'95 1100 won't turn over.

This morning my bike would not start. When I hit the starter the lights blink off and there's a click?I think from the lights?but nothing else happened. I tried turning it off and on again, checked the kill switch, tried it with the stand up, in gear, in neutral, everything I could think of. It's not the first time this has happened. Occasionally it will be fussy after I fuel up, but it's always fired up within a minute. Definitely not a battery problem. I'm thinking either the starter has died or there's a lot of water in the switch box. I've ridden it a lot in the rain lately going to work in Santa Cruz ("El Ni?o, yay..."), so that could be the culprit. I definitely think water's to blame for my turn signals being fussy the last couple days. Thoughts? What do I look for to see if it's the starter? Any advice appreciated

What do you mean by "fussy" , exactly ??

Time for some logical troubleshooting and ruling out possibilities for the problem of this symptom.

Could be the starter switch, starter solenoid, starter, bad connection somewhere, or loose wires. You will need a voltmeter.

This is how I would proceed : 1.) Check both battery terminals for tightness. 2.) The clicking sound is probably from the starter solenoid. Feel the starter solenoid ( next to the battery ) while pressing the starter switch button. If it's being energized, then the problem is the high current contacts inside the solenoid or the starter. If it's being energized ( by feeling it ) , measure the voltage at the starter terminal. Do you have +12 volts when the starter switch is pressed ? If you do, you have a bad starter. If you don't, the solenoid is bad. 3.) But if the starter solenoid isn't energizing, the starter switch may be bad. Check for +12 volts across the SMALL terminals on the starter solenoid.

Let us know what you find after doing the above checks. If the solenoid is bad, there is an inexpensive starter solenoid available. Get back to us or check another recent post for a link to the seller.

My WAG is that you have a bad solenoid or loose/bad connection at the high current terminals of the starter solenoid.

If you want to tighten the high current terminals of the starter solenoid, disconnect a battery terminal first.

Dirt Road said:

Definitely not a battery problem.

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So you came to this conclusion because its done this a few times before, but the battery always cranks strong once the intermittent problem goes away, just wanted to double check.

Jim provided a good troubleshooting plan. The starter motor is on the left side of the engine. Not sure if you can get to it by removing just the service cover, or if you have to take more plastic off, perhaps Jim or someone else can provide that info. Also, starter motors are typically grounded to the engine, if its a little loose in its mount you could have a flaky ground connection, which can be fixed by tightening into its mount. Also check the bank angle relay, see schematic below.

Don't discount it being the Battery. On my Bike I had just started and ridden the bike 5 minutes before trying to start it again, Guess what , a new battery fixed it.
When I put a voltmeter on the bad Battery it read 12.48v when I hit the starter it read .46v
Now being in Santa Cruz I know you have more rain and wet than most places. It would be good to clean all the switches in the handlebar controls.

Plus 1 on the inexpensive trouble shooting........but it sounds like a weak battery.
How old is the current one? If over three years it is probably shot. Just my 2 cents....

ToddC

dwalby said:

So you came to this conclusion because its done this a few times before, but the battery always cranks strong once the intermittent problem goes away, just wanted to double check.

Jim provided a good troubleshooting plan. The starter motor is on the left side of the engine. Not sure if you can get to it by removing just the service cover, or if you have to take more plastic off, perhaps Jim or someone else can provide that info. Also, starter motors are typically grounded to the engine, if its a little loose in its mount you could have a flaky ground connection, which can be fixed by tightening into its mount. Also check the bank angle relay, see schematic below.

Click to expand...

Exactly: On previous occasions it's started up strong after not firing at all for a few clicks. Also, the battery is new as of September. I hadn't thought of a bank angle relay or solenoid (other posters), so I'll be sure to check those. Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll get back as soon as I figure it out (or when I have more questions).

Just for grins, pull in the clutch lever and hit the start button.

Update: Today I went to dig into and thought, "Oh hell, I'll give it another try," and she fired right up. Does this rule out the starter or the solenoid? Clearly it means they're not fried, but could they still be at fault and on the way out? I spent all night pulling the plastic off (my first time taking it all off, so it took a while), so I haven't checked all the connections yet.

Tracing down loose/corroded connections can be time consuming... (traced a broken wire in the switch-pod harness on a friend's ST once...)
By what I've read here could it be anything, ignition lock contacts, kill/starter switch, broken wires or issues in connector shells/crimps down the path, a fried starter solenoid, loose ground wires, etc...

I'd search methodical one item after the other from power source, over all connections and switches down to the consumer(starter)...
Likely its a pretty minor, banal cause...

Dirt Road said:

Update: Today I went to dig into and thought, "Oh hell, I'll give it another try," and she fired right up. Does this rule out the starter or the solenoid? Clearly it means they're not fried, but could they still be at fault and on the way out? I spent all night pulling the plastic off (my first time taking it all off, so it took a while), so I haven't checked all the connections yet.

Click to expand...

Friendly suggestion : As a troubleshooting technique, just go ahead and replace the starter solenoid. A aftermarket starter solenoid is cheap and IMHO, is worth taking the gamble. I think there is a good chance the high current contacts are burned and sometimes have a high resistance.

Link : Replacement ST1100 Starter Solenoid

Don't be afraid to check and clean the battery contacts and cables - possibly the moisture you're having is causing corrosion. A bad contact can cause voltage low enough that it won't fire the solenoid.

dkruitz said:

Don't be afraid to check and clean the battery contacts and cables - possibly the moisture you're having is causing corrosion. A bad contact can cause voltage low enough that it won't fire the solenoid.

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True, But he is hearing a "clicking" sound. I bet that's the solenoid being energized. And his problem is also intermittent.

By pass the sidestand switch, see if it starts, as phil said grab the clutch an try it?

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I tried various things with the sidestand switch and the clutch the on the first occasion. Today I tried it again and it started right up. Then a while later I tried again and it did not fire up. I tracked the clicking to one of the three little black boxes on the right side of the headlight brackets. I kept pressing the start button and could clearly here a clicking in one of the boxes. Then after a few tries it started firing up again. Next thing is to try to clean up the connections around that box and track it further down the line. I think everything has to fine BEFORE the box, so I'll look after it. Can I use WD-40 on connections, or is that not advised? I recall advice against it with regards to a sticky turn signal switch. Thoughts? (I think I'll probably go for the new Starter Solenoid just in case, as it sees cheap enough to be worth it.)

(If the wording appears unusual, it's because the letter after "l" and before "n" is stuck on this keyboard, and I have to go to great lengths to avoid any words in which it appears)

Alright, a further update (using an iPod now so I have all the M's I want). The three boxes I spoke of are the "bank angle relays." I touched each while hitting the starter switch. Each clicks, but the middle one clicks the strongest by far. I don't understand the function of the relays, so I don't know if that's normal or not. I want to make sure I inderstand clearly about the solenoid: is it possible for a bad solenoid to sometimes fire and sometimes not? I put my ear down by the solenoid (near the battery, anyways, as I'm not sure which one is the solenoid) and I didn't hear anything when I hit the button on the occasions that it did NOT fire.

Dirt Road said:

Alright, a further update (using an iPod now so I have all the M's I want). The three boxes I spoke of are the "bank angle relays." I touched each while hitting the starter switch. Each clicks, but the middle one clicks the strongest by far. I don't understand the function of the relays, so I don't know if that's normal or not. I want to make sure I inderstand clearly about the solenoid: is it possible for a bad solenoid to sometimes fire and sometimes not? I put my ear down by the solenoid (near the battery, anyways, as I'm not sure which one is the solenoid) and I didn't hear anything when I hit the button on the occasions that it did NOT fire.

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Go to that link I provided. It has a pic of the starter solenoid. The solenoid COIL may energize each time the starter button is pressed, but the HIGH CURRENT CONTACTS inside the solenoid may not be "making" properly. Just replace it ( they are cheap - even I can afford one !! ) as a troubleshooting technique. If that isn't the problem, you will have a spare.

Jim Van said:

Go to that link I provided. It has a pic of the starter solenoid. The solenoid COIL may energize each time the starter button is pressed, but the HIGH CURRENT CONTACTS inside the solenoid may not be "making" properly. Just replace it ( they are cheap - even I can afford one !! ) as a troubleshooting technique. If that isn't the problem, you will have a spare.

Click to expand...

Done. I'll pop it in when it gets here and see if that helps.

Dirt Road said:

Alright, a further update (using an iPod now so I have all the M's I want). The three boxes I spoke of are the "bank angle relays." I touched each while hitting the starter switch. Each clicks, but the middle one clicks the strongest by far. I don't understand the function of the relays, so I don't know if that's normal or not. I want to make sure I inderstand clearly about the solenoid: is it possible for a bad solenoid to sometimes fire and sometimes not? I put my ear down by the solenoid (near the battery, anyways, as I'm not sure which one is the solenoid) and I didn't hear anything when I hit the button on the occasions that it did NOT fire.

Click to expand...

Only one of those is the bank angle device - keep in mind because they click they don't necessarily have any cause/effect on your bike starting. They are getting energized when you apply power. I believe the other two in that bunch are the high and low beam relays. Definitely track down the electrical diagrams on here for your bike and download a set. I printed out one and have it stashed on the bike.

Well, I put it in. In the few days before I put it in I started it up every day, and it usually started, but occasionally wouldn't. In the two days directly before the installation, it always started, but I also tested it less. Since I put it in it has always started. I guess I won't know if it was the correct fix or not unless it refuses to start again. Glad to be done with the bus though! Thanks for all the help, and I'll be back if it acts up again!

Glad to have found this thread. Same issue exactly. I ordered the solenoid tonight too. See if that solves my problem as well.

Peace and All Good

Update: Bike would take several tries to start this morning and again after work. Replaced that solenoid and it starts every time. Looks like that was the fix.

FYI, the solenoid is sitting in a rubber cup. Grab a hold of it and pull up and out. Tight quarters for the fingers, but with some persistent tries was able to disconnect and reconnect. And, I don't recall if it was mentioned above, remember to disconnect the battery.

Peace and All Good