Have just returned from france, Bike returned courtesy of Rac to Carl Rosner in Purley. Had reliability issues twice before trip with bike running rough. Local garage then cleaned carbs out and jets and replaced fuel tap and did a service as they thought there was a fuel issue. Bike then ran fine for two weeks and for for trip down. Then broke down in the south of france. Thunderbird taken to local French garage who again worked on carb cleaning. Again worked fine, set off for port and the bike broke down instantly when it started raining after 6 hours of trouble free riding in the dry. The common factor is that it has broken down twice when it has started raining, which may just be coincidence. Rosner has just spent 3 hours on the bike and cannot find anything. The bike now starts and runs fine apparently, i have asked them to change the ignition sensor to strike off that reason tomorrow. Could it be coil issue? or something else? Any help would be appreciated if someone else has had these type of problems before? I have now had three garages try and sort my bike with no result.
Cheers,it might be the fuel tank next, job on my list is to look at the tank when I get it home. fuel ok
Hi Dodge and welcome to the forum Strange it ran well after each garage worked on cleaning carbs,so indicates fuel quality. If drained and checked, dirty tank would be next. Good luck sorting
I suspect any fuel problem has been resolved. Rain? Suggests to me you have an insulation breakdown somewhere in the ignition circuit. I would run it in the dark and squirt water under the tank area and look for arcing.
morning...sorry to hear your woes I'd be looking at the coil ... HT lead.... Caps ( however the Tbird is configured )... seems to me that when the coil dries out during the work on the bike it works fine then in the rain it fails... worth a check over and liberal spray with damp proofing.... I'd be looking at the ignition system rather than fuel just my tuppence worth C
I would agree with some of the others on here and look for electrical issues, the fuel system seems to of been looked at several times already. Have you opened up the switchgear on the right to see if water is getting in to that circuit?
Chris thanks for the input, I have a gut feeling it may be that, I will post back when I find out what it is
Hi, and welcome! Sorry about your mishaps. You have had some good advice already. As you mention rain, I would also take a look at the high tension side of the electrics. The (Gill?) coils are a known weak link on our bikes. And when I suspected bad spark plug wires on my classic car, I sprayed them with a mist of water when dark and saw fireworks – bingo! On the low tension side there is the ignitor, the pickup sensor etc. And cleaning all electrical connection is good preventive mainetance anyway, particularly the sidestand switch and the clutch switch. We love photos of both bikes and trips, so please post some!
