| Author | Message | ||
     Flaircraft |
Hi all, Last week when I was going to take the bike out for a ride, when I hit the start button I (think) heard a slight "pop" and all the electronics suddenly quit. Now, when I turn the key to position 1, the running lights and speedo light up like they should, but when I turn the key to position 2 all the electrical cuts out and starter won't crank. When I then turn the key back to pos 1 it takes a minute or two and then the running lights and speedo will slowly flicker back to life. I hadn't done any work to the bike prior to this happening so I know it's not some mod gone wrong (the bike is all stock anyway). I have checked: Battery - reads 12.8 volts. Battery Terminals - clean. Switch - all 3 positions check correctly with a multimeter (off/1/2) and power is getting to the hot lead on the switch. Fuses - all looked good. Relays - I swapped them for each other, no change in the bike's behavior. I pulled them completely, and still no change. Wiring harness - I don't see any chafed areas but haven't gone so far as to remove the harness to check. I've run the key position test multiple times and it's been the same almost every time. Twice I was able to get pos2 to work correctly; both times I heard something (probably a relay) click when the switch went to pos2. When I hit the starter button the thing clicks again and all the electrics go out and it's back to the same symptoms. When pos2 doesn't work, I never hear any clicks when switching the key from pos1 to pos2. This problem makes me suspect a possible bad ground somewhere, but I really don't know for sure and am sick of scratching my head trying to guess what's the deal... hopefully somebody here has an answer! | ||
| Tripp |
check the big strap ground under the battery on the fuse box side. sounds like you covered everything else. | ||
| Flaircraft |
Per Tripp's suggestion I cleaned the ground strap. No difference unfortunately. I had the battery tested by the local battery store the next morning, and they said it was marginal. This morning I used my jumper cables to hook a small car battery to the Buell's battery cables (the bike battery wasn't installed). Even with the key off, the jumper cables sparked slightly when I attached them. I soon began hearing something clicking on and off, about once every 3 seconds. I traced the clicking noise to what appears to be a relay that is mounted under the forward part of the seat/rear of the tank, basically right above the battery. Any clues as to what this could mean? | ||
| Sparky |
That clicking you hear is the circuit breaker tripping. There's probably a short circuit in the harness somewhere and it is tripping the main breaker. In general, try taking off one wire at a time from the breaker, the thing you call a relay under the seat, until it stops tripping. Then trace that wire until you find the problem. | ||
| Flaircraft |
I found the short - it was the outer casing of the circuit breaker grounding to the frame! I must have joggled the position of the circuit breaker too much when I was cleaning all the bike's electrical contacts earlier; it tends to twist on its mount quite a bit when I'm loosening or tightening the nuts that hold the wires to the breaker. Also I took the battery in to have it professionally tested. Even though it shows 12.8 volts unloaded, as soon as they load it the battery voltage goes very low. I put in a new battery and problem solved. At least I didn't go to all this work for nothing, since during the troubleshooting process I found several marginal wire connections. The only question that remains is why the hell my gremlin bell didn't stop the battery from crapping out! (Message edited by flaircraft on April 18, 2007) |
