the bolt that connects the starter cable to the battery is becoming extremely hot as soon as the ignition switch is keyed on.

 As a previous posts said. Check, Take off, CLEAN, put back on, 'Tight".

As to 'checking the Petcock'. I think it would be a rather bad idea, to have gas, hit a spark !
Also  a '02, with 13,000 miles, 'sitting' for a couple of years, with un-known, gas in it.  Probably time to put a  'Raptor in'.

xyz wrote on 11/08/14 at 14:31:20:

...done damage to the ignitor box.

"If",  that Is the problem, I have one !

xyz wrote on 11/09/14 at 18:16:31:


A failing vacuum petcock can behave exactly as you describe....the petcock may not be able to handle the lower engine vacuum that occurs during high throttle settings....or the increase need for fuel that occurs at at speed.  They can also have other symptoms like running fuel through the vacuum tube and flooding the engine, or running out of gas on the main tank even though the tank is nearly full.  They are quirky when they begin to fail.

Thanks again for the advice.  I finally had time to spend riding and working on the bike this weekend.  The battery is clean and looks great.  I tightened down the big bolt that connects the starter cable and it is no longer getting hot or shorting out so that was an easy problem to solve.  The bike is still idling rough and killing without some extra throttle.  I disconnected the vacuum tube to the stock petcock and I don't see any evidence of fuel leakage.  I plugged the line with a golf tee and put a cap over the carburetor and switched the petcock to "Prime".  The bike ran the same.  I am thinking that maybe I have dirt in the tank and/or carburetor.  But I am a little surprised that it seems to have changed so suddenly.  I went ahead and bought the Yamaha Raptor petcock and I have that here with me.  But I won't make the change unless I know that is going to make a difference.  What is the best way to determine whether my problem is in the carburetor?

Quote:
"... it doesn't seem like the petcock per se (though I will replace that once I am confident I understand what is wrong with the bike)."

It's great that you want to understand what is wrong.
However, you should replace the petcock as a first step towards understanding.
The petcock may not be the problem, but it's the most logical first step...
... especially since you have the new Raptor petcock in hand.
Over 16,000 miles and 14 years of ethanol blended fuel is pushing the limits of the stock petcock.
Even if it isn't bad today, replacing it may save you grief tomorrow.
It's an easy-peasy job.    Really.

I'd like for what I am doing to make sense.  Right now I don't understand how changing the petcock does anything different than blocking the vacuum line and riding in Prime does.  Other than clean up the line at the petcock, which is not really the fault of the stock Suzuki part.  I will pull the old one and figure it out.  Thanks again for your time.

Yes.  The cable to the negative battery terminal was not fastened down well enough.  Tightened the screw and no more problem.  I was wrong that the electrical problem (intermittent starting) was connected to the rough idle.  We'll see.