starter, battery or something else?

Energy One

what?

Active Member
was out riding yesterday (100+ miles) and was on and off the bike with no issues. last stop i went to start the bike and there was a loud click. motor wouldn't turn over at all. tried again and no click, with the speedo/tach flashing like crazy. had limited tools so could only trouble shoot so much. battery seemed to have juice and all connections were tight. one thing i noticed was the rubber sleeve on the starter ground was all dry rotted but the wire was intact.

the bike ran fine all day until that last stop. before i started pulling stuff off the bike i wanted to see if anyone has thoughts on this. I'll start by load testing the battery, then probably get into the starter.

thanks
 

what?

Active Member
has to be a few years old at least. usually keep it on a trickle charge if its sitting for a long time. would the battery just crap out like that?
the battery wasn't draining down when i hit start. the starter would just click, if it did that at all.
 

Th3InfamousI

Administrator
Staff member
has to be a few years old at least. usually keep it on a trickle charge if its sitting for a long time. would the battery just crap out like that?
the battery wasn't draining down when i hit start. the starter would just click, if it did that at all.
Sure will.

Earlier this year I had a one year old battery I rode it around the weekend before no signs of anything and next weekend went to start it and click click..

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

Little-Boo

Well-Known Member
Troop Supporter
Check your CB or reset it just in case. It is possible the bike was running on battery only till you killed it. I say that because if your CB is tripped the VR is not charging your battery at all. I took the CB out a long time ago and replaced it with a 40amp fuse. The Fuse won't trip it just blows and easy to replace or find out if the VR is working or nor. The CB will trip and you will only find out when you battery is dead or close to being dead. The Trickle Charger probably kept your battery going when you used it on short runs. My :2cents:

Carlos :chopper:
 

Kobi

Member
My 08 Ridgeback has done that a few times to me too, hot or cold. The last time it did that i pushed down on the rear compression release rubber cap and then it cranked over great. I'm thinking the compression release stuck and that cylinder was on it's compression stroke and just too much for the starter? Mine was a cold start this last time. I was reading these releases stick at times. My bike gets little use, 08 with 2200 miles. I pushed on the release button a few days later and seemed to stick a bit when pushed(did not try to start the bike), front release did not have that sticky feel to it. I'm going to put some WD40 in it over the winter and see if it helps.
 

Rottweiler

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
was out riding yesterday (100+ miles) and was on and off the bike with no issues. last stop i went to start the bike and there was a loud click. motor wouldn't turn over at all. tried again and no click, with the speedo/tach flashing like crazy. had limited tools so could only trouble shoot so much. battery seemed to have juice and all connections were tight. one thing i noticed was the rubber sleeve on the starter ground was all dry rotted but the wire was intact.

the bike ran fine all day until that last stop. before i started pulling stuff off the bike i wanted to see if anyone has thoughts on this. I'll start by load testing the battery, then probably get into the starter.
thanks
Are you sure that starter ground is a ground and not a Pos. wire? Yes load test that Battery first. The loud click sound came from the starter area correct?
Good luck let us know what you find.
 

what?

Active Member
I mentioned the wire because it is clad with rubber. Or used to be. It all fell apart and was wondering if water may have gotten down inside the starter or just dirt in general. I put over a hundred miles (140) before it crapped out on me. On and off the bike and restarted multiple times without issue. I’ll get into it this weekend. if I see if it’s not the battery, then I’ll work back from there. Going to the bike show in NY this weekend so let’s hope a different bike doesn’t catch my eye there. Thanks a ton guys for the responses
 

what?

Active Member
just though i'd update on this thread as it's been a while. got a new battery (duracell) at the local battery plus store. put it in the bike and it started up. ramped up in voltage after starting too so it looks like it will charge in the bike. the old battery wont take a charge. decided to replace the rubber grommet thingy on the starter as well. left the starter in the bike but what a pain in the ass working that thing down over that wire. took a bit of effort and had to remove the belt guard for ease of access. seems to run fine now and i hope that the seal will prevent any water from getting down inside and/or grounding. the ancillary wires are right there up against this wire and i am not sure if it was draining the battery down somehow. who knows. anyway it runs fine.grommet 1.JPG grommet 2.JPG

the rubber boot was 2 and change from wildsteed worx
http://www.wildsteedworx.com/index...._info&cPath=68_173_82_419_420&products_id=203
 

tilemaster

Member
just though i'd update on this thread as it's been a while. got a new battery (duracell) at the local battery plus store. put it in the bike and it started up. ramped up in voltage after starting too so it looks like it will charge in the bike. the old battery wont take a charge. decided to replace the rubber grommet thingy on the starter as well. left the starter in the bike but what a pain in the ass working that thing down over that wire. took a bit of effort and had to remove the belt guard for ease of access. seems to run fine now and i hope that the seal will prevent any water from getting down inside and/or grounding. the ancillary wires are right there up against this wire and i am not sure if it was draining the battery down somehow. who knows. anyway it runs fine.View attachment 55455 View attachment 55456

the rubber boot was 2 and change from wildsteed worx
http://www.wildsteedworx.com/index...._info&cPath=68_173_82_419_420&products_id=203
Man get yourself a trickle charger to plug it in if not you'll have a dead battery once a week if you don't ride it everyday

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

what?

Active Member
Man get yourself a trickle charger to plug it in if not you'll have a dead battery once a week if you don't ride it everyday

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
I always have it on a charger (battery tender 800). I thought it was odd the battery would just crash the way it did.
 
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