Is my battery stuffed?

[ReadyXB]

Great ideas, nicholas900 [up] Two heads are better than one!

 

[nicholas900]

^Always!

Hey VBomb. Here's a quick sketch. It's by no means a wiring diagram. But it explains simply how the starter works, and how many mechanical grounds there are.

First pic shows basic electrical function.

Second pic shows an expanded view of the starter solenoid as it operates. When you push your starter button it sends 12v to the little green wire which energizes a coil pulling the heavy contact. This lets the current flow through the heavy wire from your battery to the starter motor itself. A way to look at the solenoid is as a relay. It's required so you don't have to run a heavy battery cable from your battery to your handle bar starter button and then back to the starter.

Hope this helps you, or someone else down the road understand it a little better. Good luck with it!

 

[vomitbomb]

Would you agree that insufficient battery amperage is not the issue? And in your latest tests, you tied directly from the jumper battery negative cable to the engine, correct?

Yeah that's correct. I've used a number of different batteries including the jump pack which is about 3 months old and saying fully charged.

Which ground did you clean?

I cleaned the one between the battery and the frame just next to it. I thin the fact that it started was just coincidental and din't have anything to do with the cleaning. It kinda makes sense as over the last 6 months or so I thought it was strange that the bike wouldn't even jump sometimes like every battery I used was somehow flat but then all the sudden it started from a battery that it didn't before!

More thoughts: no engine oil, primary chain adjusted too tight, etc... things that might make the engine itself have extra friction and therefore be more difficult to turn over. Before your starting troubles began, did you have any unusual noises with the engine running?

When I went for the ride and noticed the check engine light came on at high RPM my first thought was to check the engine oil when I got home and it was within spec. As for the primary chain. I don't know when that might have been adjusted but nothing on the engine has been touched in between a lot of rides. Unless it can somehow tighten itself? No unusual noises. It honestly ran great. better than I expected with the fuel in it that must have been stale.

Also, did you ever read the code for your check engine light (CEL)? You can jumper pins 1-2 of the data link socket under your fairing and watch the CEL blinking pattern.

Well I figured I needed to get it started again to see what it was and even then I'd need to sit there revving it at high RPM to produce a blinking pattern? I have an EBR ECM (the tune-able one). I'm not sure if that gives me some more functionality here.

Your getting really good help from Ready. Just double check that negitive jumper cable connection you made on the cylinder head bracket. Pretty sure it's powder coated. A good spot just to double check is to remove one of the nuts from your belt idler. Then put your ground jumper cable on the stud.

I didn't think the cylinder head bracket is powder-coated but I can check via the stud you mentioned too. Another thing I can do is take the air-box base off and to to the earth directly.

The wire you used the nail for (clever) is for the solenoid. You still haven't ruled out the heavy positive battery cable to your starter. That handles the load. If your looking at the wire you pushed the nail into. It's just a little left and up. It has a rubber boot on it. It is directly above an Allen head screw that attaches the rear engine mount to the engine. Pop up the boot and make sure it's not all corroded.

I was actually wondering whether or not I should try connecting the positive terminal to the starters main feed. I've located where it comes in so I just have to awkwardly attach a jumper or similar to it. As you mentioned, first I'll make sure it's not loose/corroded or something obvious.

Hope this helps you, or someone else down the road understand it a little better. Good luck with it!

I've been looking at a few schematics and animations which show how the starters work. Never thought about it before but it's definitely nice to know these things. Thanks for the diagram!

I'm no wiz with mechanics but I can try dismantling the starter to see whether or not it's stuffed. That kinda thing may take some time for me so I'm just going to re-do a lot of these tests first (to be extra sure) and maybe I can use that stud on the idler pulley Nicholas mentioned too.

 

[ReadyXB]

Good deal vomitbomb! Yeah, I was so focused on eliminating switches and relays that I forgot about the GIANT cable going from the battery to the starter, lol!

That kinda thing may take some time for me so I'm just going to re-do a lot of these tests first (to be extra sure) and maybe I can use that stud on the idler pulley Nicholas mentioned too.

The forum will be here, so take your time. Sounds like you have another vehicle to drive in the meantime, which is good.