Returned without my Nomad

[markusmaximus]

Took the Nad 220 miles south of here for the holiday weekend to visit relatives. The bike handled wonderfully on the way down. Saddled up this morning to hit the road back north only to quickly find the bike sputtering, sluggish, warning light on. Seemed like only one cylinder was firing. Top speed about 50 mph. After 5 miles, I rode her back to the in-laws, who were gracious enough to let me park it in their garage. Fortunately, I was not stranded since my wife drove the van. BTW, my Nomad is an 05 with only 4600 miles. I've owner her for 2 months without a hint of problem. I'm going back this Thursday to take her to a dealer. My guess is a FI failure or related fuel problem. Anyone had a similar experience? Any suggestions?

[beezer]

bad plug?

[blowndodge]

Did you overfill it? Mine did that in Mesquite and it ran like crap until I vented the cap and let it cool off.

A loose or dirty battery cable will do this as well, or a bad battery; that would be particularly suspect if you shut it off then try to start it again and it cranks over OK but just won't fire.

[ringadingh]

A tankful of bad gas can do this also.

[nomad]

Did you overfill it? Mine did that in Mesquite and it ran like crap until I vented the cap and let it cool off.
i've had this happen on another bike i had. good call.

[markusmaximus]

Did you overfill it? Mine did that in Mesquite and it ran like crap until I vented the cap and let it cool off.

Don't think so. I notice some sputtering last night with 1/2 tank. OTOH, it ran fine this morning until I fiiled it up.

[markusmaximus]

A loose or dirty battery cable will do this as well, or a bad battery; that would be particularly suspect if you shut it off then try to start it again and it cranks over OK but just won't fire.

Good point. I'll explore that when I return on Thursday.

[Top Cat]

[quote="Blowndodge "Darksider"":d06ezuvg]Did you overfill it? Mine did that in Mesquite and it ran like crap until I vented the cap and let it cool off.

Don't think so. I notice some sputtering last night with 1/2 tank. OTOH, it ran fine this morning until I fiiled it up.[/quote:d06ezuvg]

Again this begs the question, did you over fill it? Mine ran like that only once and it was because I over filled it.
Just in case you don't know, and alot of new owners don't. The way to fill is on the side stand and only fill to the bottom of the cup.

Again this begs the question, did you over fill it? Mine ran like that only once and it was because I over filled it.
Just in case you don't know, and alot of new owners don't. The way to fill is on the side stand and only fill to the bottom of the cup.

You know I've heard this more than once. Perhaps 1600's are different, but I've overfilled mine a few times, and I always fill it half way up that cup. A few times I've filled it nearly to the top, and once the pump got stuck and I actually ran it all over the tank and on the ground.

Even so, never once did it struggle, stall, or run funny after that. In fact, except for a bit of pinging when it was very hot out, I cannot think of one time in five years that my bike didn't run like a raped ape. Even after I overfilled it so badly that I flooded the fuel vapor separator and charcoal cannister with raw gasoline, it still ran fine; and believe me I rarely pamper this bike unless it's cold. It gets ridden pretty hard once the engine warms up.

So please pardon me if I say that I think there's something else wrong if a bike stalls with a full tank.

[markusmaximus]

Again this begs the question, did you over fill it? Mine ran like that only once and it was because I over filled it.
Just in case you don't know, and alot of new owners don't. The way to fill is on the side stand and only fill to the bottom of the cup.

You know I've heard this more than once. Perhaps 1600's are different, but I've overfilled mine a few times, and I always fill it half way up that cup. A few times I've filled it nearly to the top, and once the pump got stuck and I actually ran it all over the tank and on the ground.

Even so, never once did it struggle, stall, or run funny after that. In fact, except for a bit of pinging when it was very hot out, I cannot think of one time in five years that my bike didn't run like a raped ape. Even after I overfilled it so badly that I flooded the fuel vapor separator and charcoal cannister with raw gasoline, it still ran fine; and believe me I rarely pamper this bike unless it's cold. It gets ridden pretty hard once the engine warms up.

So please pardon me if I say that I think there's something else wrong if a bike stalls with a full tank.

I'm with you CaddmannQ. I filled it half way up the cup as I normally do, always on the side stand. For the bike to behave as poorly as it did, I can't believe it's a gas fill problem. I'll let everyone know after I return on Friday.

[pablo]

I also fill mine to at least half way up the cup. I leave just enough room to close the cap when I'm on the road, and about half way up if I'm not going to run it down right away. Never any problems.

[dhelfritz]

I had a similar problem. My bike would run fine, then all of a sudden it would bog down and run on one cylinder. I took it to a Kawi dealer ane they sort of fixed it. It ran good for a couple of months then started the same thing. I took the Nomad to an independent shop,they put it on the Dyno. It was an electrical problem, not a fuel problem. They unpluged and repluged avery connection on the bike and could find nothing wrong. It must have been a loose or bad connection because I have ridden the bike for months now and have had no other problem. My tach used to surge all of sudden and drop 300 to 400 rpms at idle. This was a random problem and only happened on occation. After the replugging everything and I mean everything the problem seems solved. They really dont know what they did to fix the problem.

[bluetongue]

I have had similar problem with my 05 found loose connection at battery and at fuel relay. I now check these items every oil change.

[Top Cat]

First off I'd like to say I'm glad you didn't catch yourself or the bike on fire when the nozzle got stuck Cad http://s2.images.proboards.com/shocked.gif
If I fill my 1600 up more than bottom of cup the gas runs out the over flow. Maybe the 1500's are different in that respect. ???
Then again, maybe my bike is unique http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif

[Scoot]

Again this begs the question, did you over fill it? Mine ran like that only once and it was because I over filled it.
Just in case you don't know, and alot of new owners don't. The way to fill is on the side stand and only fill to the bottom of the cup.

You know I've heard this more than once. Perhaps 1600's are different, but I've overfilled mine a few times, and I always fill it half way up that cup. A few times I've filled it nearly to the top, and once the pump got stuck and I actually ran it all over the tank and on the ground.

Even so, never once did it struggle, stall, or run funny after that. In fact, except for a bit of pinging when it was very hot out, I cannot think of one time in five years that my bike didn't run like a raped ape. Even after I overfilled it so badly that I flooded the fuel vapor separator and charcoal cannister with raw gasoline, it still ran fine; and believe me I rarely pamper this bike unless it's cold. It gets ridden pretty hard once the engine warms up.

So please pardon me if I say that I think there's something else wrong if a bike stalls with a full tank.


Same here done that myself.....Never had a problem

[cactusjack]

I also fill mine to at least half way up the cup. I leave just enough room to close the cap when I'm on the road, and about half way up if I'm not going to run it down right away. Never any problems.

This probably isn't a big deal on a non-CA emissions bike, but I think overfilling a bike with CA emissions you could flood the vapor canister behind the LH side cover. I have a CA bike and I fill it to the bottom of the cup, just so the gas is about level with the opening.

[ronnie]

yea, I'm with topcat on that..... if I fill mine even half way above the cup, then, it starts to seep out going down the road, and thats not pretty, trying to ride and keep the gas mopped up at the same time......If I only run mine a little above the cup though, it's fine.........

First off I'd like to say I'm glad you didn't catch yourself or the bike on fire when the nozzle got stuck Cad http://s2.images.proboards.com/shocked.gif
If I fill my 1600 up more than bottom of cup the gas runs out the over flow. Maybe the 1500's are different in that respect. ???
Then again, maybe my bike is unique http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif

I usually let the motor cool off a little before I fill the tank. I don't like fires either.

As for the overflow, to overflow on my bike gas must actually go throught the gas cap and out through a rubber hose and the charcoal filter. It has almost never overflowed.

yea, I'm with topcat on that..... if I fill mine even half way above the cup, then, it starts to seep out going down the road, and thats not pretty, trying to ride and keep the gas mopped up at the same time......If I only run mine a little above the cup though, it's fine.........

If it's running out on the tank, your gas cap or gas cap gaskets are bad. It shouldn't even leak vapor once the cap is closed.

It could also be either an air temp sensor or an ambient air pressure sensor.I had one of them go bad last summer with those exact symptoms. I forget now which,but it puts out a code the dealer will know.

[markusmaximus]

Thanks to all who posted suggestions. I'm towing her back home tomorrow (Friday) and will get her into the dealer on Saturday for service. Interestingly, I could not get the bike seen in central KY for 2 - 3 weeks, but was able to get an appointment here in central IN for this Saturday. Go figure. I'll let everyone know what I find out.

[dkdixie]

First off I'd like to say I'm glad you didn't catch yourself or the bike on fire when the nozzle got stuck Cad http://s2.images.proboards.com/shocked.gif
If I fill my 1600 up more than bottom of cup the gas runs out the over flow. Maybe the 1500's are different in that respect. ???
Then again, maybe my bike is unique http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif

As with most, I always fill my 1600 half up the cup, no problem.

[skeeter]

my cup is always half empty.....