Turn the key and absolutely nothing happens

xteacher · Oct 24, 2016

No lights, no sounds, not a thing. A completely dead motorcycle

Jim Van said:
So what do you mean that " nothing happens " ??? You need to define the problem better before we can give you some intelligent troubleshooting suggestions.

Do the instrument lights come on ? Does the horn work ? Headlight ?? Does the solenoid "click" when the starter button is pressed. Etc, etc, ......

And try this : Turn the ignition switch on , press the starter switch ( and keep it pressed ) and turn the handle bars back & forth. Did the starter engage ??

MaxPete · Oct 24, 2016

OK - totally dead....my money is on the battery terminal connections (again, assuming the battery itself is not cooked).

Because it is the easiest thing to do, FIRST - check BOTH the battery terminals ( + and - ) and THEN check the other end of each of those two cables. ....and then please report back.

Cheers and and best of luck,

Pete

Niko62 · Oct 24, 2016

Mine did the same thing. Terminals seemed tight. Moved one a bit and power came back on

Jim Van · Oct 25, 2016

dwalby said:
even my free Harbor Freight multimeter measures DC voltage to within a couple hundredths of a volt vs. my Fluke meters. DC voltage is a slam dunk in the instrumentation world, this would be a waste of time and money unless you happened to already have a second multimeter available at no cost. FWIW, I have 4 multimeters, in DC volts they all read either identical, or so close that its meaningless.

edit: if in addition to battery trouble, you have animals burrowing under your lawn, this Fluke meter may be able to detect even the smallest of weasels.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/tls/5816569639.html

But Doug, there is no way a battery can read 13.5 volts without it being charged at the same time by the alternator. I'll wager my Fluke meter on that.

Maybe xteacher saw 12.5 , but reported 13.5 , if he used a digital meter, or mis-read the scale on an analog meter ???

Jim Van · Oct 25, 2016

I'll guess a bad battery terminal connection or the main fuse link, or 30 amp fuse at the starter solenoid, or the ignition switch. I'm leaning toward the ignition switch, since I'm on the road and don't have a schematic handy at this time.

dwalby · Oct 25, 2016

Jim Van said:
But Doug, there is no way a battery can read 13.5 volts without it being charged at the same time by the alternator. I'll wager my Fluke meter on that.

Maybe xteacher saw 12.5 , but reported 13.5 , if he used a digital meter, or mis-read the scale on an analog meter ???

preaching to the choir there Jim, I already said the same thing in post #5. Could be he mis-read the meter, or mis-typed his reply. Dunno if something weird could happen to the battery internally to cause it to read 13.5v, but its definitely not normal.

edit: regarding the reliability of his meter, a simple test on his car battery with the same meter would confirm if somehow his meter is reading almost a full volt high.

xteacher · Oct 25, 2016

Sorry guys. I've been working dark to dark this week. Down a truck and it's our busy season. Hopefully Saturday will let me get a good look at it.

MaxPete · Oct 25, 2016

No problemo XT - please just keep us posted on what happens. Enquiring minds want to know....

xteacher · Oct 25, 2016

Thanks. I will do that

MaxPete said:
No problemo XT - please just keep us posted on what happens. Enquiring minds want to know....

Ron · Oct 25, 2016

I would check the red wire in the plug for the starter relay. Quick and easy $10 fix. Either yes or no by visual. You won't have to worry about your meter or meters.

Red wire bypass mod.

www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=7130.msg58746#msg58746

Woonjas · Oct 26, 2016

Before you turn on the ignition, does the clock work, and if it does, does the clock display go blank when you turn on the ignition?

That happened to me a few years back. Bike started up fine in the morning, and a couple of hours later after stopping for gas at a gas station along the highway it wouldn't start anymore.

Luckily someone gave me a jump start which allowed me to make it home.

MaxPete · Oct 26, 2016

....and it was the battery connections....correct?

Jim Van · Oct 26, 2016

dwalby said:
edit: regarding the reliability of his meter, a simple test on his car battery with the same meter would confirm if somehow his meter is reading almost a full volt high.

Very good point, Doug !!

Jim Van · Oct 26, 2016

JPrieST said:
Stop for dinner and when I came out I had the exact same symptom. When I took the caps off the cells in the battery they were dry. Odd how it did great right up until it didn't.

Don't have to worry about adding water with an AGM battery, BTW. I'm sold on AGM batteries for MC's. And the cost is competitive, if you shop around.

xteacher · Oct 26, 2016

It's funny you mention this. The clock stopped working about a month ago and always starts at 1:00 when the bike runs...... When the key went off so did the clock

Woonjas said:
Before you turn on the ignition, does the clock work, and if it does, does the clock display go blank when you turn on the ignition?

That happened to me a few years back. Bike started up fine in the morning, and a couple of hours later after stopping for gas at a gas station along the highway it wouldn't start anymore.

Luckily someone gave me a jump start which allowed me to make it home.

xteacher · Oct 26, 2016

I just bought the bike at the end of July. It has an AGM battery in it

Jim Van said:
Don't have to worry about adding water with an AGM battery, BTW. I'm sold on AGM batteries for MC's. And the cost is competitive, if you shop around.

dkruitz · Oct 27, 2016

Did you put the AGM battery in it? If not, do you know how old it is? AGM has been in mine just over a year now and I found a good price on Amazon for it - they're supposed to last longer than traditional lead acid batteries.

This is what I bought, and I use it every day of the last 15 months.
https://www.amazon.com/YTX14-BS-High-Performance-Maintenance-Motorcycle/dp/B01BNUQC84

xteacher · Oct 29, 2016

Checked and cleaned battery connections. They were rough, but not the worst I've seen. Checked the battery ground, if I'm correct it's the post between the starter and alternator. All fuses, and the separate 30a fuse to the lower left of the fuse panel. And still nothing. Take the battery to be tested....... It's a bad battery. Thanks guys

SMSW · Oct 29, 2016

xteacher said:
Take the battery to be tested....... It's a bad battery. Thanks guys

Good reason to have a cheap multi meter (voltage tester). You can get one on Amazon for around $12 and probably cheaper on ebay. No need to spend big bucks on this - and they are small and can go with you on the bike (just check the batteries once a year).

xteacher · Oct 29, 2016

Thats a good idea.

SMSW said:
Good reason to have a cheap multi meter (voltage tester). You can get one on Amazon for around $12 and probably cheaper on ebay. No need to spend big bucks on this - and they are small and can go with you on the bike (just check the batteries once a year).