boo, the yellow peril got to Scotland but is returning on the back of a lorry. Rode 150 miles without issue, the odd stall that she's prone to but nothing out of the ordinary. Pulled into a bus stop around 10 miles short of the green welly to allow some stragglers to catch up. Hit the start button and got a click but no turn over. Battery readings are good but no joy, bump started and rode another 10 mile to the garage. Stopped, filled up and bike started off the button. Rode another 50 miles or so to kin loch leven where we pulled over again to get the finer detail of the hotel location. Same problem as before with a slight click but no turnover. Bumped the bike again and rode 3 miles to the hotel. As I parked up I stopped the engine and again she started off the button. It's late by this time so went for beers and food. Next morning after breakfast did some investigation. No obvious shorts or breaks in the wiring, battery giving a good read and not showing a bad earth. Bumped the bike again to try and after a few goes got her going. Didn't trust going anywhere so decided to not risk heading out for the day. Recovery peeps came out and did some tests, they confirm the battery is strong and there doesn't appear to be a bad earth, they thought it might be a dodgy starter motor. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with these symptoms? Looks like the bikes turned into a winter project
Candidate for the secondary earth mod to begin with. Then consider doubling up the +ve wires from the battery to starter solenoid to starter motor.
Start out by putting a jumper cable on the negative terminal on the battery and on one of the bolts on the engine. If it fires up you know it's a cable resistance issue.
I think the uprated cables might be a good bet, I did try running a jump lead from the negative terminal to the engine and it didn't help am I right in thinking this isn't a sprag clutch issue?
sorry to hear this mate,,, sounds to me like the solonoid,,,, it is on nthe back of the battery box ( i think )
that's a good shout on the solenoid Cherod. I think this weekend will mostly be one man and his multi meter
Battery terminals, upgrade the cables and never have that issue again. Mine suffered form the same...
I'm a strong advocate for cable kits but with this being so intermittent, despite connection checks, is this not likely to be the infamous solenoid between battery box and heat shield?
Ye but is your are doing the solenoid I would to the cable then no future complications or repeat breakdowns... Kill to birds with one stone kind of things ;-) Like I said, mine was the same, one morning ok, go for fuel then took a attempts to get it going, after done the cables and battery terminals spot on.. Up to you really, just makes sense while you have everything out.
have to agree, i am in same position as already having everything off, ( tho tbf that was not soo diff, , not back together yet !!:Banghead: ) so will be doing every possible thing before rebuild ..
Ok, cables ordered from exact start, may as well tick as many boxes as possible whilst i have it pulled to bits. going to do the belts and a good service at the same time so that next season is'nt as frustrating. Cheers all for the input! just need to wait for the AA to finally drop her off at home.
Hi Just thought this might be helpful , it's from something that happened to my 749 . Did you notice any voltage fluctuation on your display ? I had a very similar problem that ended in my bike not restarting .. when i was riding the voltage would fluctuate down as low as 11v from 13.9v . we ( wife was on the back ) pulled into a little pub for a drink , upon coming out .. ignition on but voltage was showing just 10.8 v , hit the starter.. nothing just the voltage drop passed 9v and then show lo.. so whats your thinking.. battery died.. rectifier etc . finally got it home after i got jumped started ( which took ages to get it to catch) as it wouldn't even bump start ! Got the battery tested .. fine went through all the wiring with multimeter without finding any obvious fault , borrowed a rectifier and solenoid from streetfighter900 .. still the same . battery showed 13.9v with ignition off and a small drop when switched on at the battery .. yet the bike showed lo soon as i turn ignition on , at the solenoid it was still 13+ v with ignition on yet the bike showed bugger all on the display, even had glen at moto v scratching his head on this one . Cutting an even longer story short , i did find the problem . The main terminal that goes to the positive side of the battery look fine .. from the outside ! I first noticed even with just the ignition switched on the terminal got hot to touch , so i removed the terminal to have a closer look .. didn't look bad from the outside so i split it open .. the wires inside ( there are quite a few go into the terminal ) were terrible especially the small ones . Basically i think moisture gets in there and it can't get out so the inside of the terminal rusts losing connection with the smaller wires they start to arc causing the heat and losing strands at the same time beginning of the end of that, as it only get worse until fixed as the strands become less etc .. and sending the bike into thinking .. no voltage don't start ! i stripped them back to good wire got a capsule end from local motor shop soldered them all in there .. job done running like a dream . pics attached of what i found . maybe something to look at , maybe of some help
Cheers DJM, its a definite possibility and the extra info will really help in diagnosis, although i was'nt seeing the voltage drop on the battery when trying to turn it over, well not until i had done it too many times and drained the battery . i'm hoping that the replacement uprated cables will solve all my woes in one shot. will post results once i receive the bits and get around to fitting.
Good luck there - I live near the Green Welly and have a spare solenoid - pity I saw this 2 weeks too late. Green Welly owner is also an enthusiastic Ducatista...
