Bike wont start, starter turns over engine. HELP

So the bike was sitting for a few days now and thought I would ride to work and no start. The starter cracks over the engine but wont start. This is the first time this has happen to me. Any suggestions it's a 2006 ST1300. Im sure its something simple.
Lyle

I am currently 1500mi from home so I don't have access to my Service Manual, but the first thing you can do is check to see if any error codes are stored in the ECU. I don't recall the correct term for the connector under the rear seat, but there's a procedure described in the service manual for checking the codes. That may give you a good place to start to find a solution to your no start problem.

2 things that seem to make this happen are !) a dirty kill switch, Flip it on and off a bunch and try again , and 2) sometimes holding the throttle open and cranking for 10-15 seconds at a time gets it going.. before that,, sure you have a fully charged battery first

Lyle: my vote is for something related to your kill switch. The bike is 10 years old and those little contacts are pretty small. I would go to CTC or Princess Auto and get a can of plastic-friendly electrical contact cleaner and give it a little shot.
Pete

It certainly won't hurt to try cleaning the kill switch, but I seriously doubt that would be the problem, since the starter would not crank the engine if the kill switch is faulty. I would still have to check for fault codes first instead of trying to outguess the problem. I guess that's just the analytical side of me, having been a field engineer and training engineer for several years before retirement.

There's a small chance you have water in the fuel from phase separation if the fuel is a couple of weeks old..... try an ounce or two of Seafoam.....

When the engine cranks over does it sound normal or does it seem to spin freely with low compression?? A problem that has occurred with quite a few ST1300 is low compression from bad formulated ethanol fuels that can cause the valves to stick enough not seat properly and reduce compression enough not to start. This was a real problem a few years ago with ST1300's as well as some cars. Usually this happens after sitting a few days - the bike can be running just fine until it is shut down and cools off. If this is the problem a shot of carb cleaner down the intake can help - If you can get just one cylinder running and keep the engine going as soon as a little heat is generated all cylinders will begin firing and will begin to run normally. Some Seafoam and new fuel with keep things running happily.

RaYzerman said:

There's a small chance you have water in the fuel from phase separation if the fuel is a couple of weeks old..... try an ounce or two of Seafoam.....

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Thanks for all the help guys. Ray where in the area that we live at has seafood. Would CT have such stuff. I've never used this product before.

This Seafoam stuff should I some down the carbs to? So thinking back a couple of weeks. I ride to work every day and the bike site sometimes all weekend and on Monday morning the bike cranked a few extra time then normal to start. I thought the battery is getting week and not holding a charge. I'll try this Seafoam stuff if I can find it.

CT has it, or Napa, maybe Walmart.

Sorry about your starting troubles Lyle. I don't know if this is relevant but Cherie's car had a no start situation after winter hibernation and it turned out to be moisture in the ignition wiring. Short term solution was a hairdryer under the hood for half hour or so and then replacing the wiring. We had a wet week here on Ontario's West Coast so if it was the same in Brampton maybe you have the same issue.

Just my guess at this

Gerhard

v8-7 said:

sure you have a fully charged battery first

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This is where I would start. Just because the starter seems to spin well doesn't mean it will start the bike. And you allude to some previous starting difficulty.

I'd check the battery charge and terminal connections. Can somebody help you bump (not jump) start it? If so and it starts readily then the battery is highly suspect. A load test would be my next step. The DMM check for a drop in voltage below 10V while cranking wouldn't hurt. In short I'd want to rule out the battery as the cause.


Won't carb cleaner attack the moly coating in the throttle bodies?

Two places to start. First the battery. Make sure that it is putting out at least 10 volts when cranking. If not, get a new battery.

Second, water in the fuel. Add some seafoam to the fuel, shake well, wait about 10 minutes, start vehicle. The Seafoam will absorb the moisture in the gas. The reason you want to wait is that if there is water in the fuel it will be at the bottom of the lower fuel tank.

So I bought some of that seafoam stuff. Put some down the tank and let it sit for 10 min. or so. as requested to do. Cranked the throttle a few time and let'r rip, sputtered a few time and started for only a few seconds and quit. So after all the cranking the battery was pretty low, so I put the booster pack on and try it again and she runs like she always has. I ran it up to 3 bars and went around the block for a bit. Now I'm going to set it sit and I'll burn some fuel through on Sat.
I would like to thank everyone for all your input and help
Lyle

Glad you got it going. I would check that battery if I were you. Remember my little detour to CT in Parry Sound two years ago?...

Hey Lyle

Yes, check that battery. Also, not all premium gas is ethanol free and this might be fueling (sorry) a water problem.

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=ON

In the future, never, ever fill your gas tank at a gasoline station that has a tanker filling the tanks at the time you are there or just before you arrive. Reason is that the pouring of new gas into the underground tanks churns up the water in the bottom of those storage tanks and when you pump fuel into your gas tank it could include that churned up water. If that happens, bike will be difficult to start the next morning.