Al Stewart - Midas Shadow:
Conquistadors in search of gold...
Arno does a great bug eyed Marty Feldman! Quite the Conquistador!
Yesterday was interesting trying to work with fuel and electrical systems while the rain came off and on in heavy sheets. It was sliding off the metal roofs and would fall in big globs down our backs while working.
Getting the ring off and on without a special tool is no challenge whatsoever for a hillbilly mechanic using a hillbilly wrench!
We got the pump working with power directly to it, put it back in the tank but could not get the bike to run. We took it back out and checked the "lifelong" fuel filter. Sometimes we could blow air through it and then it would stop up completely! We played around with it and attached it to the pump, powered it up and out shot a nasty black looking fuel! Bad gas for sure, and no screen to filter it out!
Here's a picture of the fuel filter:
Here's Arno during one of our typical "let's stop and think about this" moments...
The bad stuff purged from the filter, we tried it again and after "burping" the pump (with it directly wired) good clean fuel came rushing out! We closed it all up and wired it up properly, no start! Bummer...
Then we figured out that the controller could be blocking the signal to the pump, so we hooke up the diagnostic tool again - NO fault codes...
So, we took the controller out of the loop and hot wired the pump to run while trying to start the bike... Result - VROOOOM!
This is what a wet bike that's running, at night, with a happy Arno looks like:
With a lot of help from all of Arno's friends, we've determined that we can rewire the bike to bypass the fuel controller and that older versions of BMWs run that pump without any controller at all (it's function is to reduce the speed of the pump after start to 80%).
So, Arno just has a little wiring work to do and then we'll be under way again. We've considered leaving today, but with the rainy afternoons think we'll hang in Creel for tonight and launch out for Copper Canyon and Los Mochis on the western coast tomorrow. We will need to work on getting the pump and controller properly fixed down the road...
Thanks again for everyone's help!
Quote:
You've got your ticket and your hotel keys And your overnight bag at your feet You're looking down on the tropical trees While the Spanish maids pick up the sheets Conquistador in search of gold For all the jack-daw reasons The Midas shadow that's so hard to please Follows wherever you go. Nothing ventured, nothing gained they said So you played for the winner takes all And tossed the dice high up and craned your head To see how the numbers would fall You stole the game so easily Your luck ran with the seasons But still the shadow that the night won't free just Follows wherever you go. |
Conquistadors in search of gold...
Arno does a great bug eyed Marty Feldman! Quite the Conquistador!
Yesterday was interesting trying to work with fuel and electrical systems while the rain came off and on in heavy sheets. It was sliding off the metal roofs and would fall in big globs down our backs while working.
Getting the ring off and on without a special tool is no challenge whatsoever for a hillbilly mechanic using a hillbilly wrench!
We got the pump working with power directly to it, put it back in the tank but could not get the bike to run. We took it back out and checked the "lifelong" fuel filter. Sometimes we could blow air through it and then it would stop up completely! We played around with it and attached it to the pump, powered it up and out shot a nasty black looking fuel! Bad gas for sure, and no screen to filter it out!
Here's a picture of the fuel filter:
Here's Arno during one of our typical "let's stop and think about this" moments...
The bad stuff purged from the filter, we tried it again and after "burping" the pump (with it directly wired) good clean fuel came rushing out! We closed it all up and wired it up properly, no start! Bummer...
Then we figured out that the controller could be blocking the signal to the pump, so we hooke up the diagnostic tool again - NO fault codes...
So, we took the controller out of the loop and hot wired the pump to run while trying to start the bike... Result - VROOOOM!
This is what a wet bike that's running, at night, with a happy Arno looks like:
With a lot of help from all of Arno's friends, we've determined that we can rewire the bike to bypass the fuel controller and that older versions of BMWs run that pump without any controller at all (it's function is to reduce the speed of the pump after start to 80%).
So, Arno just has a little wiring work to do and then we'll be under way again. We've considered leaving today, but with the rainy afternoons think we'll hang in Creel for tonight and launch out for Copper Canyon and Los Mochis on the western coast tomorrow. We will need to work on getting the pump and controller properly fixed down the road...
Thanks again for everyone's help!
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