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XB12 won't start

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J

Justaerin

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2011
Messages
132
Greetings all, and thanks for reading. I went out to start the bike this morning and wasn't able to. I turned the key to on, switched the engine cutoff switch on, saw my guages sweep, heard (I believe?) the fuel pump run to prime, hit the ignition switch and heard one click (from the switch) that may have just been the switch hitting its detent... but no other sounds or activity whatsoever. I'm not too familiar with the bike, but I'm pretty sure I can follow any suggestions anyone may have to offer. I didn't get a chance to troubleshoot (had to get to work) other than trying the key/ignition switch a couple of times with the same symptoms. Any ideas? Thanks very much in advance, rolling through the forum didn't really offer any advice on this issue specifically...
 
dead/weak battery? Try charging the battery and see if that makes a difference. I would also check and make sure the charging system is working correctly. Sounds like it could be a problem with more than one fix.
 
I'll agree with the battery. If its 2 years old its shot ! Also might clean the connections on the starter switch.
 
Always start with a load test.

However, one click indicates a possible relay issue so get one of those and replace the ignition one.
 
I live in an apartment building so there wasn't really a plug nearby into which I could connect the charger. I did check the voltage with a meter and it looked good, and lights and pump all look/sound really strong, even high beam. I tried starting it while tapping the starter and ignition relays and also while moving wiring around in case anything was just kinda loose. All the fuses looked good in the light, but I didn't connect an ohmmeter so it wasn't the most comprehensive test. Wiring looked good otherwise. I have some electronics experience, but zero motorcycle or auto wiring troubleshooting experience... but I'm kinda feeling like it's the relay. That might be the easiest fix, or I'll be pulling the battery over the weekend to take it in to test under load.

If it is a relay, lamarchangel mentioned it'd be the ignition relay. Should I pick up any other parts as good-to-have spares or possible fixes to this issue? I don't really enjoy playing swaptronics, but sometimes it's the quickest way, so whatev. I just want to ride again!
 
You could also try swapping the relays around to test before you go buy one I did that for mine when I had a similar problem on my 12R and found my ignition relay had went bad.
 
Otherwise its probly the battery like everyone else said they go bad all the time and xb's dont like to run on low or weak battery's
 
Are all the relays interchangeable? If so, is there one that's better to swap with ignition than another?

You're right about the battery too... I'm going to try to find an extension cord to charge it. My voltmeter is a crappy little analog thing, so it wasn't ultra accurate and I'm not exactly sure what the tolerances are. I also didn't test under load, and I'm sure that's a different beast altogether.
 
Relay is a less than $10 part. It's a common auto part, don't know the number but you can switch them around to isolate the issue.

Usually if the battery is so weak that there's only one click, it would reset the clock. So, battery is not that weak and power is getting to relay.

Usually, a weak battery would have several clicks as it goes through the relay but does not have enough power at the solenoid. The several clicks are the solenoid. So, power is not getting to solenoid.

Green wire from relay goes to solenoid. Wire may have insulation worn and grounding out preventing power to solenoid. However, I believe, not sure, that relay would continue to click. So, check wire but I'm leaning to faulty relay.

That's my quick, hundreds of miles away, troubleshooting walkthrough.

Hope it helps.
 
Hah it helps very much, thank you. I should have also updated this with clarification: There is no audible click of a relay, the click I'm hearing is most definitely just the ignition switch hitting its detent position. I'll see if I can either get some relays or do some swapping. Does the battery need to be disco'd before swapping relays?

Thanks for the advice!
 
Okay, disregard all that for now.

Basics: green neutral light is on? Or pull clutch lever in?

Still nothing?

Load test.

(Relays can be changed without disconnecting. However, if there is no click then power isn't getting there so we're still at battery to relay issue. Go ahead and try the relay switch though, it's one possible solution and easier to do than taking out the battery. It's just out of the troubleshooting sequence.)
 
I just had this everything works like it should but when you hit the start button their is nothing. I then took my triple tree off and on the bottom of the ignition there is 2 screws. Take those out and pull the wiring harness off the ignition switch. Then look at the wires that are soldered on the little circuit board. All of mine were connect except one witch was to run the bike. I re soldered it on and I was good to go.
 
Taking off the triple tree sounds like major surgery... without the experience or workspace to do it, I might hold off on that haha. I think I read your solution in another thread when I was researching before I wrote this one up. Thanks for the advice! I'll work on what lamarchangel offered for the time being :)
 
Though I'm embarrassed to tell you what the issue was, I figured since you all took the time to respond that you deserve a good laugh.

Like lamarchangel suggested, I needed to pull the clutch lever in. The neutral light was on but it still wouldn't start, so when I pulled the lever in it did. Tried again with no clutch and the neutral light on, no start. Then I switched to first, back to neutral and started it up with no clutch. That's the first time I've ever come across this issue in my admittedly limited experience, so don't flame me too badly haha.

Thanks everyone!
 

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