All of a sudden won't start - High pitch whine but won't crank.

st1300r · Aug 7, 2015

I don't think anyone has taken compression readings since continued cranking clears it.
On the rare occasions that it's happened to me, it did sound like there was no compression given the crank rate.
Sticky valves slow to return and seat sounds plausible. Since nobody's reported a bent valve presumably the gunk is screwing up the seated end of the valves travel. Or the spring is just exerting more force at the open end of travel.

CruSTy · Aug 7, 2015

stickman said:
ST1300, 2006, was running fine, have about 55,000 miles. Go out this morning, turn the key, so far so good. Hit the button and all it does is gives off a high pitch steady whine and will not crank the engine. Once after holding the ignition button in for about 5 seconds I get one pop out of the exhaust like it wanted to turn.

I check the battery under load, still in the 11.5 range. Pull the plugs, don't look too bad, but replaced them anyway. Pulled the battery anyway and took it to a local cycle shop buddy, checked it on his load tester, battery is fine.

I did some searching here and came up with checking the ECM codes. But the directions say the ECM plug is accessed under the seat. On my bike it looks like I need to take the rear cowel off to get to the ECM, is there an easier way? Also, the F1 light does what it normally does, goes on then shuts off.

Weird it was running fine, put a couple hundred miles on during the past week, then it sat for about 2 days before this happened.

Are there any known issues with the ST1300 that I should be looking for? Any help would be appreciated. Luckily I still have my Shadow, so there is a reason for having more than one motorcycle. Thanks.

DEJAVU Read this thread https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?132150-Bike-Won-t-Start-Only-Makes-Wheezing-Sound!/page3

bdalameda · Aug 7, 2015

Yes when I read the first post I remembered what was happening regularly back in 2009-2010. Lots of problems with sticking intake valves. I thought the gasoline distributors had figured out the problems with fuel additives and ethanol - I guess not all have! I also remember some Toyota cars as well as other makes were having problems as well.

BakerBoy · Aug 7, 2015

dduelin said:
How does cycling the fuel pump without turning over the engine get fuel against the valves? The injectors do not spray fuel unless the ECU commands it based on crankshaft position. If the crank is stationary no injector can spray.

The more this theory is explained the more holes are in it. Maybe cycling the pump primes the fuel rail which loses pressure in storage and prevents starting.

Has anyone taken compression readings when this happens?

Don B said:
+1 here - the injectors don't spray fuel if the crank isn't spinning. If they did, the result would be catastrophic! I would also be curious to know if anyone has tried to do a compression test when this happens. Doing one on a stone-cold engine won't give real accurate results, but it would at least reveal any cylinders with one or more valves failing to seat.

Guys, I certainly didn't say that the fuel injectors were electronically fired and fuel was sprayed--you made an assumption I wasn't stating.

Do you know for certain that fuel pressure is NOT bled off is through the fuel injectors when the fuel rail is pressurized, and the bike is off??

I'm am just telling the OP what has made a difference with mine. Circumstantial evidence for sure, but a little fuel getting to gummed up valves can explain why charging the fuel rail helps.

olegeezer · Apr 10, 2016

I just returned from a 2 month ride in South America. When I tried to start the ST1300 (2003 with 100,000 miles) she behaved exactly as described here by the original poster.
I simply followed the instructions posted here in this thread and I am back in business. Thanks for all the great troubleshooting information provided by this forum. Youse guys are the best (to the best of my knowledge).
I jumped the battery to my car battery and kept hitting the starter ( maybe 10 times?) and she finally fired up. I accept full responsibility for the problem as I knew better than to leave it setting for two months without some kind of fuel treatment. Hopefully I have learned my lesson.
Thanks again!!
Olegeezer

beeker · Apr 10, 2016

I am fortunate that there is an ethanol free station (in Waterloo) 5 minutes from where I live. I fuel all my vehicles there as much as possible. Of course there are many other choices for the ST as I run 91 octane but I fuel my cars, van and outboards here as much as possible. Here is a link to the available non ethanol stations in Canada and the U.S.
http://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=ON

All of a sudden won't start - High pitch whine but won't crank.

st1300r

CruSTy

My Perception is my reality.

bdalameda

PaleoCyclist

BakerBoy

It's all small stuff.

olegeezer

beeker