Doesn't start if rained on.

[Air Ready Auto]

Twice now Lucy has not wanted to fire up after getting rained on. She will ride fine in the rain but not so much if parked, cool and then getting wet. Ideas oh great ones?

[bongobobny]

Relocate your TCI to the top of your airbox. While it's getting relocated, unplug it, clean the connections, remove the top cover and bake in oven at 250 - 275 degrees for a few hours, you probably have some trapped moisture in it...

[Venturous Randy]

My 83 has always had a problem riding in the rain and starting to miss, and that is with my TCI on the airbox.

Randy

[frankd]

On my 83, it always was a bit hard to start when it got rained on unless it had relatively fresh spark plugs. It also was a bear to start when it got down to 35 degrees or so. It was also hard to start if the battery was a bit less than perfect. When I bought my 89, I trailered it home and it was about 25 degrees out when I got home. I was all set to push it into the garage, but I turned the choke on, hit the starter, and it started immediately. When the battery was getting real weak, the bike still fired right up even if it was barely turning over.

 

My brother's been riding the 83 for a while now, and the TCI took a dump. We replaced it with one from a later Venture (and re-did the vacuum advance source) and now my brother says it starts up immediately no matter what.

[camos]

If it is running a bit rough with a lack of power I would be inclined to say the wet weather is causing a short/leakage that drops the voltage enough to cause a weak spark. If it was the TCI, which could give similar symptoms, it would take a day or two or more of dry weather before running properly. Clean and grease the battery terminals, check the clips in the fuse box on the battery, clean the connectors for the R/R and stator. Any time you get into the fairing separate and clean any connectors you can see, unless you have just done them of course. The plug wires and caps should also be checked.

 

I had a Jeep that would do the same and the problem turned out to be a tiny crack in the distributor cap and as soon as it started to rain the engine would run rough and lose power. Wouldn't stall just ran like crap.