Teething Problems

[Dana in Philly]

Well, after reassembly following the clutch replacement, she ran like a charm -- for three days. It was glorious.

Then, two days ago, powered up fine, fuel system whizzed up nicely, but a mere "click" when I pressed the starter, and no starter motor action. I hadn't been charging the battery with the charger during those three days, so I thought, fingers crossed, maybe I've drained the battery to a point where she won't crank. (It's a new battery.)

Nope. Today, charger has a green light, says the battery's topped up. Turn the key. Nothin. Just some dim illumination at the dash battery, neutral, and oil pressure lamps.

So, gotta pull the body work and look around. Hopefully it's something bleeding obvious. I could try swapping in the old battery if it'll charge. Check if the starter motor's seized. Check the fuses for a clue.

Anybody got any other suggestions?

[BikerMiker]

Basic stuff first:

Cables on battery tight?

Large cable that feeds the starter from the battery in good condition?

Have you tried tapping the starter with a hammer (hard but not too hard. Use cardboard or something to keep from marring it)? This would point to the starter if it
starts after tapping it. I did have one though that did need tapped every so often
and never died.

Is the charger capable of checking for a battery fault like bad cell? Doubtful but
possible.

Have you tried a different battery or a jump?

[Dana in Philly]

Battery cables should be tight. Cables are in good condition, and rewrapped during the clutch service.

First thing I'm gonna try is to swap in another battery.

Originally Posted by BikerMiker

Basic stuff first:

Cables on battery tight?

Large cable that feeds the starter from the battery in good condition?

Have you tried tapping the starter with a hammer (hard but not too hard. Use cardboard or something to keep from marring it)? This would point to the starter if it
starts after tapping it. I did have one though that did need tapped every so often
and never died.

Is the charger capable of checking for a battery fault like bad cell? Doubtful but
possible.

Have you tried a different battery or a jump?

[tm1100s]

I'm pretty sure these starters have permanent magnets so be real careful rapping the thing with a hammer.

Do any of the lights go dim when you hear that click? And is the click coming from the starter or somewhere else?

[Dana in Philly]

Can't say where the click came from because it's no longer doing it. We're kinda in phase two of this problem. Not even a click.

Currently when I turn the key there's no headlight. Just dim illumination of the battery, neutral and oil pressure lights on the dash.

Originally Posted by tm1100s

I'm pretty sure these starters have permanent magnets so be real careful rapping the thing with a hammer.

Do any of the lights go dim when you hear that click? And is the click coming from the starter or somewhere else?

[tm1100s]

What's the battery voltage with everything OFF?

[Dana in Philly]

Dunno. Will test.

Originally Posted by tm1100s

What's the battery voltage with everything OFF?

[tm1100s]

With everything OFF you would like to see 12.6volts or better. 12.4 should crank the engine, less is questionable. BUT, with the voltmeter connected to the battery, turn the key ON and see if you get a drop, then push the starter to see if you get more drop (and what are those numbers). After you have those numbers I'll try and walk you through a couple of tests to narrow down the lack of power.

Make sure the kickstand and clutch switches are working, too. You don't happen to have a GS-911 scanner, do you?

[JimMoore]

I'd be concerned about the negative ground from the battery. It goes under the battery box. Mine came loose (maybe I didn't tighten it) after I replaced the engine in my RS. I ended up running a grounding cable (from the auto parts store) from the negative battery terminal to the upper shock bolt instead of taking the whole thing apart again.

[Dana in Philly]

Nope, no GS-911 scanner. No voltage meter either, so I'll have to pick something up that'll reach the pos and neg poles on the battery.

Will get something tomorrow and report.

Pretty sure the kickstand switch works, because it prevented starting the first time I tried to fire it up after reassembly. But will look at the area again.

What do you mean by the clutch switch? The neutral indicator? That works.

Originally Posted by tm1100s

With everything OFF you would like to see 12.6volts or better. 12.4 should crank the engine, less is questionable. BUT, with the voltmeter connected to the battery, turn the key ON and see if you get a drop, then push the starter to see if you get more drop (and what are those numbers). After you have those numbers I'll try and walk you through a couple of tests to narrow down the lack of power.

Make sure the kickstand and clutch switches are working, too. You don't happen to have a GS-911 scanner, do you?

[tm1100s]

No problem. The GS911 makes it easy to check voltage and the safety switches.
The voltmeter will pinpoint bad connections without needing any other tools except whats needed to get to the battery and some wiring. Always good to have one. Don't get it at harborfreight.

[Dana in Philly]

Lowes? Home Depot? Pepboys or auto parts store? Suggestions?

Thanks for the help, by the way.

Originally Posted by tm1100s

No problem. The GS911 makes it easy to check voltage and the safety switches.
The voltmeter will pinpoint bad connections without needing any other tools except whats needed to get to the battery and some wiring. Always good to have one. Don't get it at harborfreight.

[tm1100s]

For checking battery stuff, grounds, power, anything not ECU or computer related, then any of those places will have a decent meter.

[JimMoore]

Something like this is all you need.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Stalwart-Digital-Multimeter-Tester-M550065/301221620?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cVF%7cG%7c0%7cG-VF-PLA%7c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuMKYkubT2wIVxWSGCh2vrg1SEAQYASAB EgKA5vD_BwE&dclid=COTplZXm09sCFefD4QodK34JPg

[smddanny]

Was going to say there was a current drain killing the battery.. but if the charger says its OK and still just a click (or not even) when it ran 3 days before.. then a bad ground strap .. read resistance between the neg battery terminal and the motor or starter gnd. Next check all the spurious smaller ground cables running around.

[Dana in Philly]

Fun times with electrons. Will dig into it tomorrow.

[Groceryrun]

If you think it's the battery, just use jumper cables to the car.

[brentw1]

the resistance will measure low and still not be good unless you have a meter designed to measure real low resistances.
just measure the votage at the starter motor when you are trying to crank it.

[BigDav]

Dim lights and a hot battery sure sounds like a loose/bad battery cable. Check both ends.

[N41EF]

Electrical portion of ignition switch?