VS800 CRANK-NO-START: Did My Fuel Pump Fail?

[jfaith15]

I’m a fairly new rider and recently bought a used 2003 VS800. It was supposedly in good condition before it sat in a garage for at least a year; however right now, it will crank but it won’t start.

First time I ran it, the sound was high, it smelled burnt, white smoke came from the engine, and the engine temp light went on. Also a puff of black smoke came out of the exhaust after I turned it off.

Changed the old coolant (smelled like piss) out a week later and ran it again - sounded and smelled normal, no smoke. Put the radiator cap back on 10 mins later and tried to start it again - crank, no start. Jumped the battery again but nothing changed.

It has a new battery, spark plugs, air filter, oil and oil filter, gear oil, and coolant. The carbs should be fine - I cleaned the first one, which was already in good condition, and left the other one alone. The electrical seems fine. It has fresh gas and no visible leaks. I’m especially confused because it started and ran (poorly) at least three times and ran fine once and then, after nothing changed, it wouldn’t run at all.

My friend suspected the fuel wasn’t getting to the engine because it wasn’t leaving the tank, hence the lack of leaks. When we disconnected the fuel pump, we found that the inside of the tube was corroded where it connected to the pump. Unfortunately, we broke the seal while checking out the pump, so a new one is coming regardless.

Could it not be starting because the fuel pump was already bad the first few times the bike ran, and then failed after it ran successfully for the last time?

I’m asking here for advice and in hopes that someone will tell me that replacing the pump will fix the issue and I won’t have to take it to a shop (tears).

[Herb]

I doubt it is serious enough to take to a shop.

Make sure the fuel pump is getting good flow. put a hose on that will reach a gas can and open the petcock and drain about half a gallon of gas out of it and watch it run making sure the fuel is flowing pretty fast. Use a clean can and you can put the fuel back in the tank.

There are screens in the tank that can get clogged, the petcock can get clogged, the fuel pump could be bad, there could be a blockage in the hose to the carbs.

Almost forgot, the petcock can be in the 'off' position or it could be out of gas. Experience speaking...

[sgtcall]

The pumps will go intermittently bad before they die completely. After you replace the pump add a half of a can of Seafoam or Berrymans B12 to the tank and run it through a full tank. Then add about 3 ounces every few tanks to maintain. And look into what Herb said.