Mystery Cut-out

This afternoon, when pulling left from a stop, onto a larger road, my 2001 ST1100 suddenly died. Oil pressure light came on, indicator continued flashing, but everything else was dead. Coasted to a halt, checked the kill switch, tried the starter, nothing. Hmmm... So I turned off the ignition, then on again, and everything seemed to go back to normal... started up and gingerly made my way home. I had pulled off hard in a left turn, leaning well over. Is it possible that the bank angle crash sensor switch activated, killing the engine? Or should I be looking elsewhere? Thanks for any input!

Scooter22 said:

Is it possible that the bank angle crash sensor switch activated, killing the engine?

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Symptoms and countermeasure (ign OFF -> ON = reset) would indicate that as culprit...

I would think if it was the bank angle sensor, that you would have crashed the bike mid turn, since it would cut the engine immediately when it was triggered by the angle of bank of the bike, plus, I doubt Honda would have engineered this sensor to activate during any type of situation where the bike would not normally fall over. Since you stated that you coasted to a stop, it would seem the engine died after you had completed the turn. I'd be looking for an intermittent wiring short/ground problem, possibly in the handlebar wiring.

Be sure to check your side stand. If the spring has lost its tension, it may drop down enough to cause the bike to cut out.

John STeele
Peace and All Good

As an afterthought to my first post, have you installed bar risers, or alternate bars that may have stretched the wiring harness to the bars?

Thanks for the responses! Yes, I have 1" bar risers, but I made sure that no cables or wiring is stressed at full lock on either side. I'll check the side stand and switch! Thanks!

Check the red 4P connector at the starter-relay/main-fuse unit, report back.

John

Any luck with solving the problem, Scooter?

John STeele
Peace and All Good

I've experienced two side stand switch failures. Both units would have a n early warning on failure. The warning light would go out when the side stand had weight on it. When the side stand was up it became an intermittent issue, the engine would cut out whilst riding. I came to a stop then try and restart and off I go again no issues. ( to bypass the switch, take the left panel off and find the green connector. Join the two green wires and your good to go till you get a replacement switch)
I'm leaning to what John mentioned. The red wire by the main relay.
Also do what Bush recommends ... Check for a ground fault or short in the handlebar area including your kill switch.

Guys, I really appreciate your concern! I'm in the middle of a house reno, so haven't had a chance to spend any quality time on troubleshooting this. I'll report back once I've done so. Cheers, Scooter22

when the bac on my wing went bad you could shake the bike hard and that was enough to kill the engine, sensor replace by Honda under warranty. the guy I purchased my ST 1100 said it cuts off once in awhile but I haven't ridden it enough to know cause it needs other work

drbuzzard said:

when the bac on my wing went bad you could shake the bike hard and that was enough to kill the engine, sensor replace by Honda under warranty. the guy I purchased my ST 1100 said it cuts off once in awhile but I haven't ridden it enough to know cause it needs other work

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Hi Will :

You may want to suspect the fuel pump, if it ever cuts out on you. If that happens, turn the ignition key On & Off and listen for the fuel pump "priming".

After several more mystery cut-outs, some when pulling off in a straight line, I finally got to dig around behind the dash to take a look at the Bank Angle Sensor ... It had been taped up (with insulating tape) against the relays on the right side behind the dash, almost horizontal and aligned with the direction of travel (front-back). Given that it contains a pendulum switch, any really hard acceleration would hit the contact and activate the cut-out. Aligning it correctly (vertically, and east-west) has solved the problem.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

Scooter22 said:

It had been taped up (with insulating tape) against the relays on the right side behind the dash, almost horizontal and aligned with the direction of travel (front-back). Given that it contains a pendulum switch, any really hard acceleration would hit the contact and activate the cut-out. Aligning it correctly (vertically, and east-west) has solved the problem.

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Glad you found it and had an easy fix. By the way, I think it's a mercury switch, not a pendulum (unless you are calling the mercury bubble the pendulum). Did you find the proper mounting point? On my old bike it was a plastic tab molded on the battery box.

Back in 1992, I had my 1991 ST1100 down at "the Dragon" (only called US129 back then). Taking a solo run north-bound I came to the "up-down chicane" (as we called it) where the road goes down-hill through a tight left and up-hill to a tight right that spans the crown of the hill. I railed through the left and accelerated up the hill getting to the right with my front tire well off the pavement. I used my bodyweight to pull the front end to the right when the wheel was still up in the air and _snap_ the engine shut off. Grabbed the clutch, fought the head-shake, coasted while I turned the switch off-on and restarted to continue the run.

After that I bypassed the tip-over switch on the ST1100. I decided I'd rather let it run when fallen over rather than it deciding the engine should be off when I don't want it off.

Later,
Kent Larson in Minnesota

The ST1100 Bank Angle Sensor is a pendulum switch. My 1991 was part of the early models' recall:
Transport Canada Recall #1995120
USA, NHTSA #95V128000 (downloadable PDF*)
The BAS is located behind the dash near the clock. My replacement BAS has worked fine over the last 24 years... it's been tested more than a few times (see my drop count ). Haven't heard of a failure in ages.

The BAS and relay inspection and test is on page 21-5 in my Service Manual. JMHO, but I wouldn't recommend removing it.

Thanks for the followup, Scooter, always appreciated by those whom have weighed in to help.

EDIT: here's the AOW entry on the BAS recall: http://www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=1027.0

*View attachment RC-95V128-NN.PDF

John

Scooter22 said:

Aligning it correctly (vertically, and east-west) has solved the problem.

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Congratulations on the fix! Must be a load off your mind not to have to deal with or even think about that. To think some sub-shadetree repair caused you that grief and could have put you in dire straits.

John OoSTerhuis said:

The ST1100 Bank Angle Sensor is a pendulum switch. My 1991 was part of the early models' recall:
recall link Canada
USA, NHTSA #95V128000

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Thanks John. Good to know. I really loved that 1991 ST1100 but never got a recall notice on her.

Later,
Kent Larson in Minnesota

ST Gui said:

Congratulations on the fix! Must be a load off your mind not to have to deal with or even think about that. To think some sub-shadetree repair caused you that grief and could have put you in dire straits.

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Thanks. I also attended to some other stuff while I was in there: The dash always wobbled significantly over bumps, and I discovered that one of the "ears" holding the instrument cluster had actually snapped off. Reattached the ear using superglue then reinforced the molded plastic with quickset epoxy putty, before securing the whole thing back on the mounts. (Strange, but the whole bike feels "tighter" now ) I also installed a Stebel horn, after a few incidents recently of lane-changers ignoring my protests. Man, that thing is loud! (Lets see them ignore that! ) Lastly, I installed an auxiliary fuse panel ($18 from Princess Auto). Difficult to find a spot for this, ended up wrapping in foam and slipping it between the tank and the frame on the right-hand side. Re-ran the lines from my power outlet and oxford grips to their own fused connections, which together with the power for the Stebel leaves me with 3 open connections for whatever comes next.

Scooter22 said:

I also attended to some other stuff while I was in there

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Geeze you got a fair amount done. I have a few thing to attend to so I need to get roundtoit.

If you own a 1990-1993 North American ST1100, standard or ABS I, it should have had its defective Bank Angle Sensor replaced for free by your nearest Honda authorized dealer. As part of the replacement, the dealer should have stamped an "X" on the frame crossmember under the seat.

But if yours doesn't have the stamp, it may still have had the work done (anecdotes over the years). Assuming the shop at least sent in the "change card" to Honda (to get paid for the work), a search on the various online sites by your VIN should show if your particular individual ST1100 was fixed (no outstanding recall still on record).

There is no expiration date for this recall (indefinite/lifetime)! My good dealer checked for recalls when I just brought my 91 SSMST in for a tire change.

Anyway, in addition to the federal recall notices linked above, here's the USA Honda recall info (couldn't find a digital copy, just a hard copy FS on Ebay link):

American Honda Motor Co, Inc
Service Bulletin
RECALL
BOTH MODELS OF 1991-1993 ST1100
Bank Angle Sensor Replacement
[5 pages, marked "ST1100 #1 JUNE, 1995" and "MTB 6990 (9506)"]

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