NT Warm Up Stalling

[RUSTINPEACE]

I didn't see an engine technical forum so I guess an engine is considered the Drivetrain
Well for about the last month every day I've started my bike after riding in the rain the night before. My bike has ran for about 3 minutes and then stalled out while warming the engine up.
I finally caught it on video tonight
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_L77BuvhvUk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Does anyone have any ideas? It just seems to start stalling out at a 3 to 5 minute range during engine warm up after that there's no problem. The bike only has 95,000 miles on it and is still under warranty for 2 more years. I hope this is just something simple I would rather pay a mechanic than to let it sit at a dealership for a month or more for them to figure out the problem. P.S. Thanks in advance.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Have you just tried riding it instead of letting it sit and warm up? I don't think you hurt a bike to move it while it warms up.

 

[RUSTINPEACE]

I haven't tried riding the bike but I have tried giving it gas and the bike didn't stall.
Here's another warm up video something is wrong with my bike. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ysr73Hp0SNM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> .

 

[DirtFlier]

I agree with Phil about riding away once the engine is running. As long as you don't go to a sustained higher RPM immediately, you're not hurting anything. I live in OH and even during the winter, my "warm-up" routine only involves sitting with the engine running while I pull on my gloves.

ps. you wrote "the bike only has 95,000 miles on it..." 95k would be an only if you were talking about a cross-country semi truck but for most motorcycles, it's a lot of miles. Did you mean 9,500 miles?

 

[mikesim]

I agree with Phil and DirtFlier about the abbreviated warm-up, but it still doesn't explain the stalling.

Mike

 

[Warren]

It should not be stalling. You mention it happens after riding in the rain. Perhaps its water around the plug caps. When was the last time they were replaced.

 

[Rmcapozzi]

So it only stalls at idle when the motor is cold? Might be related to the bike being in an open loop mode. Have you checked that the air box sensors are clean?

 

[seagrass]

I suspect it could be dirty fuel injectors. Watching the video it appears the bike is coming off of the "choke" cycle (choke cycle typically en-richens the fuel mixture) and it is at this stage that the engine "hiccups" and then stalls. If the injectors are not functioning properly (not giving enough fuel) then this may explain the problem. When the engine is warmer dirty injectors would probably not be as noticeable at idle.

At 95,000 miles your injectors would certainly have accumulated some deposits (regardless of what cleaning products you may use from time to time) so some Techron may indeed be a good idea to see if it improves the problem.

Seagrass

 

[charlie b]

I agree with above.

Why do you 'warm it up' for so long? Even when it is in the low 20s I don't warm any engine up for that long (except my diesel, which has a block heater). Best is to start it, wait for a few seconds (I use that time to put on my gloves), then drive off slowly for a few minutes. That gets all the fluids moving properly. Letting it sit for that long idling is not doing the engine any favors. Long idling time can 'wash' the cylinders due to the 'rich' mixture used at that low rpm (combined with lower oil pressure at idle).

I try to use Chevron gas in my vehicles and Techron is one reason for doing that (or Texaco, now that they are the same company).

 

[DirtFlier]

[Suggest you run some Techron through a few tanks.]

Or SeaFoam.

 

[Woodaddict]

no he means 95,000. I know he is there. he rides a bunch, and will get to 100K in faster time than me, oh his miles are FUN miles. I THINK PHIL VOODOO'D HIM SO HE CAN WIN #2 100K

 

[RUSTINPEACE]

I'll add some more info I had some stalling issues last June on my way home from Alaska when I was riding through heavy rain but once I had the valves checked and the spark plugs changed the issue went away. Last month the bike started having this current issue so I had the valves checked and the spark plugs changed again but that didn't fix it.

I usually just try to warm the bike up until the temperature gauge reaches the C. If the easiest solution is to just give it gas to keep the bike from stalling I guess that will work. It didn't rain last night and the forecast for today is a high of 83 with a 20% chance of rain if it doesn't rain today I predict I won't have this issue when I go out riding tonight.

Thanks for all the suggestions and yes the bike only has 95,000 miles!

Edit: I forgot to mention on that second video I kept the bike running by giving the bike some throttle to keep it at around 1500 rpm then it suddenly shot up to around 3500 rpms.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Betcha' a nickel Techron will fix it.

But there's no rush.

 

[RedLdr1]

Since you mentioned it happens more often in the rain I'd be looking at the spark plug wires as well as the caps. Older plug wires can deteriorate and absorb enough moisture to cause rough running and stalling until they dry. Wiping them down with a rag soaked in WD-40 is an old trick to get rid of the moisture on a car or truck plug wires. But that may be darn hard to do on a NT....

 

[dnktng]

Lots of good ideas so far.

If it is after a ride in the rain, or if your NT is parked outside in the rain, could it be possible that water is getting into your fuel? Water will separate and settle to the bottom of the tank when parked. I'd would take a bit of time for the water to work it's way thru the fuel lines. 2 minutes does seem long though.

The stalling could be a fuel problem ( like dirty injectors already mentioned, or other fuel problems), or an air problem also. I'm not sure of the time needed for the Idle Air Control valve to start shutting after a cold start, but ~2 minutes seems reasonable. If it was fouled and cut off air too soon as it starts to shut, that could cause a stall. I can't see that this would be dependent on rain though.

Vacuum leaks are common causes for idle problems. Most vacuum leaks I've seen were caused by me forgetting to reconnect tubing during some other work. I did have what I suspect was a vacuum leak where the throttle body wasn't fully seated into the insulator boot that would solve itself after running it for ~5 minutes. It gradually got worse and worse and would cause stalls. I think the throttle body came loose after dropping the NT. With your mileage, a small vacuum tube could have a hole worn in it, or worked it's way off a connection. What is your idle speed when warmed up? Is it steady?

 

[RUSTINPEACE]

Thanks for the suggestions I'll try putting some techron in the gas tank.

I'll add some more info this has never happened when the bike has been parked when it dry only when it has been raining when I got home.

The bike is parked inside a dry garage and parked for about 20 hours before starting it back up.

It only happens after the bikes rpms drop down to around 1500 rpms once the bike warms up it runs perfect.

The spark plug wires are still the originals so that could be it.

Tonight I put a 100 miles on the bike and had no issues. I think at this point i'm just going to wait until It gets worse before I pay my mechanic to fix this or take it to the dealer for a warranty claim.

 

[DirtFlier]

I kind of doubt if it's related to the spark plug wires since they're so short and well-protected from the outside elements and anything under the skin that could hurt them. The idea of changing plug wires as we did on cars from long ago no longer applies.

If I were you, I'd take off the plastic and the air box, then unplug & clean all the connectors going to the throttle bodies and in the air box. Whenever I have the top end stripped for valve clearance check, I use the opportunity to apply di-electric grease to all the connectors before they are reconnected. All those sensors operate on only a tiny amount of voltage so a dirty or loose connector can easily cause problems.

 

[elizilla]

Wasn't there a service bulletin for the plug wires, back during the first year we had the bikes? People were getting them replaced under warranty with a new part number.

 

[Warren]

It was for plug caps on the 2010 models. I would guess it was worked out for the 2011 models that Rustinpeace has.

 

[RedNigel]

Owners manual says warm it til the needle touches the first low mark. That takes at least 3-4 minutes