Dear all I have done the big service of the bike (Multi '11 ABS, non S) eight months ago. Nothing wrong there, bike was running perfect and I got it back to my basement were it has been stored since, on a battery tender. Health problems prevented me from riding the bike all that time but now it's all sorted out and I decided it's time to give it a go. The bike is on the centerstand, I turn it on, the exhaust valve sounds (working) as does the fuel pump. No errors on the dashboard, neutral in the gearbox is indicated and the bike waits for me to fire it up. I press the starter button and nothing happens. Not even the faintest crank, or a voltage drop in the form of a flicker in the dash to signify that the starter is trying to draw power. It's as if the button is disconnected. All fuses are fine, checked them one by one. The battery is relatively new, was on the tender all that time plus the temperature never got below 7C. I played a bit with the side stand and the behavior is the same (although the side stand shouldn't influence anything here since the gearbox is in neutral). Any ideas for a debugging if-then-else chart? What should I try next? TIA
Sounds like it’s either immobilised? Or the bike thinks it’s switched off at the kills switch? May be worth taking switch off, cleaning and putting back on
Nearly every cranking problem I've read about on these big twins or experienced is due to the battery. I see it's been on a trickle charger during storage but even so I'd bet the battery is toast. The fact you get a response from the fuel pump tells me it's not the kill switch and it will fire up with enough cranking volts. If you can borrow a good battery to try, or use jump leads, that will tell you. For my money it's new battery time.
It could well be the battery and some kind of a boost/ jump leads should prove it/ disprove it. After that I’d look at your starter motor connections or it could well be the solenoid. If it’s not cranking at all it means not enough power is getting through. So battery, all starter connections or solenoid. Maybe you need new leads, maybe you need a new solenoid maybe it’s the battery.
I grabbed one of these for my other bike as the regulator is on the way out. And I couldn't be arsed taking it off the road during winter. NOCO Boost XL GB50 1500A 12V UltraSafe Portable Lithium Jump Starter, Car Battery Booster Pack, USB Powerbank, and Jump Leads
I would also suggest the starter switch has picked up some corrosion on its contacts whilst it’s been stored, you would normally see the dash flicker or hear the starter struggle if it was the battery Try giving the starter switch a spray with electrical contact cleaner and work it a few times and see if that resolves it I had a similar problem on my 2010 model
Thank you all for your suggestions. I will try them, starting from the least intrusive/costly ones. I'll let you know of the outcome.
Can you get at the starter relay? If so, and you're confident with doing this, short across the big terminals to see if the starter motor runs. If the starter runs ok, your problem should be a bit easier to diagnose.
As above probably dead battery (lack of amps) or a corroded starter solenoid. Although the dash doesn't normally turn on (as mine didn't) if its the solenoid, i thought. So load test the battery or borrow one.
Like @Keith_P suggests, short the starter solenoid *for a short time*. If it works, check the starter switch on the right-hand switchgear. Mine needed a clean. Take care dismantling, though. Little parts pop out easily and are hard to find.
So, attempt #1: I have accessed the solenoid to take a look. As you can see in the picture the contacts are in mint condition which I find very encouraging for a 12yr old bike. So it seems that it is in good working order (although at this moment nothing tells me that its relay is working). As @Keith_P suggested I shorted the terminals on the left and the starter motor is working as it cranked the engine. I didn't want to risk my pliers or a fire so I didn't leave them shorted, waiting for the motor to fire up but the starter motor is working and the battery seems to be up to the job (although it was a bit lazy which I find normal to be honest for a bike that was standing still for 8+ months). I also tried to jump start using my car's battery, to elliminate a defective battery which again did nothing using the switch. So: 1. Battery seems fine (at least it cranks the motor) 2. Starter motor is fine 3. Solenoid's condition seems immaculate I didn't have the time or the daylight to go on and fiddle with the switchgear on the handlebar but so far it seems it's either that switch or the relay.
Can you measure the voltage at the solenoid connector from the starter switch to see if you've got juice to operate the solenoid?
As I cannot seem to find a schematic for the solenoid, is it safe to assume that the two pins in question are the right ones and they only carry the "signal" voltage when the switch is pressed? (which means that I should also here a clicking sound in the solenoid once the switch is pressed if this voltage is indeed present)
It depends on whether the solenoid is operated directly from the switch or from the ECU (with intelligence in the ECU to deal with side stand switch, etc). I'm not familiar with the operating method on your bike, so will hold back on anything further. Hopefully someone will come up with a wiring diagram for you...
Yes, there should be a clicking sound, but I doubt you'd hear it over the starter spinning. I'd disconnect the big starter cable from the solenoid (leaving the battery cable in place) so you can hear the click of the solenoid operation.
It might be as simple case of,….. the dash is indicating neutral, but the gear selector isn’t,… if that makes sense.
I would still suggest it’s the starter switch, did you try cleaning with electrical contact cleaner? As has been mentioned be careful dismantling as there is some easily lost parts in there! I re assembled mine with some di-electric grease, which will keep it safe from moisture and never had another issue
There’s a wiring diagram here albeit in B&W but the wire colours are written on them and you’ll need a computer screen to view it on (or print it off). Did you check the 30A fuse in the photo is good? There’s a relay switch (under the 4 prongs exposed in the above photo) it may help to give it a gentle tap at the same time as pressing the starter button - it’s a 2 person job really as you’ll need to hold a long screwdriver against the body of it and tap the end of that - it could be the relay internals have seized in the open circuit position during the layup.
Yes, all fuses have been checked. A seized relay would be the last thing to check for (but yes, it's a possibility). I would try tapping the relay while pressing the button but as you say it's a two person job (only because you really need two hands to hold the relay and tap it with something heavy at the same time). The wiring diagram shows only the connections as a schematic, not the actual pins, if that's what you suggest. This is going to be step 2 but I will do that during the weekend. Definitely need the calm, time and daylight of a Saturday morning to do that.
