HELP! New batt, turn the key, no headlights, no start.

[Colonel Nikolai]

Yes! Bike seemed to be running perfectly when I put it away last winter.

But I took it off the centerstand and pushed it down the alley and popped the clutch. Fart, fart, fart, fart, fart, fart :shock: At least that's what it sounded like to me. Engine turns over just fine. It looks like my battery is dead and I didn't bring a charger so this'll have to wait until I have time to come over again.

I think I'm back to looking for a short, bad relay or fuseable link somewhere?

Thanks for sticking with me mustang and bixxerbob. Will keep trying.

 :x

[Bixxer Bob]

A small amount of fresh oil would be enough to produce the hydraulic lock Mustang was talking about.  Having let that lock out it now turns over.  If you don't find a short the problem was probably the hydraulic lock all along HOWEVER having stalled the starter motor it's possible you fried some cabling or the heavy current side of the starter relay.  Good luck with your investigating.

PS One cylinder filling with frsh oil over a period in store?  I'm assuming by fresh you mean clean as opposed to blackened so is that the same colour as in your crankcase?  If it's not you have magic going on there....  If it is, it's got to have come from somewhere and top guess is down a valve guide although there's not really enough oil trapped in the head area when the engine's stopped anyway if I remember rightly (@Mustang?).

[Colonel Nikolai]

Yes, I had just changed the oil on it last year and had ridden it a little before storing it. The oil in the crankcase is golden. The oil in cyl #2 was also thick and golden. It doesn't make sense to me either.

[Colonel Nikolai]

I removed the starter relay and bench tested it. I can't get it to click so I'm going to replace that.

[Colonel Nikolai]

To recap: When the key is turned, nothing (much) happens. What does happen is after a few seconds the tachometer goes to about 7,500 RPMS :shock: then one of the headlight relays :?: and the starter solenoid buzz. Touching / fiddling with the wiring in the front modifies this behavior.

Ok here is what I've done:

1. Removed the plugs to check if the engine is seized. With the plugs out, the engine turns when the bike is pushed as expected.
2. Replaced solenoid. No effect.
3. Replaced every relay between the battery and the ignition switch. No effect.
4. Tested the voltage coming out of the start button to the start solenoid. It comes in at 12 volts. This is OK.
5. Found two suspicious places in the ignition wiring harness. Resoldered them.
6. Found one suspicious place in the instrument wiring harness. Resoldered that too.


Here is what I thinking: I should replace the harnesses with good used ones I can find on ebay. The reason I think this is because they're quite hacked up at this point and, more importantly, the behavior of starting indicates that there is some kind of massive short there still.

[Colonel Nikolai]

Just to be clear, since redoing these solders in the two harnesses, I cannot cause the behavior to change when I fiddle with the harnesses. I see consistently reading of 7.5k on the tachometer and the buzzing front relay and starter solenoid.

[Mustang]

Have you tried the really dumb and obvious thing like put a  known good battery in the bike ...........
even though you see twelve volts doesn't mean the battery is any good , try the batt from your tigger in it and try that batt in your tigger
that will eliminate the very obvious !

Usually when your tach shoots up high like that the battery is junk .

[Colonel Nikolai]

Well I was using a brand new battery. But you know what? I'm going drive the tigger over there right now and try it. Thanks Mustang.

[Colonel Nikolai]

Ummm... mustang? Shoul I have my username changed to Col. Stupid? Because I put the tigger battery in and ... she turned right over. Like butter. Life is beautiful when I hear that gentle drum of pistons that can only come from a trumpet, no matter how stupid I am.

Thanks again mustang.

[Mustang]

   

[iansoady]

Quite a lot of new batteries are DOA and although they may show 12V have no power in them at all. I bought a Westco last year and it looked OK but wouldn't do anything - immediately replaced by the supplier and no further problems.

[Colonel Nikolai]

Yeah this one came from batteries plus and I bought it last winter. I should have known it was a cheap battery: the hardware was kinda crappy in that the nuts in the terminals were too low to screw in normally. Had to put a piece of tape under each nut to raise it high enough that you could get it to catch the screw threads. Never seen that on a battery before. I won't buy one from them again.