Engine stopped, no warning lights, headlights,clock

jamesw905 said:

I took steel wool to the cables and wires on both +- sides of the battery. The negative cable looks corroded from the visible top down into the plastic covering. I tightened the bolts up good, turned the key on, all lights came on and it started like it was new. When I get back from a short trip that negative cable is heading for the recycle bin. Thank you for every reply. All were helpful.

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The lawn mower section at WM offers some good, inexpensive battery cable alternatives. I used them on the last Ducati I owned.

JPKalishek said:

either the battery is bad, or it isn't getting a charge.

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+1 , Basically. And if the alternator is bad and the battery was " deep discharged " , it may be bad now , too.

Disconnect the battery and jumper in another good battery, even a car battery. Connect a voltmeter between the two ST1100 battery terminals and start the bike using the substitute battery. If the voltmeter reads at least 14.2 volts , the alternator is good - at least at this time .....

If the alternator looks good, do the visual checks that John mentioned. Then install a new battery ( I have bought three AGM's and never had a problem with any of them ) and keep an eye on your voltmeter. Good luck.

Outlaws said:

Just saw your thread and the cable would have been my next suggestion.
not an engineer but do understand that electricity travels on the exterior of a conductor... snip

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BTW, I can tell you ( for sure ) that that isn't true for DC, only very high frequency AC ( self inductance effect ). Trust me, I'm an EE and an old Navy ET.

Starter Relay...

If you turn the key on and there is "nothing" but then you turn the key off and the clock works it is the starter relay. In front of the batter on the left side...

Just my 2 cents. It happened on my bike... It also melted the wires going to it and from it. The original problem was there was a loose connection to it which caused it to go out and do the wire damage...

dualsportdave said:

Starter Relay...

If you turn the key on and there is "nothing" but then you turn the key off and the clock works it is the starter relay. In front of the batter on the left side...

Just my 2 cents. It happened on my bike... It also melted the wires going to it and from it. The original problem was there was a loose connection to it which caused it to go out and do the wire damage...

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I can't see how that would that cause / account for the battery reading 10 volts ??