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2004 Mean Streak engine quitting

4K views 23 replies 3 participants last post by  WinLange 
#1 ·
3 months back while on the Freeway, my engine just stopped. Pulled over and started pushing to get it off the freeway. Tried starting it and sometimes it would run for a short period, so it off the Freeway. Got a trailer and took it to Simi Valley Kawasaki. Mechanic couldn't really find what was wrong with it as it started running. Took it home, found that my Kuryakyn Pro Series Hypercharger wasn't working and fixed that. Rode it for a month, and then it did the same thing. On freeway, engine would quit, pulled over, but still coasting, popped clutch, and got it running for a short distance, then quits. Anyway, I drove it by side streets and about a mile from home, going to slow and couldn’t pop the clutch to get it started. Called wife and she brought me my mini jumpstarter. Got it started enough to get it the rest of the way home. At home hard to get it running, and when I did, I could get it down the block before I recognized the symptoms, turned around and it would die coming up the driveway. Called mechanic and he suggested the relay box so he loaned me a new box and I switched it out. Didn’t help. Then had issues getting it started as it wouldn’t crank right. Bought a new battery. Put it in, it cranked okay and got it started, seemed to idle okay so turned it off. Put seat back on, started it up, but then it was harder, and then nothing. Took seat off and found that my positive post on the new battery was completely melted. Got another battery from place I got battery from, and trailered the whole thing back to the mechanic. He checked starter, and it was good. He says that it is hard to turn over and maybe something is broken inside and I should sell for parts as it would cost at least $3,000 to fix it. Anyway, rented a U-Haul and went to pick it up. Mechanic showed me that even with the plugs removed, taking a breaker bar to it to turn the motor over, it took a lot of effort to do so, more than it should have been. Have it in the garage now and it is my next planned project. Anybody have any ideas where to start and what to look for?
 
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#3 ·
40,111 Miles

Purchased 08/24/2015 with 25,807 miles on it.

Has Windshield, saddlebags, backrest for passenger, Kuryakyn Pro Series Hypercharger, Custom floorboards, number of chrome covers.

On November 19th of 2015, car pulled out from side street causing me to lay the bike down, suffered broken arm. Had to replace windshield, Kuryakyn Pro Series Hypercharger, and chrome footbrake cover. Front fender cracked but repaired underside with fiberglass. Ran great and no other issues, but insurance totaled it anyway, so now has a salvaged title.

Started back riding it when my cast came off in February of 2015. No issues until it this problem.
 
#11 ·
Alright, I first tried electric starter and it tried to turn the motor but not much. I then removed the spark plugs on the left side. Then removed slotted cover. Put the breaker bar to it with 17mm socket and turned the motor, and it wasn’t easy. I then tried the electric starter and it did turn the motor, but I don’t think that easily. I then put a pressure gauge to the front cyclinder and got 140 PSI. And then put the gauge to the rear cyclinder and it got to 70 PSI. Now that don’t look right.
 
#15 ·
Made a video but didn't take the plugs out, forgot. Turned enough for me. So I then turned the engine over 6 times with everything plugged in, and it didn't turn over easy. But guess what, remember I mentioned on the first post about the positive post melting? Well it didn't melt, but attached picture shows the battery and below that and above in the picture are two phillips screws, and the Phillips screw on the top was sparking. So whatever is the problem, the load is causing something to happen. The mechanic said that the engine was too hard to turn over and causing too much of a load. I don't know about that, as it still feels like an electrical problem.
 

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#18 · (Edited)
I think you have a high resistance in the starter circuit which is causing the engine to turn over slowly, not a mechanical issue.
It looks like I can see (not very well) that one of the cables on the start solenoid is burned at the end. In fact, this cable could be the source of many of the problems.
Replace that cable and try again.
 
#22 ·
The ignition still turns on when I turn the key, so nothing got burned through and it doesn't look burned through but will have to make closer inspection.

Regarding the oil strainer, I have been holding off as I didn't want to drain the oil as I didn't want to turni over the motor to do testing with no oil in it . Didn't want to drain oil, then put fresh oil in, just to have to drain it if I had to take motor apart. I still haven't given up on it may be a electrical problem no matter what that mechanic said.
 
#24 ·
Alright, an update on my problem. I find that turning the motor over with breaker bar was no harder then what I expected. Decided that I would take it to Thousand Oaks Powersports. They gave me a quote of $90 to troubleshoot the problem, which would go toward any repair needed. I thought that was better than what I got from Simi Valley Kawasaki which charged me $190 for guess work and no fix. Nice fellow, but I don't think he is inclined for electrical issues. Why? Because when I tried starting it, I got sparks. Trailered the bike again with a U-Haul, I explained what had happened when I tried to start it. I showed them by taking off the seat and hitting the start switch, and got an immediate spark from the location. Mechanic looked at it and said it looks like a half way broken cable/connection. It would be intermitten as it wasn't disconnect completely, and it was groundling out against the frame. He didn't understand why the other mechanic couldn't have located the issue. So I left the bike there, hoping I wouldn't have to rent a trailer again. He called me later when he had time to really get into it and said the part would be $75. When that gets fixed, then he can check if anything else needs fixing. He mentioned front front tire and brakes, but I can do those myself.

Now do I have any recourse on the first mechanic who charged me $190 for a diagnostic and fix, which he could do neither?
 
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