| Author |
Message |
    
Kfry7265
| | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2014 - 11:56 pm: | 
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So each morning when I start the bike it will just click for a few times. Half trying to turn over the engine and then finally starting up. After she has been running then she will start great. It is only if I leave her alone for a while. Always starts it just clicks a lot before finally starting up. I was wondering if this is common for 03 XB9R's. I have only had her for a couple of months. Any thoughts would be greatly welcomed. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 08, 2014 - 12:02 am: |
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Hey Kyle welcome to the board.
The rapid machine gun click is the starter relay engaging and disengaging, which usually means the battery is on the way out.
Does the clock and tripometer reset after this happens? |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 08, 2014 - 09:22 am: |
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Check grounds at battery terminals also, but Froggy is likely right, it is your battery.
A good battery conditioner can bring many batteries back. |
Kfry7265
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 08, 2014 - 05:12 pm: |
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Froggy,
I have not noticed that either have reset when it happens.
Should I just go get the battery checked?
Reepicheep,
So what should I look at for the grounds?
And thanks for the comments. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 08, 2014 - 10:28 pm: |
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Pull the battery terminals, clean them really well with a stiff brush and wd40 or a baking soda paste, and reinstall them snugly and recharge the battery with a tender or a long ride.
Could be a failing stator as well, but the battery is much more likely to be the problem.
A smart charger like a battery tender, or a shumaker from WalMart, might bring the battery back over the course of a few weeks of conditioning. |
Buell_bert
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2014 - 10:01 am: |
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Clean the terminals real good at both e ends and pos. and neg. but ultimately I think the BATTERY is the problem. |
Kfry7265
| | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2014 - 06:39 am: |
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Froggy,
Today when I started the bike it did reset my clock and trip. Is that significant to indicate that it may be something other than the battery? |
Froggy
| | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2014 - 08:21 am: |
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Nope, the reset means your voltage is dropping to the point that it can't keep the data. 9 out of 10 times this is simply a dead battery. |
Buell_bert
| | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2014 - 08:27 am: |
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It most likely means that the battery is going and does not have capacity which in turn is dropping the voltage so low when cranking it is causing the clock and trip to basically quit working because of the low voltage. When I had a battery going bad it would sometimes cause the plugs to foul while trying to start it. But please clean ALL the battery connections first and try that first as a bad connection will or can cause a sizable voltage drop too. Good luck. |
Buell_bert
| | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2014 - 08:28 am: |
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Sorry Froggy I must have been typing when you posted. |
Dako
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 - 03:46 pm: |
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I'm having the same problem even after replacing the battery. 05 XB12s always just a single click per push. If I bump it in gear to get off the compression stroke(I think), it cranks and starts, but even after a long ride... Same issue. Going through the manual but its been so long since I turned a wrench it reads like Japanese stereo instructions translated by google. lol
Stator you say? |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 - 03:54 pm: |
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Look for loose connections and shorted wires also... You can easily check the stator by measuring the voltage at the battery with the bike off, then the bike running. It should be something like 12.X volts with the motor not running, and 13.8 volts or so with the motor running.
If that's the case, the problem is not your charging system. |
Dako
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 - 04:12 pm: |
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Got it on the charger now. Was reading 11.7 - .8 not running. getting short machine gun clicks now. lol
I'll try tomorrow. any simple trouble shooting guides I should know about(but don't want to search for 3 hours to find)?? 
Thx |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 - 04:59 pm: |
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See what your running voltage is first, that is the simplest test. it won't tell you exactly what is wrong, but whichever answer it gives will eliminate half the possibilities, so it will be a huge step in the right direction. |
Dako
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 - 08:33 pm: |
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Will do sir. Thx again. |
Dako
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2014 - 03:11 pm: |
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Well just checked voltage.
14.4 straight off the charger.
13.5 ignition on. Still just the click once or twice before finally turning over. (It seems like the starter tries but cant quite get over that compression hill)
14.0-14.1 running, dropped back to 13.7ish ignition off.
So I guess I'm moving on to the starting system round?  |
Froggy
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2014 - 03:34 pm: |
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Dako, the hesitation from the compression stroke is normal for these bikes. If that is what you mean by the click, then there is nothing to worry about. |
Dako
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2014 - 05:33 pm: |
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It resets the clock every time, and sometimes I have to roll it back in 5th just to get it to turn over. I rode it for 8 years before this issue. So it's far from normal.
Just not sure how many things to check before replacing the starter. |
Akbuell
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2014 - 06:04 pm: |
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Ahh, I now have a better understanding. If the battery is 3yrs old or more, have it load tested. The clock resetting is the clue for me. If that is fine, next try a new start relay in the fuse box.
I'm holding out for a weak battery, or loose cables. Could be a starter issue, but try and eliminate everything else first. At least the charging systems seems to be working fine.
Hope this helps, Dave |
Froggy
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2014 - 07:01 pm: |
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Dako it sounds like your battery is on its last legs. The resting voltage is fine, but your battery is not putting out enough cranking amps anymore, and resetting the clock is a dead giveaway that the voltage is dropping excessively while starting. If you take the battery and get it load tested like Akbuell says, it will likely fail.
Loose grounds can also contribute to the issue, I would remove and clean each of them to ensure you have a solid connection too. |
Dako
| | Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2014 - 07:36 pm: |
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The battery was the first thing I replaced as I had not had a problem with the factory one. 7yrs that lil bugger lasted. I've checked the ground and connections when I replaced it.
I'll pull it and get it tested...
This sucks. last of the good weather here in Ohio and its gonna take me days to fix her at this rate. |
Dako
| | Posted on Friday, September 26, 2014 - 06:06 pm: |
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Ok, had the new battery load tested. Good at 220 amps on their lil machine.
Went back and cleaned/sanded/scraped the battery and ground connections, reinstalled the battery, and STILL resetting the clock. Started it and rode around for an hour.
Stalled it at one point, started right back up, no clock reset. Came home and shut it off And we're right back to square one. out of 10 more starts only one did not reset the clock, 9 times I had to click... Click... Vroom. Guess Ill try checking the connections down the line??? |
Buell_bert
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2014 - 06:10 pm: |
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It could be the contacts on the starter button because if they are dirty/worn they could cause to much resistance on the starting circuit. This would not allow enough current to the relay. Oh and did you check the relay because those contacts could cause the same type of problem. |
Buellistic
| | Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2014 - 09:58 pm: |
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BIELL_bert:
That is correct and is referred to as a HIGHT RESISTANCE "OPEN" ... |
Dako
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2014 - 02:19 pm: |
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Thx, I'll check it out. |
Rickpxb12scgr
| | Posted on Thursday, October 02, 2014 - 12:28 am: |
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Had this exact same issue happen to me last Winter.
Below is the advice I got from a local old HD Mechanic that mech'd on some original M1's BITD.....
Check and clean all the battery screws/connectors for the slightest looseness. Also, take a good look at the Main Frame Ground for rust/corrosion, cut wire etc and tighten it good and tight with a lock nut.
I actually replaced the batt to frame ground wire assembly completely. I also ran a ground lead to main distributor frame connection back to the frame ground connection.
Have not had a recurring issue since. |
Buellistic
| | Posted on Thursday, October 02, 2014 - 09:21 am: |
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"BELIEVE IT OR NOT", if your main "GROUND" gets loose your CLUTCH LEVER will get "HOT" !!! |
Buell_bert
| | Posted on Thursday, October 02, 2014 - 07:20 pm: |
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Buellistic, that is only if that has a better ground than the ground cable between the engine and frame. I had the same thing happen in a boat, and the throttle cable in this case was a better ground and it literally welded it together (cable to housing) because I watched it smoke and turn cherry red. The problem was I should have brought all negatives back to the battery and I tried cheating and using the boat. The battery, engine and frame need common/good grounds. |
Buellistic
| | Posted on Friday, October 03, 2014 - 02:17 pm: |
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Buell_bert:
Back in the day before car radios had good filters, one had to ground everything to keep the buzz out of the speakers ...
One must remember THE COMMON GROUND is where all grounds must go !!! |
Hootowl
| | Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2014 - 10:59 am: |
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Disconnect the battery. Take the cover off of the starter solenoid plunger (three little machine screws). The plunger is spring loaded. Reconnect the battery. With your finger, push the plunger inward until the ring contact on the plunger contacts the side contacts. If your motor turns over without hesitating, you need to replace the solenoid contacts. This is a very common problem, often misdiagnosed as a battery issue. The side contacts wear at different rates. When one recedes beyond the ability of the plunger to compensate by rocking sideways slightly, the starter will be unable to turn the motor. The contacts can be replaced without removing the starter. You need a very short wrench and a lot of patience. |
Buellistic
| | Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2014 - 11:22 am: |
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The easiest test is to pull the head light and tail light fuses ...
If the bike starts this means two things:
The battery needs to be charged ...
If it has been re-charged and still does this with the fuses re-installed it means the battery needs to be replaced ...
From J&P CYCLES (www.jpcycles.com) you can get a SOLENOID HOUSING PUSH BUTTON SWITCH which will always be with you just in case ...
The BEST advise that can be given to you is to get a FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL and "PARTS BOOK" for your YEAR/MODEL
BUELL from Al at www.AmericanSportBike.com and learn to be your own "MECHANIC" !!! |
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Clicking when starting the bike