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2005 r6 failed me today - need help

4K views 61 replies 16 participants last post by  XRayHound 
#1 ·
Hey guys..

I went out with my friends today for a nice ride because the weather called for it.

Not long into my ride my engine shuts off.. I turn it back on and it sounds really nasty(like a really old Harley) If I don't keep the rpms up it will stall.
I had to drive it home slowly.. it barely had any power... and my bike was smelling like oil.

Does this mean I have to buy 4 new coils and 4 new spark plugs?(very sad because I had 100 repairs to do this year on my home/car/and bike) and now another problem... smh


Bike has close to 40k miles on it.
Thanks for your help.
 
#9 ·
ok Ill try the trick tomorrow..

I have a hard time believing my engine is at the end of its life.. I rode it home 3 miles... and the engine only had 40k on it.. These engine should easily last 100k.

I take good care of my bike. Best fluids, and regular maintenance.

**I just want to make sure its the coils/plugs before I start spending $300 on all that stuff. I may order a CCT as well just to be sure because at this mileage it wouldn't hurt to replace. (I just don't know how to use the manual ones)
 
#12 ·
compression test would probably be youre best bet. did you notice any smoke comming from anywhere? if so, color of smoke? could also remove the headers and see if there is any oil/liquid on one of the exhaust ports
 
#14 · (Edited)
no, no smoke anywhere...

I have never done a compression test before.. My buddy has a gauge that I can use..

I am trying to find a DIY compression check if anyone could link me? (Do I just take all the plugs/coils out and put the gauge to each cylinder(at a time) while holding down full throttle and trying to start the bike?)

thanks for all your help.

I had 1 coil go bad 1 year ago.. and I replaced it with another used coil.. When I was driving on 3 cylinders I could still drive normally.. but it sounded like a v twin and less power and no stalls... now it sounds 10x worse and it stalls if I don't keep the RPMS up..

^^Could it be that maybe 2 or 3 coils went bad? with already old spark plugs? Would this be the symptoms?

I really hope I just need to get 4 new coils and spark plugs.
 
#15 ·
I had the engine stumble, v-twin sound, problem with my 05 when I first picked it up. It would always start once my motor was up to operating temp. I started with replacing the plugs, problem persisted. After a few more times tearing down to the plugs, I found a How To on testing your coils. It's here on the forum somewhere. I check the resistance of the primary and secondary coils of each coil pack. I found I had one bad and one near its limit. I replaced all 4, and have never had a problem since.

This is where I picked up my coils, they were the cheapest I found @ $55 ea: http://www.yamahapartsnation.com/oemparts/a/yam/50045598f8700209bc792db3/electrical-1
 
#19 ·
Hey guys!

Ok so I decided to tear her apart... When I took the air filter off I was shocked to see that the far left(clutch side) intake "gasket" had been partially sucked in.(Guessing stealership miss seated the entire airbox.)



When I took the air box off I was again.. shocked to see the far left coil was ejected pretty much all the way out. I took a picture of it when I slightly pushed it back in



and here is a picture of the coil my engine didn't like.






Ok... so now.. what do I do? (turns out my buddy didn't have the correct gauge)

Should I start by ordering a new airbox(or gasket) and then putting back the coil and try again?

**what would cause a coil pack to be ejected like that?!?

thanks for all your help!
 
#20 ·
It had to just not be seated right in the first place. I can't fathom what would be able to pull up on it enough to pull it off the plug like that.

Based on the symptoms you were describing I'd want to test as much stuff as possible without trying to run the motor again.

Measure the resistance on the coils. Do a compression check. Take a look inside the throttle bodies and see if everything looks ok. If everything checks out - then put things back together and try firing it up.
 
#24 ·
whats the easiest way to test the plugs?

all of what ^^ said. if you took your airbox off and found the plug exactly like that, i'm sure thats the culprit. however, if your a busy guy and dont have time to take things apart, back together, over and over again, you might as well go on the safe side and check the compression. if you need to get a compression tester, i got mine that works great with the bike at harbor freight (not sure if you have those stores in florida).

http://www.harborfreight.com/quick-connect-compression-tester-95187.html

and if you do go ahead and do it, you'll be looking for a reading of 210-220psi on a cold engine. you'll want all four cylinders to be within 10% of each other, otherwise a cylinder that is far off from the rest will most likely have a problem (poor rings, poor valve seating, ect.) make sure your battery is good and charged. also, you'll want to crank the motor over for at least 3-4 seconds.
ok ill run by the store tomorrow and grab it and also a multimeter so I can test the coils??

I have a set of used coils...don't know if they work as I haven't tested them...however, I had the v-twin sound (sans burning oil smell), I replaced two coils, problem solved.

PM me for more details.
thanks for the info, ill let you know if I decide to go the used route. But if I have to replace a coil.. Ill probably end up getting 4 new coils.. unless the others read in the green zone. Same goes with plugs. I love this bike.. She toys with 1k's :D
 
#22 ·
all of what ^^ said. if you took your airbox off and found the plug exactly like that, i'm sure thats the culprit. however, if your a busy guy and dont have time to take things apart, back together, over and over again, you might as well go on the safe side and check the compression. if you need to get a compression tester, i got mine that works great with the bike at harbor freight (not sure if you have those stores in florida).

http://www.harborfreight.com/quick-connect-compression-tester-95187.html

and if you do go ahead and do it, you'll be looking for a reading of 210-220psi on a cold engine. you'll want all four cylinders to be within 10% of each other, otherwise a cylinder that is far off from the rest will most likely have a problem (poor rings, poor valve seating, ect.) make sure your battery is good and charged. also, you'll want to crank the motor over for at least 3-4 seconds.
 
#26 ·
Check your throttle bodies are seated all the way, I had an incident on my '05 when I dropped the tank while working on it; the fuel line caught it and kept it from hitting the ground, but it pulled two of the throttle bodies out of their boots. This made two dead cylinders with the symptoms you describe because of the massive vacuum leak. Since your airbox had pulled off, perhaps the TBs did as well.
 
#29 ·
UPDATE!

Ok I spend literally half the day trying to get the far left sparkplug out...

I had a mechanic next to me for the 2nd half with no luck.
The spark plug was completely twisted out of the thread.. but it was caught on something...

So every time you pull out the socket.. it would leave the plug behind... with some modifications to my socket and tons of improvising I finally got that SOB out.

All the plugs looked fine except the one I couldn't get out(the one under the pooped off coil) That one was a lot darker than the rest.. (almost entire plug black)

I went to the store to get new plugs.

I tested my coils and they were all within spec.

Now my question is.. how tight do I tighten the plugs back in?(hand tight?)
When I was unscrewing the plugs originally.. they were all pretty much loose.(not snug tight) is that normal?

Only thing I don't have is a compression gauge... So I will put the bike back together now and see what happens.(I have time on my hands to build on my bike)
 
#30 ·
Oh man, sounds like the plug was possibly cross-threaded. You might have to use a helicoil (I'd stay away from that) or a time-sert to get new proper threads in the head.

If you can take some pics of the electrode side of the plug and the threads that would help us diagnose
 
#32 · (Edited)
Ok, Ill take a picture of the plug that was in the left side(1st cylinder?)
It doesn't appear to be stripped, but the terminal side where the coil is suppose to latch on is stripped.

I doubt Ill be able to get a picture of the threads in the engine hole because of its terrible location.

Not normal at all. When you put plugs back in get them down to where they make contact with the head then go 3/4 of a turn more for new plugs, 1/4-1/2 for reused ones. It's only like 1/8 to a 1/4 with taper seat plugs, but R6 plugs are gasketed and the gasket has to compress, hence the 3/4 turn number.

Was the plug dry black or oily black? Dry black is just carbon where the cylinder was burning poorly since compression was blowing by the loose plug. The carbon fouling in the threads was probably why you spent half a day trying to get it out of the hole.
It was dry black, and all the plugs had a lot of carbon build on the threads. I cant believe I was able to ride/race around for 10k miles with loose plugs. and yeah.. I was thinking the same thing about the crush washer.. found it interesting... because the plugs that came out of the bike.. the crush washers weren't crushed..(they were still expanded) So whoever put those plugs in much of barely used hand strength to tighten them or they just loosened over time..?

On a side note... I am very happy this happened to me because it gave me the push to work on my bike. Now I understand it much better and getting to my plugs/coils is a piece of cake now.



...I went to the local bike shop and they only had 1 NGK CR10EK, so I have to wait until Friday to get the other 3.

So I will let the bike sit until then.. unless there is anything else I should be checking/doing.

**I know I should probably do a valve adjustment soon because of the high miles on the bike.. just haven't had the balls to attempt it.

I mean this r6 runs super fast.. I can beat the 09 r6s with a 50 tooth sprocket/power-commander/exhaust.(when mines only got a 45toothsprocket) and keep up with 1k's...but... If my valves aren't aligned properly.. wouldn't that mean my performance would suffer?

I cant wait for my next oil change because I am going to go from this Mobil 1 racing 4t oil over to the royal purple HPS oil(I heard great things about it)

Thanks again for all your help. Id be clueless without this wonderful place :YEA
 
#31 ·
Not normal at all. When you put plugs back in get them down to where they make contact with the head then go 3/4 of a turn more for new plugs, 1/4-1/2 for reused ones. It's only like 1/8 to a 1/4 with taper seat plugs, but R6 plugs are gasketed and the gasket has to compress, hence the 3/4 turn number.

Was the plug dry black or oily black? Dry black is just carbon where the cylinder was burning poorly since compression was blowing by the loose plug. The carbon fouling in the threads was probably why you spent half a day trying to get it out of the hole.
 
#33 ·
Ok here is a picture of all the plugs in order from left cylinder to right.



the furthest to the right was only screwed in about 80% of the way.
( I unscrewed all the plugs with basically the tips of my finger that were attached to a short extension to the plug socket)

and I spoke too soon... when I pulled out the last coil(far right) I noticed it was wrapped in electrical tape.. and a little seepage from underneath.



I'm guessing im going to have to replace this one? lol
 
#35 ·
All the plugs look pretty much the same in that picture - but it's pretty dark. Get more light on them, and use macro mode (the flower) if you camera has one.

If you don't have maintenance records on the bike, probably a good idea to go ahead and just change them anyway - which it sounds like you're already doing.

It sounds like they just weren't torqued down properly and one of them backed all the way out.

The '03 R6 has a recall on the coils because they'd start arcing through the insulation at like 5k miles. You could wrap them in electrical tape like yours to get a few more miles out of them, but it was a temporary solution. '04 and later they switched brands and it was no longer an issue. I think the original coils were Mitsubishi and the new coils were Denso. Really shouldn't be an issue on the '05, but at 40k miles who knows what the previous owner may have tried to "fix".
 
#36 ·
Sorry my camera doesn't have a macro mode :(

and yessir.. I am changing all 4 spark plugs.

I took off the electric tape that was on the coil and it was all wet and coming apart.. I ordered a new one(cant believe the price). I will get all my plugs on Friday.. who knows when the coil will arrive.. probably at the end of next week. Hopefully she will run like never before.. since Ive been riding her with weak plugs/coils

Thanks for all your help.

I will keep you guys updated.
 
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