Starting Issues

[jljowers]

My bike has been running well for the last few months until this morning. I get on to go to work, turn the ignition, engage clutch, press starter button, and................nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. The headlight came on and appeared to be at normal strength. This morning, when I tried to start it, the engine would "turn over" only once and then silence. I tried to start it a few more times and the same result. I made sure that the kill switch was not engaged. It is full of gas with the gas switch in the appropriate place. It just would not start. The weird thing is that when I walked outside this morning, I smelled gas. This may be totally unrelated (I think that it is odd though). When I got home this afternoon, I did a few more things. I changed the spark plug and even the fuse for the ignition. Now, the bike will continually turn over sometimes without actually starting up. Other attempts produced the same result as this morning. Engine turns over one time and then nothing. Any thought? Am I overlooking anything obvious? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Gadzooks Mike]

Battery.

If it turns over, then check gas, kill switch, etc. If it won't turn over, or just turns once, it's a dead battery or loose battery cables.

[Badbob]

Make sure your battery is good and all the connections are clean and tight.

Does the battery have a full charge? You could have a charging problem.

The battery may be shot can't put out enough current to start the bike. Have the battery load tested.

The battery is the most likely thing to fail and about the easiest to fix. If the battery isn't working at full capacity you have to get that taken care of first.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by jljowers

This morning, when I tried to start it, the engine would "turn over" only once and then silence. I tried to start it a few more times and the same result. Am I overlooking anything obvious?

Yes, I think you are overlooking the obvious.

If it only turns over once and then quits, why would you NOT think about the battery first ??

This recently happened to me. I charged the battery for an hour; rode it for a couple of days; it sat for 4 days and refused to start again. New battery seems to have eliminated the problem.

[jljowers]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

Yes, I think you are overlooking the obvious.

If it only turns over once and then quits, why would you NOT think about the battery first ??

This recently happened to me. I charged the battery for an hour; rode it for a couple of days; it sat for 4 days and refused to start again. New battery seems to have eliminated the problem.

Ok, I had the battery tested. THe guy at the shop told me that the battery was not holding a charge. So, I purchased a new one. Installed new battery. Made sure all connections were clean and tight. Pressed the ignition switch, and still nothing. I do not even think that the engine is turning over one complete time. It makes a noise for just a split second and then goes silent. Now what?

[Badbob]

Ok, I had the battery tested. THe guy at the shop told me that the battery was not holding a charge. So, I purchased a new one. Installed new battery. Made sure all connections were clean and tight. Pressed the ignition switch, and still nothing. I do not even think that the engine is turning over one complete time. It makes a noise for just a split second and then goes silent. Now what?

This might seem like a stupid question. Was the new battery charged when you got it?

If the battery has a full charge is the symptom repeatable? Does it do exactly the same thing every time?

We are going to try to help you but we need all the details. This is very difficult to do with a thousand mile long screw driver. So be patient with us.

Get the service manual and go through the trouble shooting charts and see if anything jumps out at you.

Do you have a multimeter? Can you read a schematic/wiring diagram?

I'm using the WAG (Wild Assed Guessing) trouble shooting system here so take it with a grain of salt. It sounds like you may have a bad switch. If the battery is good and fully charged and all the switches work a good starter will turn the engine. Since it only turns a little I'd get my multimeter out and test all the switches.

This simplified schematic will give you an uncluttered view to help you troubleshoot.


You may have to study the full schematic for your bike to locate the switches. I think they are all the same but I would not bet on it.

The side stand switch or the engine stop switch are more likely to give problems than the ignition switch. Check them first.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Badbob

It is, of course, not a stupid question at all.

And it is not unheard of to have a new battery be bad "off the shelf".

A quick way to tell is to jump it from a known good battery.
Of course, if you connect a charger and the needle goes above 1/2 scale, that's a pretty good sign too. :roll:

[CANDY]

i've had my bike for 3 months and have over 2300 miles on it. i never had any problems with it starting until this weekend. i rode saturday all day with no issues, and on sunday it started fine, rode about 50 miles and stopped to gas up. when i tried to start it again,nothing happened. after playing around with different things it finally started. long story short / i found a short in the starter switch. does anyone know if this is a common problem with these switches or is it an isolated incident ? can it be fixed or should i just replace the switch ?

[jonathan180iq]

Replacing the switch will run you about $70. As far as being repaired, I'd leave that up to an electrician, as you don't know where the short is and you certainly don't want to "F" something up by doing yourself.

good luck,
Jonathan

PS: If you want to replace it, go to www.ronayers.com . Search under the FICHE area and you'll come across it.

[CANDY]

thanks for the info. as an electrician i can fix it,i just wanted to know if it was worth the effort. if these switches are prone to failure i will look for an industrial strength switch. if they normally last a long time i will attempt to repair it. thanks for the information.