2003 ST1300 cranks but won't start.

[Brownie45]

My 2003 ST 1300 ABS with key in on position no headlight comes on. Other lights are on and when i push the starter button the engine cranks but will not start. When I turn the key to the off position and lights stay on dimly(except the headlight) which never came on at all. I disconnect the battery and recharge it, then hook up the terminals and same result. I did look at some posts on this subject as a non-member, but was not able to get details. So hoping now that I have signed on as a member, i will be able to find info needed to correct this problem. Thanks....Brownie45

 

[jfheath]

While you are awaiting a better answer, find the earthing points and make sure that the terminals are clean and making good contact with the frame. One is on the frame cross member under the rear of the tank. I think there is one on the rear seat frame either near the fuse box, or near the rear of the battery. Not sure about that though. Go hunting.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

There is a white 24 pin connector under the fairing on the left side just above the cylinder head forward of the ignition coil. All of the green ground wires for the front half the motorcycle connect together and go through this one connector. It is not uncommon for the terminal for the green ground wire in that connector to overheat and loose continuity. Check this.

There is another multi-pin connector behind the right side headlamp. Same situation.

 

[Brownie45]

Thank you for the grounding suggestions. Probably won't get to this until next week.

 

[Brownie45]

Had a busy couple of weeks...just now going out to work on her and see what happens...hope I find that loose ground or whatever is causing the trouble... thx to you all for your suggestions.

 

[dduelin]

Had a busy couple of weeks...just now going out to work on her and see what happens...hope I find that loose ground or whatever is causing the trouble... thx to you all for your suggestions.

Fixed my electrical problem (headlights, dash lites,horn, turn signals, windshield) | ST1300 Related

60 miles from home yesterday the ground circuit problem happened again. The bike quit at a stop sign and from then on basically nothing electrical in the front half of the bike worked and the bike would not start with high beams on. The engine would start and run with the headlight dip switch on...

www.st-owners.com

 

[Brownie45]

There is a white 24 pin connector under the fairing on the left side just above the cylinder head forward of the ignition coil. All of the green ground wires for the front half the motorcycle connect together and go through this one connector. It is not uncommon for the terminal for the green ground wire in that connector to overheat and loose continuity. Check this.

There is another multi-pin connector behind the right side headlamp. Same situation.

Thank you all for the suggestions. Yesterday I was able to start my bike by disconnecting the headlights. The plugs for both headlights appeared to be overheated(plastic melting). One of the plugs was melted so bad that I had a difficult time getting it loose from the bulb. I had put H4 Hologen bulbs in, but had to remove the 2 side tabs to get them to fit. Apparently they generate too much heat. After removing the headlight assembly, I was able to get the plug separated from the bulb. I put the Halogen bulbs back in and plugged in the connectors for the aiming motor and 2 other items and then the lights lit and the bike started. Are any LED headlights available that have all 3 prongs that fit the Honda socket. I had to remove 2 prongs on the H4 lights to get them to fit and it is not the best fit with only the one prong in place. Any suggestions for LED replacements? or should I order the original bulb from Honda?

 

[dduelin]

It’s not the bulbs, they come from the factory with halogen bulbs. The problem is the ground circuit that should carry current to the central ground under rear of the fuel tank has been compromised and the current that should go to earth through the frame ground is instead going to ground through the headlights. Probably every electrical device in the front half of the bike was going to ground through the headlights and overheating the connectors. Disconnecting the headlights forced the ground current to find another path to ground. That circuit will likely eventually fry. The lasting repair is to create a low resistance ground circuit. Explore the condition of the yellow buss above the RH headlight and the white 24 pin connector referred to in earlier posts in this thread.

 

[jfheath]

What @dduelin said.

Unless of course you have fitted higher wattage bulbs - ie greater than 60/55w - in which case you can expect the standard wiring and connectors to fry . The wiring isn't designed to carry the higher current required by them.

 

[dduelin]

What @dduelin said.

Unless of course you have fitted higher wattage bulbs - ie greater than 60/55w - in which case you can expect the standard wiring and connectors to fry . The wiring isn't designed to carry the higher current required by them.

Possible but not likely given the presentation of lights remaining on with the key off in post #1. The dim lighting is from stray electrical currents going to ground through that circuit.

 

[Brownie45]

It’s not the bulbs, they come from the factory with halogen bulbs. The problem is the ground circuit that should carry current to the central ground under rear of the fuel tank has been compromised and the current that should go to earth through the frame ground is instead going to ground through the headlights. Probably every electrical device in the front half of the bike was going to ground through the headlights and overheating the connectors. Disconnecting the headlights forced the ground current to find another path to ground. That circuit will likely eventually fry. The lasting repair is to create a low resistance ground circuit. Explore the condition of the yellow buss above the RH headlight and the white 24 pin connector referred to in earlier posts in this thread.

Thank you for the suggestions. I have continued to clean all electrical connections including the 24 pin connector. My friend Bob came over Saturday and we soldered in 2 new Headlight plugs, re-installed headlights and plugged the new plugs in ...everything worked great on a short run. Then took a short ride on Tuesday with every thing working well. Bob and I stopped in for a breakfast sandwich at Wendy's, when we started to leave the bike would crank but not start. Un plugged headlights and it started. So now checking the battery it is showing 12.61 Volts 5hours ago now after 5 hour on maintenance charger still showing only 12.63 Volts. I'll check in the morning to see if it has improved. Maybe i need a new battery? It was installed new 13 months ago.

 

[DannoXYZ]

Measure and test your charging system. It may be failing and not charging up battery.

Or you may have parasitic drain when everything’s off.

 

[Brownie45]

I did install a new battery yesterday. However, same symptoms. When I unplug the headlights it starts up and runs fine. When headlights are plugged in it will crank but will not start. After starting the engine without headlights when selecting the left signal light with handlebar switch the hazard lights come on and the dash lights flash including the ABS light and the Pea lights flash also, but though hazard lights are flashing the left front and the right rear signal flash vey dimly while the other flashers are bright as normal. When i try the right signal same result except the dimly lit bulbs are now the right front and the left rear. When I turn the signal lights off and the engine is still running and I now turn on the hazard lights the engine dies. I was wondering if something in the switch mechanism on the left handle bar is causing this problem or ???

 

[DannoXYZ]

Might be multiple switches.

start-button has passthrough for headlight power in up position. When pressed, it disconnects headlight circuit to conserve power. Then sends power from stop-switch to starter solenoid.

Behavior with headlights connected vs disconnected may be caused by headlight wires being broken inside start button. Take a look inside for broken solder joints or wiring.

 

[Brownie45]

Thanks for your response. I will check switches.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Have you checked the ground connectors suggested earlier in this thread?
They are pretty much always the cause of these symptoms.

 

[DannoXYZ]

Yeah, many people have had good results with soldering individual ground terminals in that bundle to common bus-bar. Improves conductivity and keeps corrosion at bay in future.

 

[TerryS]

I'm late to this discussion. I can speak from personal experience that if one installs a 100/80W H4 headlight bulb in a system that was designed for lower wattage (in my case the stock was 60/55W) then the extra heat generated by the bulb can migrate back into the plastic socket and melt it. Then the streams cross; don't cross the streams! I was lucky and caught on before the connector properly melted, but it was a lesson learnt.

By contrast the modern LED bulbs consume much less power and (I believe) convert a lot more of that into usable light rather than heat. I have the Cougar LED bulbs in my ST and could not be happier with them. But you will definitely need to cut off two of the tabs to fit the oddball H4 socket that is on the bike. If that bothers you, it is possible to buy adapter rings (a PO fitted them to my VFR800) but they don't seem needed to me. https://www.amazon.com/Bulb-Adapter-Rings-Honda-Motorcycles/dp/B07M5HYSMQ

The weird light/start behaviour does point to an earthing fault but I would also not rule out an issue in the starter/headlight interrupt button.

 

[Brownie45]

Thanks to all. I removed the switch on the left handlebar and cleaned it and wrapped some electrical tape around the wiring where it enters the switch housing to cover a small tear in the black wrap around the wires. Plugged in the headlights 60/55W and the bike started right up with headlights on and hazard/signal lites and low/hi beams all work. Took a short ride to Post Office and back. Everything is working correctly now. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Larry Fine]

But you will definitely need to cut off two of the tabs to fit the oddball H4 socket that is on the bike. If that bothers you, it is possible to buy adapter rings (a PO fitted them to my VFR800) but they don't seem needed to me. https://www.amazon.com/Bulb-Adapter-Rings-Honda-Motorcycles/dp/B07M5HYSMQ

Just to mention it, the rings are spacers, but do not negate the need to trim the two lower tabs.

I used them when I put LED bulbs in my '96 ST. They're supposed to improve the beam pattern.