| Author | Message | ||
     Hispeed |
Hello all, I am just recently having a starting issue with my 2002 Blast. When I brought it back out for the year (I garage it for the Wisconsin winters) it ran fine, and I put about 150 miles on it. After a few weeks out of storage, the battery just died. I removed it, recharged it, and rode a bit without incident, but the battery didn't hold a charge. I blame myself for this. I didn't allow the battery to sit after charging, and threw it back in the bike because I wanted to get riding!! Now the battery holds a charge, but when I went to start the Blast again, it started, ran very rough for a few seconds, and then died. I started it again, same conditions, so I tried to give it some gas. It died again. The third time when I started it, it almost ran, then a grinding/spinning noise occurred. I'm afraid that I have done something to the overrunning clutch or something else in the starter. I would really appreciate any feedback you guys have. Thanks. Rob | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Sounds like the battery is nearing the end of a useful charge (going dead) and the starter is no longer fully engaging. It will also happen if the engine is trying to start and its barely running and you dont notice it. My guess is that if the battery has a full charge this problem wont happen and you have nothing to worry about. Also, since the Blast uses the system of having the headlight on while cranking the starter, if the battery is low on charge it may not have enough juice to start the engine and run the ignition. What will usually happen is you'll get a few puffs, but it wont start. It also may seem to start after you stop cranking the starter. It may also "push start" easily. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
PS while some people claim (and it may be true) to have the original battery in their 2001, 2002, 2003 Blasts. The reality is that the battery is probably past its useful life at 7+ years old. If you run it every day it may not give you any problems, but let it sit and it will be hard to start. | ||
| Reuel |
Yeah, I know you're talking about me, Erik!  | ||
| Ezblast |
Also check your front and rear grounds. EZ | ||
| Hispeed |
I charged the battery over night (trickle), and tried to start the bike again just now. Where this used to start the bike one time, now I still get the spinning/grinding sound I was talking about. As cheap as it sounds, I'd like to not drop $70 on a new battery if it's not truly the problem. EZ, thanks for the tip, but I'm kind of a noob when it comes to this stuff. I'm assuming that I'm checking with reference to the frame, but where do put the other end of the multimeter, and what is the difference between front/rear ground? Thanks again guys. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
It might be a bad starter too. EZ is talking about ground straps. They are the very thick cables that connect the engine to the frame and ground the electrical system completing the circuit. If the ground is bad or weak, you may get weak voltage at the starter which draws very heavy current from the battery. A common sign of this is that the clutch cable gets hot (it acts as a ground wire if the others are disconnected). One ground is the battery cable. The other is a ground strap (thick braided wire) near the horn, from the front engine mount to the frame. You can use a known good car battery to start your bike. I'd do it car engine off and be careful not to ground out the jumper cables on the frame (which is really close to the positive terminal).If you get the same result, then its not the battery causing it (though the battery could still be bad, its not the cause of the problem). A test light is much easier to use than a multi meter. Most of the time you dont need to know what the voltage is, just that you have voltage. It reads on, off or dim and that tells you all you usually need to know. It can be used to check grounds too. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
PS put one end of the multi-meter (test light) on the positive terminal of the battery, then the other lead (or end) on the frame (or ground points). They work either way. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Reuel: That must be one hellovan Oak tree in your front yard!  | ||
| Hispeed |
So just went to BatteriesPlus, and they performed a load test on my battery. It's all good. Would it be beneficial for me to shoot a short video and post it on YouTube or something so you guys get a better idea of what's going on? Thanks. | ||
| Ezblast |
Definitely the grounds - the odds of a starter going bad are practically ziltch. EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
A Youtube video couldnt hurt. Concur on the starter. They very rarely go bad on the Blast (its the same starter as the twins, doing half the work!). Most of our diagnostics here at the Thumper side involve asking "what could be the problem?" then applying that to what commonly goes bad on a Blast. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Check the positive cables too. Start at the battery. Feel for hot wires after cranking (or trying to). | ||
| Hispeed |
Hey guys, Just uploaded a video to YouTube that can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m-4AzU9IO8 Audio quality is kinda crappy (shot from digital camera), but it's good enough to capture the problem accurately. Thanks again. | ||
| Swampy |
Hispeed, that is the sound of a crank shaft spline that has been worn away due to a loose crankshaft sprocket nut. Please verify it befor you panic, remove the primary cover and look to see if the crankshaft nut is loose, It probably has been for a long time and there will be a very metalic tint to the primary fluid when you drain it out. If it is worn there are a few things you can do. 1. Rebuild the engine replacing the crankshaft. It's gonna be expansive. 2. Find another engine. It's gonna be expensive. 3. Clean everything up, and retorque everything back together using Red Loctite. Then find someone to MIG weld the nut to the flywheel and the nut to the crank. You only have 30 horse power there, the weld will hold, I know, I have done it sucessfully before. This is the least expensive way to go. One thing to keep in mind is make all the recommended upgrades in the primary area before you weld it together as the clutch hub will be difficult to impossible to remove with the crank sprocket in the way. Then ride the piss out of it, and forget it. If it breaks again, weld it again, if something like a transmission fails, you will be required to replace the crank anyways, but it will buy you some time before you have to spend any Big money. | ||
| Hispeed |
Damn.... I'll try to take a look at the primary this week. Got to get that left foot peg off, which is a pain with my missing U-joint. I will take pictures and post them when I finally get that door open. Rob | ||
| Reuel |
Erik: It is a red maple, and I raised it from a seedling. It is really close to 4 willows, so maybe that is giving me an advantage. Should I post a youtube video too? | ||
| Swampy |
Do post, do post! | ||
| Rainman |
Is the naked dance around the oak tree still recommended standard procedure? | ||
| Milt |
If I live in the Northern hemisphere, should I dance clockwise or counterclockwise around the oak?  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Please, Reuel, do post on You Tube. Who knows, you might get more hits than TronMan!  Yes, still recommended procedure. The direction doesnt matter, but sans clothing does and most importantly, you must believe. (If you dont believe, it wont make for a very convincing story to the police and it could make the difference between posting bail or being released after a 72 hour psyc hold. On the plus side, its very unlikely that the neighborhood girl scouts will ever knock on your door again to sell you cookies). | ||
| Archage |
Sorry i dont really bi how to use this forum and i dont know how to start a thread but i NEED HELP.... I bought a blast a week ago and it ran fine, but there were alot of spiders on it so i got the water hose and sprayed the hell out of it well that night i left the battery on, and it died. now i am trying to start it and it is just clicking... what should i do as a poor college student i cant afford to take it to the shop and i really hope i did not mess my first bike up in the week that i had it. PLEASE HELP | ||
| Hispeed |
My issue ended up being the primary nut backing itself off. Unfortunately, I did strip some threads on the input shaft. After re-torquing it, the bike started fine. Your problem sounds like a battery issue, so I'd start with trying to charge it first. | ||
| Archage |
I took the battery to autozone and they charged and tested it for me. I got home and it did the same exact cliking noise. I am thinking in my process of cleaning it i broke a ground, or caused a short some how. I will upload a video tonight, would it be okay if i continue to use this thread???? Thanks Guys | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
This thread is perfect to use! Yes, I would guess a loose battery/ground cable. If the clutch cable is getting warm/hot/smoking, it's definitely a ground. | ||
| Archage |
the thing is i can get the bike to run long enough to see if the clutch cable is getting warm. and another question if it was a short would i still get a clicking noise??? it would seem to me that i would not hear the starter at all if that was the case | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Clutch cable will only get warm when cranking the engine, otherwise it will not get warm. Well, its probably not a short. Its a loose or bad/broken connection. The starter isnt getting enough 'juice' from the battery. Starter cables are thick to handle the amount of 'power' needed to crank over the starter. If not a good connection, then you might only get one click, or a few clicks. If your ground is broken and it grounds through the clutch cable, its probably not going to get enough 'power'. | ||
| Archage |
okay hmmm... where should i start i assume taking a look at all the fuses but then what??? oh yeah and i think i am getting a good connection to the battery but i will check that too, | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Fuses- no, it won't be a fuse. If the starter is clicking, it's hooked up and getting power. First make sure the battery cables are tight. Negative tight to the frame, positive tight to the starter. Check the braided flat wire ground strap at the front engine mount. Next try starting. Anything get hot? Try jumping from a car battery (car is not running and turned off). Positive cable hooked ( carefully) to the positive on the battery. Negative jumper cable hooked to a ground on the frame (engine block works well). See if it starts. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"Anything get hot" = do any battery/starter cables get hot or do their connection points get hot. |
