| Author |
Message |
    
Palockhart
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - 03:25 pm: | 
|
Hey guys... I went for about a 6 hour ride the other day with some buddies (on jappers) and I was the one who broke down. Running fine, no problems at all, then at a stoplight she dies. Pushed into a parking lot, did some minor troubleshooting, trailered it home. That night, I noticed the starting relay made a hissing sound instead of a clicking, so I replaced that to no satisfaction. Old relay now seems to function fine.
Ive been beating my head against a wall with this bike for a week. Headlight is blown out, both high and low beams, I never even used the high beam that day... Signal lights dont work, no power to them, bulbs good, power at the flashing relay good. The battery (DieHard Gold) turned into scrap after this incident, replaced under warranty.
Taillight turns on, brake light functions, horn, and even starter work. When turning the key to the on position, i get a quick, strong spark at the plug, but when cranking the starter, no spark.
I have tried everything I could think of. Replaced the starting relay with known good one, as well as the other relay. bypassed ignition switch, checked all fuses, and traced every wire on the bike.
I was thinking overcharging issue, but arent the fuses supposed to blow before major stuff starts going bad?
I dont have a clue. Riding season is coming to an end, and Im without a bike. Im hoping someone has had a similar issue and can point me in the right direction? |
Kusskid76
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - 06:02 pm: |
|
Palock,
Have you checked the voltage regulator yet, It would seem if they were all caused by the same issue it would be being a voltage surge and over/under charging, turn signals not working is weird pretty sure they're on the same fuse as the tail light and dash lights, I would start with the VR all you need is a good multimeter that does DC volts and amps.
Any electrical wiz's with any idea's?
Good luck Bro Eric |
Palockhart
| | Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 10:31 am: |
|
I've got a good multimeter... I don't have my service manual handy, but is there a way I check the VR, without the bike running? |
Buell_bert
| | Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 11:25 am: |
|
To me it sounds like the battery to starter or starter to master circuit breaker or possibly the 3 red wires from the master circuit fuse rubbed thru to some part of the harness. Most likely a ground to fry the battery and reverse feed to other things. I am using a 99/00 manual though. The master circuit breaker is 30 amps so I would think it would be before that. Good luck. |
Palockhart
| | Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 11:44 am: |
|
The master circuit breaker, is the one with the wires held on with nuts correct? Power in, power out. I've intimately traced/probed the 3 red wires going to/from the ignition switch, no issues. the bike cranks over, so I feel like there is nothing wrong with the starter circuit... |
Buell_bert
| | Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 11:50 am: |
|
You have the right breaker. I'm just saying to look for any chafing on the wires. Maybe after playing with it they are not touching now. Also did you see anything melted or discolored anywhere? |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 12:40 pm: |
|
I think the manual gives some "off the bike" tests for the VR. |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 03:50 pm: |
|
It sounds like you could use a service manual. Kinda about impossible to diagnose issues yourself without one. |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 04:48 pm: |
|
Lucky for you, there is an online version of the 1997 S1 Service manual that is applicable to the electrical system of your '98 S3. See the online Service Manual, specifically the troubleshooting sections starting on page 1-36 in the Maintenance chapter, page 5-5 of the Electric Starter chapter, and page 27 of the 1997 Info chapter. Suggest you take a look at all of it before heading out to the bike.
Good luck. |
|
Troubleshooting (Poor Starting/Running/Handling/Ride Issues) »
Archive through December 21, 2009 »
98 S3 No Start... check this out guys... weird.