Hmmmm...after being parked up for a couple of months,my ST2 has become a bit temperamental. Ignition on/lights bright/hit starter/no pump noise/no starter Suspect solenoid but not 100% convinced (due to lack of f/pump noise) Try a jump start/no banana After friggin about for ages.... Accidentally hit right (Datatag 3 ),fob button (with key in/ignition on)/pump noise/bastad started! Repeated attempts at same procedure,occasional success So not the solenoid then.... Optimate said battery weak,so fitted new one New fob batteries,just in case Cleaned solenoid/battery connections Still starts intermittently if I: Do the right fob button thing as above... OR I frig abt with the kill switch with the starter button pressed OR I do the above,leave the ignition on,and come back 5 seconds later and hit the starter button without doing anything else.... And so I leave it for a couple of days to scratch my head And when I come back to it last night It's exactly as before,obviously But now,(IF it does turn over),it sounds like the new battery is down When it does turn over,it's dragging and clattering And then,out of the blue,it'll spin over and start,5 times on the trot And then it won't.... I'm getting bored now Bastad thing....any ideas?
Is your alarm system giving problems? We had one on Nicky's monster and when the battery ( bikes) went flat, the internal battery on the alarm screwed up, corroded and leaked all over the circuit board! Ended up having the alarm removed altogether!
^ first thoughts are alarm - if Datatool it has a mercury 'motion-sensing' switch which starts to become intermittent with age with similar symptoms.
I think thats the next on the list. I fooked about with it yesterday for a couple of hours,cleaned the kill/starter switches,same as before. Datatool manual says says system can be,"spiked",and gives a method to reset it all. (I think it just clears the the BIOS as all you're actually doing is removing all power sources). I think you're right. It's likely to be the alarm/immobiliser somewhere. I'll let you know of any progress
Datatool manual doesn't mention such a switch but it has motion sensing so probably has one. I tried turning that function off,but that turns it all off. I'm going to mess with it a bit more,probably try the full reset first,(have to open the alarm box to do that so I'll have a poke around in there while I'm at it
Lightning, I am not sure if I have the correct circuit diagram for your bike but if it is a 2000ish ST2 this may be helpful. Before you start with the alarm you need to check the condition of the safety relay then the main relay and the fuel pump relay. What you describe is typical of a safety relay breaking down. Take them out and check for any moisure or heat build up around the pins, if you can change the safety relay for a new one then do so. The safety relay is switched by the side stand so you may want to check the switch operation as well, you should be able to do this with the ignition on, bike in gear and raise and lower the stand. If the relays are 100% the next most likely problem is the alarm immobilizer connections which will probably be spliced (amongst other places) into the circuit for the safety relay switch supply. An intermittent fault on that circuit will also show up as you describe. A dodgy connection in the main front to rear loom multi connector affecting the sidestand switch supply (blue/black) or one of the two common earth paths (both black wires) will give similar problems.
hope you get to the bottom of it and will be interested to hear what you find - you know where my money is
Update: I've pulled/inspected all the relays I can find,(4 of them all on the L/H side of the bike,under the fairing) They all look ok in the respect of no evidence of overheating/blackened corroded pins or anything. So cleaned all the contacts and put the relays back in,no change. But.... IF I use the fob to turn off the alarm,insert the key,and then hit the starter button,normally sweet FA happens,but if I bugger about with the kill switch a few times it will either start the pump noise and turn over/start OR I then frig abt with said kill switch again and then the bugger turns over/starts. Ho Hum.... I've checked the kill switch with my meter and it appears to work ok,as does the starter button. So before I pull any more bits off the bike: Have I missed any relays?If so please point me as to where they are on the bike Also,which one is the safety relay? I'll go and buy one as it is the next suspect on the list (The previous owner said the sidestand switch had been disabled btw,but I can't prove that) Sorry if I sound like a dullard,but I don't have a manual for the ST2 and I'm more used to playing on older bikes...(relay? safety?...*shrug*...lol) Thanks for the interest and assistance....I'm getting there...slowly...
Lightning, the safety relay has 4 wires going to it, three brown and one blue/black. The +12v supply side of that relay comes directly from fuse 6 in the fuse box so you can do a voltage check on the RH switch supply very easily by testing between pin 1 on the main loom side of the RH switch connector plug to the load side of fuse 6, it may be worth wiggling the wires to see if you have a broken cable in there somewhere. Also you can do a continuity check from the brown wires at the relay plug back to fuse 6. For the switching side of the relay the same 12v supply from the fuse also goes to the safety relay coil connection, it then follows the blue/black lead to the sidestand switch. When the sidestand is up the sidestand switch contacts close which completes the circuit to earth. This energizes the relay coil which closes the load contacts of the relay allowing +12v to the RH switch energizing the run and starter and handlebar switches. There are two ways of bypassing the sidestand switch, one is to take the relay out and add or splice in a wire to connect the brown wire from the fuse to the brown wire at pin 1 of the RH switch connector plug - you may be able to do this to confirm a problem with the safety relay circuit. The other way is to disable the side stand switch by short circuiting the sidestand switch contacts either by a link wire across the main loom at the connector for the sidestand or by removing the switch from the stand, setting it in the up position then stashing it away somewhere safe. If someone has put a link wire into the loom connector that could be where the fault lies. However when a link is installed this way the relay is constantly in the on position and it is possible that the relay contacts have got stuck together with corrosion or muck. Importantly you need to check any wiring modifications made to bypass the switch If you have found 4 relays they will most likely be the main relay, a fan relay, the headlight relay and the safety relay. There should be an indicator flasher unit somewhere and there are two other relays usually close to the ecu which are on the fuel pump and ecu supplies. Check these last two anyway but I don't think it likely your problem lies there. As Chris has suggested this fault could be one of the alarm immobilizer internal switches playing up but it is sensible to make sure the main wiring is working correctly before you remove or change the alarm as both will take a bit of time and a new alarm is £s
Right,so here's the thing:I followed the wiring,pulled relays,cleaned contacts everywhere,pulled connectors apart,etc,etc,etc.Didn't change any relays or anything,all I did was strip and use contact cleaner. Absolutely no change,same old/same old,would always start after a few attempts...and once you started it once,it would keep starting until it got absolutely cold,and then the same will she/won't she palaver all over again. Sooooo...weeks go by,Portugal trip looms large,fairing still off,but I think to myself there is NO WAY I'm riding the 750SS... But for some reason,it seemed to get a bit better.I nip out every day,hit the starter,only now it only fails once in four times,then once in six...you get the picture Day before we leave,I bung it back together,figuring," what the hey,I've had RAC European cover for years and not claimed,the worst that can happen is the bugger don't start on Deck 1 of the LD Normandia". (I then bottled it a little and nipped up to St Neots with £44 for a new starter solenoid and relay just in case.)....ho-hum,here we go... We depart,and it never failed to start first press of the button. Not bloody once.Every time,hot/cold/wet/dry,it has not failed to start first time. We had a fantastic time,(see under the Touring section) I love my ST2. And it loves me.
