Total power loss

czarwolf

czarwolf

Joined
Jan 22, 2019
Messages
127
Age
41
Location
Kingsland, GA
Bike
2011 Suzuki 1250FA
Good day all

On the way to work this morning at the bottom of an expressway ramp I experienced total power loss, no lights, no dash, no power. My volt meter said I was at 13.4 so my battery is fine, I ended up going down due to lots of sand where I had to go off and even then still had to wait for a cop to block traffic so I could get it up [in the road enough that I had to stand in it to get it up].

So 20 minutes later it fires right up! Great right? Not really, I get about four blocks down the road and total power loss again, I wait ten minutes and she fires right up again, I manage to get to the safety of the parking garage where I work, But I worry as the way home is filled with single lane roads with no way to get off aside from going into the grass. Its never had issues like this before, Any thoughts or anything I can do roadside before heading home to keep this from happening?

97 ST1100, All stock with only one Farkle added, A usb charger with volt meter.
 
If not cables/ground.
Does it still have the fuel shutoff valve? If so, remove it as described in multiple threads here.

edit .. never mind ... (total 'electrical' loss)
 
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Hate to be contrary, but this needs to be said: the fuel cut-off valve won't cause an electrical problem.

What the Kiltman said, loose battery cable connection, and also possibly an intermittent ignition switch.

How do you have your voltmeter connected ? Knowing that may help troubleshoot this problem.
 
Jim Van said:
Hate to be contrary, but this needs to be said: the fuel cut-off valve won't cause an electrical problem.

What the Kiltman said, loose battery cable connection, and also possibly an intermittent ignition switch.

How do you have your voltmeter connected ? Knowing that may help troubleshoot this problem.
Click to expand...

My volt meter is built into my USB charger, I have it connected directly to the battery.
 
to add a little to Kiltman's comment, search for "red wire bypass" and you should find info on how to repair the main power wire from the battery, which can cause issues if it becomes corroded. Remove the left sidecover by the battery and it should be in plain sight.
 
Not at all helpful but my VF1000 Interceptor had a similar problem. It shut off just as though I turned of the key. No lights no engine no nuthin. Wouldn't start obviously. After a few minutes it fired right up. Happened a few weeks later. Stopped on day fired up the next like nothing happened. Then it ran like a Rolex till I offed it. Never found the trouble.

Gremlin.jpg
 
ST Gui said:
Not at all helpful but my VF1000 Interceptor had a similar problem. It shut off just as though I turned of the key. No lights no engine no nuthin. Wouldn't start obviously. After a few minutes it fired right up. Happened a few weeks later. Stopped on day fired up the next like nothing happened. Then it ran like a Rolex till I offed it. Never found the trouble.
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could have been an intermittent ignition switch failure that never came back, which would probably be the next thing to look for if the red wire connection (and both battery connections) check out OK.
 
All have probably stated:

There are three major things that cause St1100's to quit and I would say that these three things are responsible for about 90% of the problems. No particular order:
  1. Vacuum fuel cutoff diaphragm failure
  2. Red wire connection at the starter relay/ main fuse plug-in connector - melted and burned - I am betting that this is the problem being you lost electrical power.
  3. Fuel Pump intermittent stoppage
Any of these can cause an intermittent stoppage or leave your engine dead on the side of the road.

Dan
 
bdalameda said:
All have probably stated:

There are three major things that cause St1100's to quit and I would say that these three things are responsible for about 90% of the problems. No particular order:
  1. Vacuum fuel cutoff diaphragm failure
  2. Red wire connection at the starter relay/ main fuse plug-in connector - melted and burned - I am betting that this is the problem being you lost electrical power.
  3. Fuel Pump intermittent stoppage
Any of these can cause an intermittent stoppage or leave your engine dead on the side of the road.

Dan
Click to expand...
yes, but 1 and 3 have nothing to do with total electrical power loss as experienced by the OP, so its a safe bet they can both be removed from the list for this particular case.
 
If the obvious stuff (battery cables and red wire) don't show anything have the battery load tested. I had a battery suddenly quit on my '83 Interceptor, yet it was showing fully charged when I put a VOM to it. It quit just as I was pulling away from a stop and turning right to merge with traffic on a major road. Leaned over and suddenly no power, I damn near dropped it. No warning at all. It could not even put out enough current to light the dash warning lights, etc. as it turned out. Wasted a lot of time testing everything else before replacing the battery - fixed!
 
okay so I'm on the way home from work, I make it out of the parking garage so it's run maybe five minutes before it just shut off and died again I did the fuel bypass thing as the instructions said and still nothing. when I turn the key the little clockin all my electronics completely die if I turn the key back off the clock lights back up. what do I do, I'm stuck downtown Jacksonville Florida on the corner of a street any information will help especially stuff I can do roadside. I checked my battery cables and they are tight
 
Hello:

See these two discussions, I think they will explain the cause of your problem and how to fix it.

HELP! Stuck in Bastogne ST1100 Total Electrical Failure
Red Wire By-Pass Mod ( ST1100 )

I don't think it is a fuel problem, because in your original post, you stated that you lost all electrical power. That would not happen if it was a fuel valve problem.

The pictures below show how to make a temporary fix to get home. I connected the red wire to the top of the bar fuse, the second link above (Red Wire By-Pass Mod) suggests connecting it to the bottom - once you get home, read all the post carefully and determine whether the top or bottom of the bar fuse is the correct place for the wire. You will also need to install an inline fuse to properly protect the circuit - if you don't have one in your pocket, do that as soon as you get home.

Michael

Temporary (get-home) Fix
238263

238264
 
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kiltman said:
If your clock goes out when you press the starter, it's the red connector. Michael has given you the lowdown on how to fix it
Click to expand...
Or, if the red connector turns out to be OK, look for a similar corrosion problem in the same general area between the battery (+) terminal and the fuseblock. And make sure the positive lead from the battery doesn't have any corrosion on it.
 
dwalby said:
yes, but 1 and 3 have nothing to do with total electrical power loss as experienced by the OP, so its a safe bet they can both be removed from the list for this particular case.
Click to expand...

Yes - I know as you can see in the bold text I too think it is probably the Red wire connector. I put all three issues there for others that may have similar stoppages without electrical failures. Over the years these three issues have come up for most ST1100 problems with the engine dying.
 
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