| Author | Message | ||
     Calamari_kid |
When I hit the starter all I get is a click from the relay. It was sitting for about two weeks on a trickle charger since it last ran. Lowest temps have been in the 40's. Getting 12.5 volts from the battery with the key off which drops to 12.2 with the key on. Tapped the starter with a screwdriver handle and rocked the bike in 5th gear, so I don't think the starter is frozen. I figure the next step is to check connections on the way to and voltage at the starter. Any other suggestions? Thanks! | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
You may have done this already... but, double check the battery connection.. for some reason some people have had to put a washer under the cable to make a good connection. | ||
| Swampy |
Try pulling in the clutch when you hit the starter button, if it cranks, then you need to clean your batter cables, and all the grounds. Even if it doesn't, it would be a splendid idea to do so anyways. | ||
| Idaho_buelly |
What's your voltage say when you hit the start button? | ||
| Kurbennett |
Just had the same situation. Corrosion on the battery terminals. It was a fine gray dust so I didnt really notice it. Tightened cables but it didnt work until I cleaned both the battery terminals, cables, bolts and such. | ||
| Calamari_kid |
@Wolfridgerider- What size washer were folks using? @Idaho_buelly- I misspoke in my first post, 12.2 was the reading with the starter engaged. It was around 12.3 with just the key on. Clutch engaged doesn't change anything. Are there any other ignition interlocks other than the clutch and neutral? More connections to check. | ||
| Ratbuell |
The battery terminal washers are just for thickness. The screws are longer than the holes in the battery, and the screw bottoms out before the head tightens against the cable. Either that, or wire up more crap  I've got aux lights, 2 sets of heated clothing pigtails, a 120v inverter.... And there are no starter safeties - on a Buell (except the Blast), if it's in gear and you hit start, it leaves without you. Also, in your fuse/relay box, you have 2 matching relays. One is for the starter, and I honestly forget what the other one is for off the top of my head. But - they're the same relay. Swap 'em and see if it starts. Sounds to me, though, like you need a battery. Even though you have 12.2 cranking V, you may only have 10 amps - not enough juice. | ||
| Tankhead |
Mine did the same thing this weekend about 40 miles from home..... Had to jump it using a strangers cables and car. Either way I have noticed this a few times when firing up the cold bike. Have the heat troller attached to the battery. | ||
| Calamari_kid |
Ok, I've got a pigtail for the battery tender and a gps power lead wired up and everything is good and tight, so that should be fine. I'll try the relay swap and take the battery in for testing if that doesn't change things. Weird that the battery might be done, I just got it in Nov and I put it on the tender if I'm not going to be riding for a week or so. Are there any parasitic drains on the Uly? | ||
| Ratbuell |
If your GPS goes right to the battery, *it* is a drain unless you pull it out of the cradle. Even if its turned off, the GPS will charge its own battery if it has power coming to it (at least, all our Garmins do). Small battery in a GPS will cycle through drain/recharge/float/drain over and over again. | ||
| Calamari_kid |
I don't leave it in the cradle, and it's wired through an ignition switched relay, so I think I'm good there. | ||
| Calamari_kid |
Ok, finally got to spend some time on the bike today. (working out of town sucks) Got the battery load tested and it's good, terminals and connections looked clean, but I scrubbed them anyway, swapped the relays, all to no avail. <sigh> Tomorrow if I get time after cleaning out the truck I'll check voltage at the starter. Any other connections I should look at? Thanks all for the help. | ||
| 70_west |
12.3 volts is a dead battery, very dead. A fully charged battery will show 12.9 volts, 12.6 volts is right at 50% discharged, 11.9 is generally considered a "damaged" battery and should be replaced. You are almost there... I'd spring for a new battery and when you get the bike started, check your voltage while it's running. You should have over 13 vdc at the terminals, if it's still at 12.5 or so, I think you have a charging issue. | ||
| Dio |
Double check the frame ground at the end of the negative cable. Or use a jumper cable from the negative battery post to a solid ground point on the engine. If it starts using the jumper cable you found your problem! | ||
| Etennuly |
If you are only getting a drop of .1 V when pushing the starter button you have a bad connection in the starter wiring. It should drop to no lower than about 9.8V or so under start load. It sounds like you have no or little connection. Check the starter + cable at the starter end. The jumper to the starter should tell you if the starter itself works. Could be a bad switch, ign key sw, red kill sw, or start button. There are many grounds that could be the problem. The battery terminals just need a little washer about 1/16" or so thick. The terminals must be tight. If you can grab the wires at the terminals and move them with significant force with your fingers, they are not tight enough. | ||
| Eulysses |
Kinda interesting here on my 09 these past couple weeks here in warm Yuma I notice when the bike is hot the starter hesitates when holding the button down then takes off. Like the engine was hot and sticking a little. Might be electrical too. Watching this thread. Or maybe normal? | ||
| Etennuly |
My '06's original battery never held more than 12.3V. The book says to never even test any electrical problems unless it is at 12.6V. I took it back to HD several times for other things mentioning this nearly every time. They always claimed 12.2 - 12.3 was normal and they wouldn't replace it. It always hesitated when first hitting the start button, then cranked and fired right off. After a couple of years I got a new battery. It is one of those AGM units from O'Reilly's, it holds 12.7V no problem. The bike's initial cranking is much easier. I have found that the battery terminals need to be cleaned and tightened every six months or so. Otherwise it goes back to its old hard crank routine. I have noticed a little black stuff that gets on the terminal ends even though they are tight, you would think that would only get there through arcing. | ||
| Druelly |
I had a similar problem, and it was the fuse to the fuel pump. Don't ask, they (the dealer) did not charge me, but it does not make any sense to me. As long as it fixed the problem and did not cost me anything I was happy | ||
| Metaldude |
I had similar problems on my 06 - not starting unless the battery was a full 12.5v or more. I did two changes that fixed all these issues. One was my "77 connector" fix which I don't think applies to an 09. The other was to change the ground strap mount so that it goes right to the frame. Even used the same strap, although I've seen pics from other guys on this board that upgraded to a better strap. With just those two changes, I've had zero starting and charging problems. You could test out the strap change pretty easily. But make sure you've brought your battery to full juice first (green light on the tender). | ||
| Calamari_kid |
Got the word from the shop yesterday. The starter is dead and a replacement is 7-10 days out. Odd, as I've only got 1500 or so miles on it. Anyone else have issues with starter failures? | ||
| Froggy |
I abuse my starter, no issues yet on any of my bikes. Shit happens, thats what the warranty is for  | ||
| Calamari_kid |
Good to hear. I didn't get a bunch of hits on a search of starter failures, which is encouraging. I just needed a little extra reassurance. |
