Blown fuse

[Jevi]

The boys bike is up for sale and we've had a couple of offers but nothing solid. However because the bike has been standing in the garage for a couple of weeks now I've been starting it and running iit for 5 - 10 minutes every couple of days. So today I start the thing and rev it up then switch off, no problem so I push it out of the garage and leave it out while I tidy up the garage.

An hour or so later I push it back in and decided to try it again. B*@$tard won't start and because I'm now starting to flatten the battery I try kicking it over for about 5 minutes to no avail.

Try starting it on the button again and blew the bloody fuse does anyone have any idea where I should start looking for the fault. There were no lights or anything else switched on. So am I looking at the starter motor or the coil?

[Breadsnapper]

Under the seat, near the battery. Depends on the bike.

Dave

[Jevi]

The fuse isn't a problem it's attached to the starter relay under the seat. The bike is a Lexmoto Arizona. I'm going to have to try and trace the problem over the weekend and I'll mark up the bits for the prospective new owner.

[BIKERDAD]

I'd say might flooded it but an hour should have cleared by then might have put a bit of an load on it trying to start it for so long . As you think starting a bike nor car is once sec 2 secs turn the key if it's running again leave it .. dont try so hard to start it again dont start say ofter 3 or 4 trys leave it then have a gon next day

If it's not starting do the basic starting checks to out the problem ..

Last week as it was nice I didnt have my bike on the trickle charge so I got ready to go out for a ride just as I went to push the starter I remembered I for got something but I'd pushed the starter for a mill of a sec an stopped did what I had to do few secs later .. then tried the starter it just kept turning over like not petrol getting thro then after 5 or 6 turns battery went low so stopped . Had a bit of a paddy as all dressed up not where to go .. so pushed the bike back in to the garage plugged it in left it for 20 mins came back started 1st time grrrrrrrrr . So you might just over worked it ..

[Jevi]

I'm going to be housebound for a couple of days so I'll have a look at the bike and check through the circuits and mark them up as I go along.

I've had a look through the Haynes manual for all things Chinese and will start with the starter relay and go on from there.

[Jevi]

This thing is really beginning to p$$$ me off. Checked through the system's, identifying the various cable runs and checked continuity. Couldn't find anything wrong.

New fuse and away she goes. Great I think let's get the side panels, seat and tank back on.

Push it back into the garage and give it another go, turns over 5 or 6 times then pops the bloody fuse again.

Bikerdad might be right cos it did seem to be trying so I'll have to look at the fuel side and see if I can find any blockages or gunk in the carb

[rennie]

Fuel problems are very unlikely to blow a fuse!

A fuse is an excess current protection device.

So you have an electrical issue.

I'd be looking for loose connections/bad earths.

It could be the repeated attempts to start overloading the starting circuit but that really shouldn't happen

[Jevi]

I'll go over it again when I get time. The bike had a 20amp fuse fitted when we got it and the spare on the back of the relay was the same. I couldn't go through all of the harness but there's a couple of spots where the tape has pulled off so I'll try them next.

[Jevi]

I'll go over it again when I get time. The bike had a 20amp fuse fitted when we got it and the spare on the back of the relay was the same. I couldn't go through all of the harness but there's a couple of spots where the tape has pulled off so I'll try them next.

[Jevi]

Finally had a chance to go over the boys bike.

Went through all the circuits and found nothing untoward, checked the plug and found it black and wet so the thing is running rich and after cleaning the bike fired up first touch of the switch.

Put everything back together and tried it again - nothing

Bloody thing refused to start again and rather than flatten the battery I decided to give it up for the night.

My latest query is if the thing is running rich and the plug is getting wet would this have any affect on the starting?

Does the bike try to pull more power out of the battery to try and get a spark and if so could this cause the fuse to blow?

[fastbob]

No , running rich won't pull more electrical power and cause a fuse to blow . However, a bike with a poor spark will exhibit the symptoms of running rich I.e. black wet plugs .

[Jevi]

I'll have to take a better look at the charging and ignition system's then

[Jevi]

Think I've sorted it out, new plug cap, spark plug and cdi unit. Cleaned the carburetor and set the various mixture screws back to the basic settings.

Fired up the bike and it was revving its nuts off, blipping the throttle had no effect so took the tank off again to check I hadn't trapped the cable - not the problem cos there was plenty slack.

So I backtracked to the carburetor and found I'd fitted the bloody slide in back to front so it was running at full tilt. Turned it around, fired up the bike and bingo working fine I just needed to adjust the idle speed a bit to get it running properly.

So I'll try a test ride tomorrow night then it'll be going back on the market.

[fastbob]

Sounds like you're making progress . I'm a bit surprised that the slide let you fit it the wrong way round . I normally test the action by sticking a finger into the air intake and pushing the slide up and down a few times . There should be a bit of resistance from the spring accompanied by a hissing sound . There should also be a slight delay when you let go and the slide returns to its resting position . While you're there , make sure that the needle is correctly seated and is properly located in the jet tube .

[Bianco2564]

Ha, the reverse slide reminds me of our neighbour a few years ago.

Him and his son had a KX80 they used to blast around the field out back.

It wouldn't start so they mucked around with all the usual suspects Inc the carb.

It still wouldn't start from kicking so they decided to bump it, it then started and revved it knackers off and sent him full tilt into a hedge.

[Jevi]

I had the carb off the bike while I was cleaning it and wasn't paying attention when I was putting it back together. Still it got the thing running even if it was a bit faster than I was expecting

[Jevi]

Finally got to test ride the bike last night.

Started on the button with first press no bother. Rode off to take a turn around the estate and it ran great, accelerated no problem, kept forgetting to use back brake to slow down for the junctions so must have looked a right tit to the guy in the car following me as I hopped and bounced on the front wheel but I still had a big grin on my face.

Everything was going well until I came to the last corner, dropped the revs to far in too high gear and stalled so pulled into the side and tried to restart the bike. Bike was still in gear but I had the clutch in so tried the starter again and killed it again - fuse popped so had to push the the thing halfway down the street to get back to my garage.

So the new plan is to pull the ignition system apart and check through everything again with more emphasis on checking the switchgear is working properly and I've got nothing going to earth that shouldn't be.

I will get to the bottom of this eventually.

[Jevi]

Might have found the problem. The starter switch was in peices when I opened the switch up. So a new one is on order

[Jevi]

Sorted, new switchgear fitted starts now with a couple of pushes of the button. So now for sale