Help! Starter problems!

[RedMenace]

This morning my battery was dead. Got it all charged up but now when i hit the starter button I get a loud electronic buzz from down to the righ beneath the battery box and the tach spikes, but no effort comes from the starter. Anybody know what's going on? Do I have a bad relay? where the fuck is it?

[tenpaq]

relay, check connections under battery box.  thats were they(it is,, relay) are on my 2004 tiger.  you probably got corosion from all that snow you ride in! disconnect leads and clean with sandpaper or file, then reinstall. you know, end of lead(wire) has crimped on end with round hole in it for bolt on relay to go through.  take off seat, then battery box and look under there for relay.

[RedMenace]

relay, check connections under battery box.  thats were they(it is,, relay) are on my 2004 tiger.  you probably got corosion from all that snow you ride in! disconnect leads and clean with sandpaper or file, then reinstall. you know, end of lead(wire) has crimped on end with round hole in it for bolt on relay to go through.  take off seat, then battery box and look under there for relay.

Thanx for the tip. I suspect it is something like that. Be next week before I can check it out properly, will let you know what I find. Anybody with a Steamer know exactly where the relay is? I will probably just strip the plastic and search the noise out...

[Guest]

My experience of bikes and cars is that when the power from the battery is making the solenoid rattle it is one of two problems.

1/ there's not enough power to turn the starter motor.

2/ the starter motor is jammed.

Hope you get it found and fixed soon.

[Cache]

This morning my battery was dead. Got it all charged up but now when i hit the starter button I get a loud electronic buzz from down to the righ beneath the battery box and the tach spikes, but no effort comes from the starter. Anybody know what's going on? Do I have a bad relay? where the fuck is it?

RM.  I had a problem at one time with a loose positive cable at the relay, sometimes wouldn't turn over first push.  Mine on the 97 is just in front of the negative side on the battery - follow the positive lead from the battery.  Make sure connections are tight on the relay and at the starter.  You could jump the gap on the positive side of the relay and the lead going to the starter with a big pair of pliers, or a young helper :-).  Be careful, you have one of those ol' puppies that are prone to sprag probs.  Could the buzz be coming from the starter?  I'd jump it with a car battery just to be sure.  You may have a dead cell in that battery (that's buzzing!!!  can you say timebomb).  Before anymore attempts, you might want to pull that cover off the pickup assy. and turn the crank w/24mm socket to see if you can spin her.

[Cache]

I'll trade you jobs Red!

[tenpaq]

I'll trade you jobs Red!

holy cow these bikes are 3 cylinders,  mine feels like 6!! yeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaa !! Oh, and if ya`ll get bored with your power, go down 2 teeth on front sprocket.   don`t blame me if ya LOOP OUT!!!  Real good for around town!!  you only loose about 8mph at 5000 rpm.

[Cache]

I went to a 17 last year from 18.  Thinking that would make for more fun in the goat trails.  It is a ripper around town, provided you like to shift a lot.  Coming from a motocross background shifting is fun for me.  Nothing to drop 2-3 gears at 6000 and cut her loose.  Just makes for a shitty cruise on the pavement.  I generally ride on the freeway at 140 - 160 KMS, tack is well over 6000-7000.  I've lost that nice cruise at 75 MPH I had with the 18.  Makes for about 6% difference.  Going down 2 teeth would throw that chain into the gearbox at the speeds I go-no thanks.  The 18 will be going back on this winter, soon as I drain that oil.

[Cache]

Aw jeeze, ya know.  I think I took that picture at the wrong angle guys.  Here's the proper view.  Thanks for pointing that out tenpaq.  :^o  :D/

[RedMenace]

It doesn't appear to be the starter relay. I put a new, freshly charged battery in, thinking it might fix the problem; if it didn't, I needed a new battery anyway and I could track down the buzzing noise and replace that component. No Joy. Put the new battery in, clock came on. Turned key to ON and clock went out and bike is electrically dead. Turn key to OFF and clock comes back on. No blown fuse no noise to chase.

Borrowed relay from Joel, swapped it in. turn key to ON, have dash lights, etc, clock stays on. Hit go button, relay clicks once, all goes dead. Turn key to OFF clock comes back, turn to ON, clock goes out. Remove starter relay one wire at a time from battery side, situation unchanged. Hopefully I haven't fried Joels relay; I must have a short further down the line. Is there a starter solenoid? How hard is it to get to?

[RedMenace]

on the left side there are two large gauge wires going to a connector and then to the bottom left front side of the alternator, white and brown. I discovered the white wire is melted at the connector. i'm a fucking genius!  :D

unplugged it, tried the key-no change! This goddamned thing! :x



I guess I must be getting closer, but still not there yet

[Cache]

Why don't you first verify that your engine will turn over without restriction and then verify the starter is operational by jumping 12V directly to it.  Remember RM, the days are getting longer now, the pressures on ;-)



Anything lead up to this?  Slow turning over...  Smoke???   :shock:

[RedMenace]

Why don't you first verify that your engine will turn over without restriction and then verify the starter is operational by jumping 12V directly to it.  Remember RM, the days are getting longer now, the pressures on ;-)



Anything lead up to this?  Slow turning over...  Smoke???   :shock:

What lead up to it? flat battery, need to get to work, 1 amp charger for 45 minutes then attempted to start with charger still hooked up. Got away with it in the past, might have been a coincidence. Flat battery might have been the original symptom, dunno.

The engine will turn over in gear with the rear wheel. Reluctant to hot jump thestarter until I take a look for more evidence of shorting or over heating in the wiring loom or ignition. It has been too cold and I have been too busy to get very far with this. Bummer is with all this snow I should be out having a blast with the bike. Truck is stuck in the drive under almost 4' of snow, bike is dead in the garage and I am riding in to work with my wife.

[Guest]

So.....er.......is that the wife waiting by the car?   :?  :shock:







































Good job I'm a long way away.   :oops:  :oops:

[RedMenace]

Good job I'm a long way away.   :oops:  :oops:

Damn straight! Just where is " St.Leonards by the Sea"?

You may not be as safe from Amy's wrath as you think(I'll hold him whilst you pummel him, dearest. When you get tired, you can hold him whilst I beat him a bit :D )





That's my wifey in the sidecar