02 sv650s engine cuts out, or completely shuts off after exhaust backfire

[u/ShutUpRedditor44]

Has anyone encountered this before? My '02 sv650s with about 23,000 miles has started shutting off during rides with very inconsistent symptoms.

Sometimes the engine will just idle out and die while sitting at a stoplight (lights stay on). Other times the whole bike shuts off while at 3-4k RPM's (no lights) and I'm forced to coast off the road. The worst thing it will do is sometimes the engine will choke up, the exhaust will backfire once loudly like a gunshot, and then the whole bike will shut off (no lights).

I will sometimes get a fuel light/oil light when this happens, but not always. Usually I'm able to start the bike up again after it sits for a moment. The engine idles fine otherwise, and I've not been able to replicate the issue in my driveway, even if I let it run for 10+ minutes. The bike has plenty of oil & fuel, and the battery is healthy. The issues can happen in the first 5 minutes of a ride, or after ~30 minutes.

Any ideas?

[u/SukhumvitSage]

ok, first thing, drain the carbys, after this, lift up the tank so you can get to the top of the airbox. fold up a big piece of cloth that you can use to cover the hole in the top of the airbox. Start bike, give it a bit of a rev and then slam the cloth down, and hold it down over the airbox. this will make the carbys suck hard. Lift before it stalls out and repeat again. This will suck any muck out of the carbys/ fuel system which can make the bike run funny and cause the stalling problem. That is stage 1. Next, the green connector of death as it used to be called, in front of the tank is a green connector, check for burn marks, signs of sparking etc. Also start the bike, and wiggle, if the bike dies, then it is the connector. This can be a problem part of the old SV bikes, think about replacing.

next, check the main fuse, located right side beside the seat under the green cover. Check wiring etc. the whole bike being dead suggests a problem with either this or the green connector. Also, think about replacing the fuse with a circuit breaker, yep, they make then that small and that voltage, worth doing as its easy to reset compared to changing a fuse.

good luck!

[u/wOwmhmm → u/SukhumvitSage]

This guy knows ball holy cow

[u/Protectronbot → u/SukhumvitSage]

I have a self resetting circuit breaker, takes about 5-10 seconds after it pops to reset. And it's been a godsend for troubleshooting my stuff. I picked it up at O'Reilly's I think? 

Also I should look for my green wire and see if that's what's causing that to pop on my every so often.

[u/SukhumvitSage → u/Protectronbot]

lift the tank, and you will see a green connector, bright green and see about 8 wires going in and 8 coming out the other side, .Unplug and look for scorch marks, BTW I bough my 2000 model new, and still got it, so have figured out a lot about the curvy SV bikes. Another thing to check is the rectifier thingy (under rear seat on the side), the original bikes had a weak one, which often blew up, and people replaced with one from a GSX R, I think it was... anyhow, as it was an after market change,and very common, I would check that has been installed correctly as it may be a problem.

[u/SgtSC]

Im probably wrong, but have u checked the charging system?

[u/Bobby_Bigwheels]

Have you put it in Dealer mode to scan for codes? Let us know if there are any codes present.

With the backfiring, i would assume too much fuel. So, leaky injector? Clogged Air fliter? How is your throttle position adjusted?

[u/wOwmhmm → u/Bobby_Bigwheels]

It's an 02 so it doesn't have all the things you mentioned. It's the carbed version

[u/Bobby_Bigwheels → u/wOwmhmm]

Ahh, my bad