Turn the key and absolutely nothing happens

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