Wtf??

[jte8969]

So I got my bike running. I went to play some basketball with friends yesterday and rode the bike finally. worked great on the way there. When I left, it started jut fine. I got about a mile up the road and it just quit. All the lights worked. It just stopped running. I tried to start it again but the starter doesnt even turn. I was on the side of the road so it might have been to loud, but I dont think I could even hear the click when I turned the switch from off to run!

[XSokieSPECIAL]

I'm having a similar problem..........

Ok, I just finished swapping engines and everything seemed fine. Fired right up every time in the garage.

I went for a short ride this morning, took the long way to the grocery store for some coffee. Pulled in the parking lot and shut her down went in and got what I needed.

Came out, turned the key on and NOTHING no lights or anything. Pulled the right cover to check fuses and found the main power plug by the battery unplugged, plugged it back in and all the lights work now so I figure it's all good. Pushed the starter button.....NOTHING! Jumped the solenoid and it started right up but as soon as I take the jumper off it quits.

Ran a jumper wire from the battery to the small red wire on the solenoid and jumped the solenoid again and it started and stayed running that's how I got it home.

So.....what? Is the solenoid bad? I've read where this happend to some others but I can't remember what the fix was.

[XS1100 Newbie]

Yup, sounds like a power issue with a hot lead. Check out that solenoid, and the battery cable connections. Just because lights work does not mean there is a good enough connection for the starter.

[tarzan]

XSokieSPECIAL-.

the lights work now so I figure it's all good. Pushed the starter button.....NOTHING! Jumped the solenoid and it started right up but as soon as I take the jumper off it quits.

Ran a jumper wire from the battery to the small red wire on the solenoid and jumped the solenoid again and it started and stayed running that's how I got it home.

So.....what? Is the solenoid bad? I've read where this happend to some others but I can't remember what the fix was.

I had that happen on one my friend bought. I found a stator wire melted to the exhaust.It fried the reg/rec too.
I had to wedge a tweezer on the solenoid terminals to get it home, because if you remove the tweezer(jumper),it would die .

[Incubus]

It sounds to me like an issue with your kill switch, JTE. I recently became an expert on the stupid kill switch on my '79 Standard. That's what happens when they decide to screw with you. You have power, you have lights you have everything except the ability to make the motor turn. Here are a couple tests to confirm or totally obliterate my long-distance diagnosis.

1. Run a jumper from the spot where the blue/white wire is soldered to the solenoid to a ground. If the motor turns, your solenoid is good.

2. With a test light, check for power on the two red/white wires and the blue/white wire. All should show power. If one red/white has power and the other does not, or the blue/white wire doesn't light up your test light, the kill switch may be your culprit.

I discovered my mine that the connections in the kill switch had corroded over the years. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. The good news is that this is a relatively easy fix. Split the controller case and disconnect the two red/white wires. When you pull the little plastic holder the red/wires wires are encased in you will find a single screw that holds the kill switch. Remove that screw and you can pull the kill switch assembly out. It is held together by a small c-clip. Be VERY CAREFUL when you remove that c-clip. There is a small ball bearing, a copper plate and some tiny springs inside that are yearning to be free and will disappear into the twilight never to be found again (or found again only when you no longer have a need for them) if you are not real careful. Polish up the copper plate and the two contacts and your kill switch will work again.

Be very gentle with the parts of the kill switch assembly. Thirty year old plastic breaks easily and glues badly. I ruined one kill switch by breaking the little plastic plate the two contacts are in.

I hope this entry reads clearer to you than it does to me. It's early and I have pyrotechnics on my mind....

Live free.

Patrick

[XSokieSPECIAL]

Got it!!!!!!!

Pulled the right switch apart to check the splice, the kill switch has been removed, and there was no power there so I went back to the fuse box again.

The fuse furthest forward wasn' making good contact..............whew!

I hope your fix is as easy as mine. CHECK THAT FUSE!!!! Make sure it's good and making good contact.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey JTE,

Don't know what all you have checked on your new bike after you got it running, but sounds like you need to check out the charging system. The bike will run for a little while off of the battery...hence, starting and running a while, but when tried to restart..battery most likely depleted.

See tech tips for info, but several things to check. ALL ground connections, not just the main battery one, but the engine to frame behind the starter. There are 3 large white connectors behind the fuseblock for the ALT, they get corroded, etc....as mentioned above, can even melt due to resistance from corrosion! Also, take a multimeter/volt to the battery. If less than 12.5 , probably need to recharge the battery anyways, then start bike, and test charging voltage.....should rise to 14.5 at 2500 rpm. If only around 12, then further tests on the ALT and reg/rect need to be done. Again, info in the tech tips, and the manuals that can be downloaded.

T.C.

[brcree]

Jte....if its your fuse block and its stock....get with Topcat for a new thin blade fuse block. Ten bucks, includes shipping. Easy install, read instructions he gives ya!

[jte8969]

So I finaly got a chance to look at the bike for about 5 minutes today. The battery was around 12.8v. Also, i turned the key and hit the start button, just for kicks, and it turned over, probably would have sarted If I kept at it. I took apart the right switch, cleaned it up a little. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get more time. Any ideas as to why it would randomly turn over??

[DGXSER]

I had this issue with Banshee just recently. Hit the starter button and about every fifth to tenth time it would turn over/start. Went through the right hand switch with a fine tooth comb, and some sand paper and electrical cleaner too. No real change. So I took the starter solenoid from Thunderstruck and put it on, no more starting issues. The solenoid was intermitantly working. The old one went in the S-can.

[jte8969]

DGX, If the solenoid went bad, would that cause me to loose spark while riding?? When it quit on me, I was riding up the road, but I had all lights!

[tinman905]

DGX, If the solenoid went bad, would that cause me to loose spark while riding?? When it quit on me, I was riding up the road, but I had all lights!

Your pick up coils may have a bad wire or your ignition coils may be going they usually act up when they get hot.
Take your left side cover off start your bike and carefully tug on each of the pick up coil wires if nothing changes you can rule that out.

[jte8969]

Question. I had recently put on a new wire harness that I got off ebay. I dont recall seeing a ballist resistor. could that have anything to do with it??

[bikerphil]

81's don't have a ballast, they have the 3 ohm coils. 78-80 had the ballast with 1.5 ohm coils.

[DGXSER]

Tinman has a good idea on the pickup coils, although they are not nearly as likely to have issues ont he 81 models due to no mech advance. And that should not effect starter turning over.

The power flow for the starting circuit is Battery feeds main fuse, from there to the key switch, this feeds the fuse box. From the ign fuse, power goes to the kill switch on the right handle bar. Then power goes to TCI and the starter solenoid. Since the bike will not start or run (as in died abruptly), I would suggest the kill switch. I focused on the starting issue previously. The kill switch is the only part of the equation that effects both running and starting. I'd dig into that right handle bar control and clean all the contacts really well on the kill switch and the starter button while your in there.