It only makes a clicking sound when i hit start

[Tru5abi]

So I go to start the bike put the key in, set choke, pull clutch in, hit the start button, the starter motors turn over the motor once and I hear a click, then everything turns off. Headlight goes off, turn signals go off. Im like wtf, the headlight should be atleast on, but nothing is on with the key turned to the on position. Turn key to off then back to on, nothing happens everything off , now im really like wtf. Then I take the seat off, and check the fuses, there all good none are blown. Now im scratching my head thinking wtf. After checking the fuses again just incase I didn’t notice any of them were blown, they are still good. Miraculously when I turned the key to on again all lights came on. Now im like, im a pro nothing can phase me, then I pull the clutch in hit the start button all I hear is a click then everything dies again. Back to thinking wtf gd stupid bike. Now i only pull out the ignition fuse and put it back in, all the lights come back on. Hit starter again it dies again. I did this for an hour and half thinking it might start, but the damn thing only clicks. So gd annoying I love my bike, but I think its taunting me.

It’s a Suzuki gz250 marauder 2005
Any ideas on what it could be thx

[Sarris]

Hey;

It sounds like a bad battery. Takes yours to wherever you intend to buy a new one and have them test it for you before you buy a new one. It probably is the original and 3 years is about all you're going to get from it. I bought my GZ new in 2005 and put one in late last year. I know it sucks, but it's part of MC ownership.

Welcome aboard brother, and ride safe.

:2tup:

[Tru5abi]

i checked the battery its fully charged, all the lights go out after i hit the start and hear the click.

The key is still on the on position and the headlight goes off after the click

[jonathan180iq]

I'm no good with electronics. So let's try something mechanical.

Try push starting your bike. If you can get it to run just fine with like that, it will give us a better perspective of what might be causing this.


In case you need it:
To push start, put the bike in second gear, turn the key to "on" but don't hit the starter. Get rolling and pop the clutch, just like in a car. Once she turns over, give it some gas/choke and see what happens.

[Easy Rider]

i checked the battery its fully charged, all the lights go out after i hit the start and hear the click.

The key is still on the on position and the headlight goes off after the click

Batterys sometimes fail in ways other than just "going dead". There can be a bad connection INSIDE the battery as well as outside, like the cables or fuse holders, etc. The click you hear is probably the solenoitd (starter) losing power.

The way you describe it, it should be fairly easy to locate with a voltmeter by checking for voltage at various places while it is in the "failure mode". Know anybody who has one?

[Sarris]

Yo;

I would remove, clean, & reinstall the battery cables to make sure you have a good connection first. If that doesn't work have the battery checked.

The reason I suggest taking your battery to get it checked (load tested) is because your failure symptoms are identical to what happened to me. The battery showed a solid 12 volts but failed to deliver the proper amperage under load. I have an interstate battery store close to my home, so I took it there and it load tested "bad", so I picked up an upgraded gel battery ($75) and have had no more problems.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

:tup:

[5th_bike]

My car had a very similar problem last year. It would only click, and after a few tries it would start, but it got worse and worse quickly. Someone on the car forum helped me out and said to check the positive (red) battery connector for oxidation and bad contact, and that was exactly what is was.
{ Battery connectors are the things that can be tightered around the lead poles of the battery, they connect to a red or black cable }

If there is bad contact at the battery connector, the lights will work but the contact is not good enough to power the electric starter motor. The click of the starter motor relay is all you will hear.

Procedure: 1) remove right side frame cover 2) loosen nut or bolt of positive battery connector (connects battery to red wire) and take connector off battery.
3) remove any crust and crud with a lightly moisted paper towel from around the battery pole as well as from the inside of the connector
4) with fine sand paper, sand / clean the battery pole and the inside of the connector until you see fresh shiny metal.
5) clean sandings off and reconnect connector to battery
6) tighten the connector nut or bolt well
7) start you motorbike - if this was it
8) re-attach right frame cover (oops almost forgot)

I kind of hope that that's what is wrong, in which case your problem will be over soon
While you're at it, you may want to check the other connector as well for good contact and tightness.
Good luck, hope it works, and happy riding !!

[Tru5abi]

im starting to think its the battery to. Now when i get the lights back on i click the turn signal and the lights go out, but i hear the relay thats in lil box that plugs in right beside the fuse box. Its making a clicking noise over an over again, mimicking the turn signals, but signals jus go out

[jonathan180iq]

Did you clean and reattach all connections, as 5th mentioned?

Patrick_777 had to replace his turn signal bulbs or relays or something because they were causing some other problems, if I remember correctly. He could tell you for sure, of course, what it was.

[patrick_777]

Patrick_777 had to replace his turn signal bulbs or relays or something because they were causing some other problems, if I remember correctly. He could tell you for sure, of course, what it was.

I was replacing a front signal bulb, which evolved into replacing a corroded socket, which evolved into fixing a bad ground-wire that was causing fast-flash and some weird stuff happen at the back of the bike (of all places). Mine wasn't really power related like this sounds, however like many others will tell you, bad grounds can be the cause of some freaky problems.

For what it's worth, I'd do exactly as 5th said. I've had cars do this exact same thing with a corroded battery terminal. There's enough juice built up through the corrosion, but not enough real contact to provide any electricity to flow.

BTW, I still need to permanently fix that ground, but I've been lazy.

[jonathan180iq]

No joke that grounds can cause problems elsewhere.

I had installed new battery terminals on my wife's car becuase the flimsy little factory ones had almost wasted away. In doing so, I had to replace the main ground wire. After about 2000 miles it had come ever so slightly loose and was causing several problems.

For one, it would turn over the starter but didn't supply enough juice to supply spark.
Then, if the car ever did start, it would occasionaly miss and sometimes just totally turn off. (Yeah it was scary)
I had done several different things looking for problems. I replaced a leaky valve cover gasket (which needed to be done anyway), installed new plugs and wires, kept the terminals shiny clean. Then, one day, I found the slightly loose ground bolt and tightened it. Now, the car has ran like a champ ever since.

All of this, and every other electrical component would work just fine.

[patrick_777]

Thanks to this and the other thread, I just got done running a wrench and screwdriver over nearly every electrical connection I could find to make sure they are tight.

Naturally, while I was there, I just HAD to wax and polish it. Funny how that happens.

[mrlmd1]

This is most undoubtedly a bad battery and you should measure the voltage when you hit the start button. It probably will immediately drop down to 7-8 volts or less. The battery may measure 12v at rest but have no significant amp output when pushed as with the starter motor. The battery at a shop needs to be load tested. If you get a new battery, regardless what the shop tells you, put it on a charger overnight or at least for several hours before you put it into use. See the numerous other threads on here where this has been discussed to death.

[Tru5abi]

the battery was shot. Whenever their was a load on it, it would go out.
Took the battery to envy motorcycle they tested it. got a new one for $40

put the new battery in and it started right up.

And don't take motorcycle batterys to canadian tire they cant test it, gotta go to a bike shop

thx for the advice