No Spark, No Fuel. Bad ECM?

It seems that starting the bike of for the first time of the season, and it won't go. It cranks, but I get no juice. Pulled a plug and got no spark, and no gas smell. Reading through the haynes, I've checked the following, all checked out good.

Ignition Switch
Kill Switch
Crank Position Sensor
Lean Sensor
Engine Stop Relay

I have yet to check the camshaft position sensor or injectors, I didn't have time to pull the tank.

I also tried starting it off of ether, but no spark gives it a no-go.

I'm starting to lean towards it being a bad ECM (going to take it to the dealer tomorrow to see if they can test it).

Anyone have any thoughts, or know if a dealer can check the ECM?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Hopefully you did not have a litter of mice down inside the "V" area below the air box build a nest and eat your wires. That has happened more then once here to folks who have to park them for a long period of time.

If the ECM won't start the engine, it will have stored a fault code that can be retrieved without any special equipment. Start with that and let us know what you come up with. If Mike's right, you'll get one or more codes in the 12-15 range depending on how many of the injector wires got chewed. :sm1:

If the Haynes manual sends you on that kind of a wild goose chase, that's all the more reason to buy the real thing.

--Mark

There's nothing like the Honda manual for troubleshooting and repair. Advice helps for a place to start and guidance through troubleshooting procedures, but the Honda document is important for the details and the procedures.

I do not bet on anything. That said, I'm with Mike on this, MICE.

I wouldn't jump to the ECM being the issue. Not the most likely thing and expensive.
Meezus invasion is a good guess just throwing darts but check the fault codes and report back.
A short blink (0.5 second) is 1. A long (1.3 second) blink is 10.

When you coax the fault codes with the paperclip
1 long followed by 2, 3, 4 or 5 short blinks points to injectors/wires a favorite mouse food.
Codes 12-15

It cranks so kill switch bank angle sensor aren't likely suspects. Wiring schematic here
Do you hear the relay click and a 2 second of so fuel pump whine when you key on with kill switch on or cycle the kill switch with the key on? The FI light should light while you hear the fuel pump in both cases then go out.

Next thing to check is camshaft position sensor and injectors. Once I pull the airbox I should know if it's mice.

Blrfl said:

If the ECM won't start the engine, it will have stored a fault code that can be retrieved without any special equipment. Start with that and let us know what you come up with. If Mike's right, you'll get one or more codes in the 12-15 range depending on how many of the injector wires got chewed. :sm1:

If the Haynes manual sends you on that kind of a wild goose chase, that's all the more reason to buy the real thing.

--Mark

Click to expand...

Does that work with the American version? The Haynes manual says to do that with the European version but to get a reader for the US version of the bike.

st1300r said:

Wiring schematic here
Do you hear the relay click and a 2 second of so fuel pump whine when you key on with kill switch on or cycle the kill switch with the key on? The FI light should light while you hear the fuel pump in both cases then go out.

Click to expand...

St1300A = USA bike? 1300 = European?

I don't remember the fuel pump kicking on, I'll check when I get back home. That would explain fuel, but I don't think it would cause lack of spark. I don't remember seeing a fuel pressure sensor on the fuel rail, although I skimmed that part.

Zink0xide said:

Does that work with the American version? The Haynes manual says to do that with the European version but to get a reader for the US version of the bike.

Click to expand...

The procedure is in the service manual and, as far as I know, works just fine on every version of the ST. The more I hear about what's in the Haynes manual, the more I'm convinced it would be put to better use propping up the wobbly leg of a table.

Zink0xide said:

St1300A = USA bike? 1300 = European?

Click to expand...

The A is ABS, but there's also a designation like "ST1300A4" that indicates the year revision for the entire family (e.g., ST1300, fourth model year) that the Japanese manufacturers tend to use.

Other than looking for features present on one but not the other, the only way to know for sure which version a bike is by looking at the vehicle description section of the VIN. If it's SC510, SC511, SC513, SC514 or SC517, it's a North American bike. Anything else is rest-of-the-world.

I don't remember the fuel pump kicking on, I'll check when I get back home. That would explain fuel, but I don't think it would cause lack of spark.

Click to expand...

Everything having to do with the engine except the starter is under the control of the ECM. If the ECM believes there's a fault that should prevent the engine from starting, nothing that contributes to the engine running will happen. I haven't tested this myself, but odds are very good that if one of the injectors appears missing, the fuel rail isn't going to be pressurized, either.

Seriously, the fastest way to diagnose a no-start is to pull the fault codes from the ECM. Pulling the air box, plugs, sensors or anything else before doing this is a waste of time.

--Mark

Zink0xide said:

St1300A = USA bike? 1300 = European?

I don't remember the fuel pump kicking on, I'll check when I get back home. That would explain fuel, but I don't think it would cause lack of spark. I don't remember seeing a fuel pressure sensor on the fuel rail, although I skimmed that part.

Click to expand...

There is no fuel pressure sensor. When you 1st turn the key on, the ECM runs the pump and does it's diagnostic. With the key still on and you cycle the kill switch it'll do it again. Both times the FI light should light then go out.

Both are US spec diagrams. The A is ABS. Mostly the same but pick the correct one as the fuse designators are mostly shifted by one.

I'd start by interrogating the codes with the paperclip in the unmated red connector under the seat with the link Mr. Blrfl provided. It won't hurt anything and it's fairly likely the dealer would do the same thing. They might not have the right adapter to read data off the connector and likely don't have the break out jumper cable to probe around. Step one is learn what the blinky codes have to say.

Blrfl said:

Seriously, the fastest way to diagnose a no-start is to pull the fault codes from the ECM. Pulling the air box, plugs, sensors or anything else before doing this is a waste of time.

--Mark

Click to expand...

Theoretically, if it throws no codes, what are the likely culprits?

Zink0xide said:

Theoretically, if it throws no codes, what are the likely culprits?

Click to expand...

Bank angle sensor, engine stop relay, engine stop switch, ignition switch, dead ECM or a fault in any of the wiring or fuses involved. Dead battery is also a possibility; check that the system doesn't fall below 10 volts when cranking the starter.

--Mark

Blrfl said:

Bank angle sensor, engine stop relay, engine stop switch, ignition switch, dead ECM or a fault in any of the wiring or fuses involved. Dead battery is also a possibility; check that the system doesn't fall below 10 volts when cranking the starter.

--Mark

Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head. New battery and it fires right up!

Thanks everyone!

Glad it was an easy fix, now get out and ride that thing!!