So after gearing up to go to work this morning the bike would not start. In neutral, kickstand up, kill switch on, hit the starter and the headlights dimmed but nothing happened. I tried a couple more times with kickstand up and down, in gear and out and eventually noticed that I wasn't hearing the fuel pump prime.
I pulled the cover off the fuse block and replaced the 10A start fuse even though it looked fine. No help.
I pulled the seat off and replaced the 30A fuse even though it looked fine. No help.
At this point I had to give up and get changed to drive my car into work.
The bike was fine when I rode it on Friday (cause my car had issues, ironic, I know) and it sat all weekend since I got home on Friday.
I've read up on the blue connector issues, but they mostly seem to be a light problem, not fuel pump/starting. My 2006 is supposed to have the better ground already, though I don't know what that is worth...
I would appreciate any thoughts on this one. What to check next...
Any auto parts store should be able to load test the battery.
If the clock and trip meter haven't reset, probably not the battery. However, might be good to rule it out.
With everything else electical seeming fine, the headlights were just as bright as they should have been, I'm inclined to think it's not the battery, though I will check it. But the last time I had a battery issue, the fuel pump primed just fine, but the bike was sluggish to turn over. That was just a spring startup issue. Now I'm not getting fuel prime and nada on the starter.
Spray the starter switch with some electrical contact cleaner... I was having similar symptoms with my 4th gen (Minus the fuel pump) this weekend. My switch needs to come out and be cleaned well but it works for now. also, IF the switch is dirty, try pressing it and hold it down for a couple seconds longer than you normally would.
[image: View Post]Gbam, on 17 October 2011 - 08:11 AM, said:
Spray the starter switch with some electrical contact cleaner... I was having similar symptoms with my 4th gen (Minus the fuel pump) this weekend. My switch needs to come out and be cleaned well but it works for now. also, IF the switch is dirty, try pressing it and hold it down for a couple seconds longer than you normally would.
Is there a relay that kills the headlights when you press the starter? Because I am getting the headlight dim when I press the starter switch, it's just the starter doesn't turn. So I'm not sure if there is an interlock that won't let the starter turn if the fuel pump isn't running or if the fuel pump and starter are on the same fuse somewhere (not in the fuse block or the 30amp fuse, I've checked them...)
Make sure the conneciton at the Starter Relay is good, thermal creep can cause the connections to come loose. Give all of the fuses and connections you can get to a good push to ensure the connection is tight.
I doubt the fuel pump and starter are on the same circuit. I'm at work at the moment, so I can't peak at the wiring diagram. Can you jump the two connections on the Stater Solenoid with a piece of wire or a screw driver? Let's see if the starter is still good. If it turns when you jump it, that's a good thing, it's expensive. I would still recommend cleaning that starter switch and if you get a chance, check every connection you can get your hands on for burning, dirt, corrosion etc... Need to get that battery load tested as well.
Thanks, I'll try those. I still feel like the two are related. That that the starter isn't turning because the fuel pump isn't running. I can't see how they would both fail while the bike sat in the garage over the weekend. It ran fine on Friday. It did get rained on quite a bit on Friday, but it started up with no problem Friday afternoon to ride home from work. I would think if it's a water issue it would have been a problem right after the rain, not 3 days later.
I don't have the manual here, so I can't check what's related to what, I'll have to poke into that when I get home.
Check the voltage at the battery while attempting to start it, it should remain above 10V. And of course check that the kill switch on the handle isn't activated....
I did have a battery just go south on my VFR once...no warning I just went out one morning and nothing.
[image: View Post]Tightwad, on 17 October 2011 - 01:49 PM, said:
Check the voltage at the battery while attempting to start it, it should remain above 10V. And of course check that the kill switch on the handle isn't activated....
I did have a battery just go south on my VFR once...no warning I just went out one morning and nothing.
+1, had it happen over the weekend then the starter switch decided it wanted in on the fun...
If it's not priming the pump, I doubt it's the starter button. The kill switch, maybe, but not the starter button. If all the other advice doesn't pan out, it may have something to do with whatever switch/sensor ensures the bike is only started in neutral or when the clutch is in. Not sure what it's called or where it is, but it's a thought.
You could try rocking the kill switch back and forth a few times, maybe it's just not making good contact. Awhile back mine was a little touchy where I'd have to fiddle with it that way to get it going.
+1 on Tightwad - Josh has been helping me (as well as the 35 others with Electrical problems)
My battery just went dead on my with no warning - I was at a gas station and it wouldn't restart. Put a new one in and it cranked up like gold.
I still have another issue related to the the 30amp fuse but my VFRness is on the way to take care of that...Good luck - it's probably something simple causing your fuel pump not to get the juice to prime the bike.
[image: View Post]Knute, on 17 October 2011 - 04:18 PM, said:
You could try rocking the kill switch back and forth a few times, maybe it's just not making good contact. Awhile back mine was a little touchy where I'd have to fiddle with it that way to get it going.
So it turns out it was the kill switch, loose wire. I tried starting it again when I got home and nothing. I tried again (I like beating my head on the wall) and the damn thing started. I played around with it and found that if I wiggled the wires into the kill switch, the pump would prime and the bike would start. At this point I can't get it to not start. So it was a loose wire to the kill switch. Not sure how that happened, but I'm glad I found it.
[image: View Post]SereniTTy, on 17 October 2011 - 06:46 PM, said:
[image: View Post]Knute, on 17 October 2011 - 04:18 PM, said:
You could try rocking the kill switch back and forth a few times, maybe it's just not making good contact. Awhile back mine was a little touchy where I'd have to fiddle with it that way to get it going.
So it turns out it was the kill switch, loose wire. I tried starting it again when I got home and nothing. I tried again (I like beating my head on the wall) and the damn thing started. I played around with it and found that if I wiggled the wires into the kill switch, the pump would prime and the bike would start. At this point I can't get it to not start. So it was a loose wire to the kill switch. Not sure how that happened, but I'm glad I found it.
Thanks to all
Dan
Glad it was an easy fix. :fing02:
[image: View Post]Knute, on 18 October 2011 - 06:04 AM, said:
[image: View Post]SereniTTy, on 17 October 2011 - 06:46 PM, said:
[image: View Post]Knute, on 17 October 2011 - 04:18 PM, said:
You could try rocking the kill switch back and forth a few times, maybe it's just not making good contact. Awhile back mine was a little touchy where I'd have to fiddle with it that way to get it going.
So it turns out it was the kill switch, loose wire. I tried starting it again when I got home and nothing. I tried again (I like beating my head on the wall) and the damn thing started. I played around with it and found that if I wiggled the wires into the kill switch, the pump would prime and the bike would start. At this point I can't get it to not start. So it was a loose wire to the kill switch. Not sure how that happened, but I'm glad I found it.
Thanks to all
Dan
Glad it was an easy fix. :fing02:
I wish I could say it was a fix. I did ride to work this morning, and everything was fine, but I have to admit I'm a little nervous not knowing why I had a problem. Since it went away when I moved the wires around I strain relived them by zip tying them to the handlebar. And I tried hard last night to get the problem to repeat itself. I don't want my kill switch to disengage mid corner... I think I still need to tear everything apart and find whatever it was that I "fixed". For all I know it wasn't the wires and I just cycled the switch enough times to get it to engage.
[image: View Post]Gbam, on 18 October 2011 - 12:12 PM, said:
Do you use the fork lock? I imagine that cranking everything over that far can cause some trouble eventaully...
Yes, I do. Every time I commute to work I use the fork lock. But I have the Speigler bars so my wire routing is a bit different, I've got a fair amount of slack in those wires, which in itself could be the issue. When I get a chance I'll tear it apart to find the problem. It may not be as bad as I thought I haven't tested it yet, but I imagine hitting the kill switch while riding is not much worse than a sudden closing of the throttle. Certainly not going to lock your rear wheel up.
[image: View Post]SereniTTy, on 18 October 2011 - 11:31 AM, said:
[image: View Post]Knute, on 18 October 2011 - 06:04 AM, said:
[image: View Post]SereniTTy, on 17 October 2011 - 06:46 PM, said:
[image: View Post]Knute, on 17 October 2011 - 04:18 PM, said:
You could try rocking the kill switch back and forth a few times, maybe it's just not making good contact. Awhile back mine was a little touchy where I'd have to fiddle with it that way to get it going.
So it turns out it was the kill switch, loose wire. I tried starting it again when I got home and nothing. I tried again (I like beating my head on the wall) and the damn thing started. I played around with it and found that if I wiggled the wires into the kill switch, the pump would prime and the bike would start. At this point I can't get it to not start. So it was a loose wire to the kill switch. Not sure how that happened, but I'm glad I found it.
Thanks to all
Dan
Glad it was an easy fix. :fing02:
I wish I could say it was a fix. I did ride to work this morning, and everything was fine, but I have to admit I'm a little nervous not knowing why I had a problem. Since it went away when I moved the wires around I strain relived them by zip tying them to the handlebar. And I tried hard last night to get the problem to repeat itself. I don't want my kill switch to disengage mid corner... I think I still need to tear everything apart and find whatever it was that I "fixed". For all I know it wasn't the wires and I just cycled the switch enough times to get it to engage.
You know... come to think of it, I didn't actually "fix" my issue with it either. It happened perhaps 2 years ago and it was only the one time. When it did it and I was trying to figure out what was going on, I was in the process of rocking the switch back & forth when it suddenly made contact and the fuel pump started to spin up, I pressed the start button and it fired right up. I had good intentions of taking it apart and give it a good cleaning, but never got around to it. It's just been working ever since.
End of thread · 23 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 17 Jun 2012