running rough

Russ · April 5, 2009

On Fri. I washed the trooper so I could take it to a poker run on Sat. When we get there Sat., I unload and drove around the lot before hitting the trails and it started missing. It seemed, it would come and go for alittle while so I got out and made sure the fuel pressure wasnt droping at the regulator and it wasnt. I took off again and it started missing so bad it wouldnt hardly move so I pull the lines off of the regulator and drained it, put it back together and it missed just a little bit at idle. I then went ahead to the trails and it cleared up withing a few minutes, but every time I shut it off when we would stop, when we took off again, for a few minutes it would run rough and miss, then clear up. At first I thought that water was in the fuel but as the day went on I think it was electrical. Has anyone experienced anything like this. I was there to try and promote our dealership and I wasnt in the best of moods when it kept missing. Besides that, the trooper held up well against everything else, in fact I think I stood out pretty good..

Also it was a 11 mile trail through the woods and creeks, when I started the odometer had 50 miles on it and when I was done it had 162 miles on it. It is my demo so I will call for a new speedometer tomorrow, but was wondering if anyone had seen this either?

Thanks for any imput, Russ

oceanjake · April 6, 2009

My guess is water in the fuel as well. I know that on my trooper, the rubber gasket on the top of the fuel tank doesn't perfectly seal it. When I top it off, a little bit of gas can seep out. If you were hosing it off with any pressure in this area, I'll bet you got some water in the tank. In any case, I'd suspect the fuel as the problem first and go from there.

As for the mileage, are you sure that your odometer doesn't say 16.2? The odometer is in kilometers, so it makes sense that an 11 mile ride would end up in about the 16km range.

Russ · April 6, 2009

I didnt know if anyone had found a electrical connection that had a moisture issue more than others?

Kinarfi · April 6, 2009

If you think you have a water problem, you may want to put a water separator/gascolator in the line. They're somewhat pricy if you can find them, but I have or you can build one cheap. Use plumbing fittings, brass, galvanized, not plastic, buy a tee, 3 hose fittings, reducing bushings as needed, a nipple to collect the water, a bell reducer for the bottom end of the nipple to receive a hose fitting, clear hose, valve. When you see gas in the tube, drain until gone. If you haven't moved your fuel pump, stick this in the line to the pump.

Anylizer · April 6, 2009

My guess would be that when you washed it you got some water down around the sparkplug boots. It is shorting to ground causing the miss. Pull the black cover off of the valve cover, then carefully pull the plug wires off of the spark plus, look for water down in the plug holes. Blow the water out w/ compressed air. Would also be a good idea to use di-electric grease on the plug boots when re-installing. Good luck A.

mouser58 · April 6, 2009

Wouldn't the hot engine have evaporated the water after the first ride or 2???

Anylizer · April 6, 2009

you would think so but that has not been the case here. doesn't take much to short a plug wire and cause a miss. A.

rocmoc · April 7, 2009

Agree with Anylizer, you got some electrical wet. Did you drive your trooper after you washed it? I ALWAYS take anything I wash for a drive immediately after the wash to make sure water does not seep into places it should not be. I do this even with my dirt bikes, Everything I Wash!!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

Lenny · April 7, 2009

Hey rocmoc, mine could use a good wash, can I send it over?

Lenny

rocmoc · April 7, 2009

Hey rocmoc, mine could use a good wash, can I send it over?
Lenny

You got it dirty again since I washed it last time. Sure send it over again, I'll keep washing it as long as the FREE after-market upgrade parts keep showing up at the doorstep!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico