Went to start the bike up this morning and no luck. Can hear what I think is the fuel pump priming when I lift the side stand. And they press ignition and just a click noise. I've found that the click is coming from the starter solenoid I think. Now I'm lost anyone have any ideas ?
I suspect there's a connection somewhere that's compromised. Good enough to allow the pump to prime but ask it to carry a larger current and it breaks down. First check your battery terminals for looseness and corrosion, then solenoid, starter motor and earth terminals. Also give your fuses a good wiggle - especially the top one in the row forward of the bars - maybe even do that first as it's so simple.
Power is getting to you pump and starter solenoid, so I suspect the issue is on the starter motor side. Use a screwdriver to bridge the large terminals on the starter solenoid. The engine should turn over, if it doesnt your starter motor has most likely gone or less likely, theres a wiring issue with the starter motor, one live to it from battery and its earthed through the engine so check engine earths. Solenoid could be clicking but not making a good enough connection on the high current side too.
Thanks I have cleaned solenoid and battery terminals, I have 12.4 v down at the starter motor, but still just clicking noise. I will now check earth is ok, which if it is it shows it would need new starter motor ?
You can bench test the motor to make sure thats it. If the battery is good ( which it seems to be) Then the starter is most likely. You can get replacement brush kits and complete starters from Electrexworld in the UK. Did you bypass the solenoid? If you have another battery, you could check the starter with that just to make absolutely sure its not the battery. But if you have 12 +volts it should be fine
If the battery is showing >12.7v and is holding that, then bridge the solenoid - heavy wire and expect sparks. If the motor turns over as normal your motor is ok and the solenoid is knackered, they are usually around £30.
I'm gonna get new battery tomorrow spoke to mechanic at corner speed and he said regardless of volts, it needs amps to turn over
I wouldnt completely rule out a starter, however, I hope it is your battery, as thats a lot easier to sort. Keep us posted
I had pretty much the same symptoms a couple of years back - sometimes I'd get a click then it would totally die, sometimes it would click each time I pressed the starter button. Sometimes if I tapped the solenoid with a screwdriver it would seem to kick it into life but in the end up I replaced the starter for an Electrex one (£100 or so at the time) and all has been good since. These bikes are also not happy trying to start without a strong battery so I keep mine charged up when not in regular use.
I know the feeling, I did exactly the same this Winter and it made no difference. A nice new cable kit from @Exige did though I had managed to get my bike running, with a lot of help from Derek and Chrisw, but it still wasn’t starting well. A new battery didn’t help but the cable kit certainly did.
