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Posted

Hiya one and all.


Bike has fouled up again, no doubt thanks to being ridden through the winter and being chinese (so no smart arse Chineae bike comments thank you, I know my mistakes and live with then every day :P).


In short, it won't start. Been resorting to bump starts when I absolutely need to ride it. Charged the battery and that's not the fault, so I'm off to Halfrauds in a minute to grab a multimeter so I can carry on working through the Haynes. Solenoid seems a likely cause, because that's packed in once before so it's likely to be a particularly shoddy component. Haven't seen anything else mentioned in the Haynes that I should buy in order to do my troubleshooting, but does anyone have any recommendations for other things I should grab while I'm there? For obvious reasons I can't go back easily so I'd rather buy too much stuff now than not enough. After all it'll probably be useful somewhere down the line.


And for those who know my bike well - yes, it's still under warranty, but getting it to my dealership in Bedford is a pain in the bum, and to be frank I'm the kind of person who would prefer to learn to do these things myself when the opportunity arises. I can repay any advice with Photoshop lessons or retouching photos, seeing as those are MY special skills that other folks don't all have :wink:


Cheers in advance guys!

Posted

Multimeter is the main thing Ollie....but get some WD40 if you don't already have some....just to give the electrics a squirt as maybe some damp has got in there..... :wink:

When you say it won't start....is the motor turning over OK? Also go round the battery terminals and make sure they are really tight and clean.....and also check the earth connection to the engine isn't corroded or any other earth connection corroded. Also check the electrical connection to the starter solenoid that they are clean and tight and to the starter motor itself too..... :wink:

Let me know how you get on..... :)

Posted

Argh, I knew I'd miss a detail - I get the little clicking noise when pressing the starter but the engine doesn't turn over. I think I read somewher once that was a hint of problem with the wiring? Sounds just the same as the problems I had with it before which Rick Stringer told me was the solenoid. Not that I entirely trust the man... :P Cheers for the advice Bob, I'll give you an update once I've got back and taken another look.

Posted
Argh, I knew I'd miss a detail - I get the little clicking noise when pressing the starter but the engine doesn't turn over. I think I read somewher once that was a hint of problem with the wiring? Sounds just the same as the problems I had with it before which Rick Stringer told me was the solenoid. Not that I entirely trust the man... :P Cheers for the advice Bob, I'll give you an update once I've got back and taken another look.

 

A clicking sound is often the telltale of a poor earth connection....that being the engine connection or negative battery connection...

Posted

the clicking is the starter relay usually a flat battery will do this


your battery might not be accepting a charge hence why its always flat even after a charge


you need to measure the voltage across the battery after about an hour of been off charge


it could also be a corroded wire somewhere but start with the battery


my suspicion is the battery is toast though as once its running it is fine due the the charging system providing enough juice to keep it running

Posted

Clicking solenoid is often due to insuficient voltage to operate it.....either due to low battery voltage or loose/corroded/dirty battery terminals......or sometimes the solenoid itself. First up will be to check the battery voltage with everything turned off (>13.0v) and then check it with the ignition on (>12.5v but steady....not dropping rapidly)....then hit the starter....if it drops right down then it's either the battery is shagged or there's a loose connection somewhere in the circuit which is dropping the voltage when a higher current is being drawn..... :wink:

Posted

Cheers guys :D Got my multimeter, just waiting for the weather to get a little bit less bleak. Might have to break out some tarpaulin for a makeshift tent at this rate...


Also, my dad spotted a ZZR600 Haynes going for peanuts in their sale, which seemed like a tempting enough deal now that I'm being more realistic about my budget and the V-Strom has become a pipe dream :P

Posted

Much appreciated! Don't know if the weather over here is stretching over your way, but working on the bike outside is certainly off the cards for now :lol:

Posted

Yeah....it's pretty Sh*te out there at the moment....and it'll be dark in a couple of hours too..... :roll:

Posted

Just drizzling here now. Think the weather was going West to East so hopefully it may dry up enough for you to get out

Posted

Wow :shock:

Just found out from my mum that the family friend who used to give me a lift to school was the/a director of Haynes! Crazy stuff!

Posted
Wow :shock:

Just found out from my mum that the family friend who used to give me a lift to school was the/a director of Haynes! Crazy stuff!

It sure is a small world....... 8-)

Posted

Well, I've had its guts out and the battery seems fine, so then I've moved on to checking the solenoid and I have no idea what the problem could be.

 

Screenshot_2014-01-02-14-01-44-1.jpg.da58103966a2b6ec1120d0ed1b401825.jpg

 

No idea at all.

 

Screenshot_2014-01-02-14-01-41-1.jpg.eb7c1c16e96a8e25286f742c467cb833.jpg

Posted

How have you tested the battery? Solenoid clicking is normally duff battery (or flat at least) although that solenoid does look rusty!


Solenoid can be tested, will be open circuit across the main terminals, then when you put 12v across it (by pressing starter button) it should be closed circuit. This can be tested while it's all connected up.


If it's clicking but not closing the circuit then it has definitely failed.


You can connect your bike to another bike with jump leads and if it goes straight away, then it's got to be the battery.

Posted

Checked the battery in accordance with Bob's instructions. Might see if I can convince Moo to loan me the use of Ermintrude's battery when she gets home, just to give the solenoid one last check.

Posted

I think it's a safe bet to assume it's the solenoid Matt...... :wink:

You say that'll be the second one that's failed on a bike less than a year old Ollie? ........now, where are the chinese bike fans?..... :wink:

Posted
Checked the battery in accordance with Bob's instructions. Might see if I can convince Moo to loan me the use of Ermintrude's battery when she gets home, just to give the solenoid one last check.


Ewwwww, I don't want Ermintrude getting cheese all over her!!!!!! :shock: :crybaby:


There'd better be a cup of tea and some ice cream in it for me...

Posted

In theory I could probably connect it up if I tried, as the connectors on my bike are the slightly larger of the two... but in this sort of area I have no idea what I'm doing (to clarify; I'm currently Googling amps to remind myself of their significance as mine is 4A/h and hers is 6A/h...) and I know there'd be hell to pay if I were seen to have abused Ermintrude in any way :seeya:


Also, having gutted both a Chinese bike and a Honda CBF today, let me just say that it's a little bit like this comparison:


http://www.craftychild.com/image-files/finger-painting-with-texture.jpghttp://www.braingle.com/trivia/art/1.jpg

Posted

What you could also try (if you're feeling brave.... :wink: ) is take the connection on the starter solenoid that comes from the battery off and touch it to the other large connection that goes to the starter....this would bypass the starter solenoid. If the bike turns over on the starter this way you have proved that it's the solenoid that is at fault (of which there is no doubt in my mind..... :wink: )

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