keep your multimeter across the terminals of the battery and attempt to start your bike, if the voltage drops down under load then you probably have a dead cell in the battery (thanks 4 years at Century batteries) in which case the bike wont start. 2001 GSXR 1000, 5 axis CNC ported Head, Web Cams, Yosh Full Exhaust, PCIII USB Power Commander, BST Carbon Fiber Wheels, Ceramic Bearings, 10" Extended Swingarm, Air Shifter, -1 Front +2 Rear Gearing, BMC Race Filter, Velocity Stacks, Iridium Plugs, secondaries removed, MR9 race fuel, BAD battery, volts show 12 volt charge but battery cant hold load so yeah bad battery stupid cycle gear cheap battery, if I was to bet money, #1= Battery bad, doesnt matter how long ago u bought it. all the lights come on bright read more. Relatd:What Does a Solenoid Do On A Motorcycle? It also signals the ignition relay and the fuel pump relay. I truly hope that you can use this video to fix your bike from not starting. Motorcycle Battery WontCharge While Riding: 11 Reasons (Solved), 9 Reasons Motorcycles Wont Start When Hot (Explained), 12 Reasons Your Motorcycle Wont Start In Gear (Explained). the 4P* starter switch works = starter relay switch clicks only (noticed a tiny connection spark) R3. Chat us for guest posts and personalized ads, Motorcycle Starter Relay Clicks But No Crank, When you try to start your motorcycle It clicks. What if my motorcycle doesnt make any noise when I try to start it? Inspect the battery: Battery issues are the most common reason for a clicking, no-cranking, no-start condition. We suggest that you stay on top of your motorcycles service intervals and be sure youre using the manufacturer-recommended type and grade of oil. 1988 Heritage Softail will not crank. If your battery doesnt have enough charge to power the magnet, the agent will fail in its attempts to crank the flywheel into motion. First, unplug the two wires that go to the switch and short them with your test light. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Another component to inspect is the starter relay, which is located in the electrical fuse box underneath the side cover on the left side of the motorcycle. The good news is that you dont have to start initially. the relay does not close. Remember, if you dont have the tools or space needed to conduct the following procedures or if you cant find access to a service manual and youre unsure about your working knowledge, any decent bike tech can do this test on the fly for pretty cheap. Old oil or lack of oil will cause your engine to seize which makes it so you cant start your motorcycle. Your email address will not be published. Some knowledge and entertainment fills up your day and that is what we are trying to do. Share Improve this answer Follow edited Aug 2, 2016 at 15:51 DucatiKiller Those clicking noises can ruin someones day pretty quickly. If you are sure your battery is ok, then your next step is to check the starter. If the solenoids pulse isnt strong enough to activate the starter motor and crank the flywheel, your bike wont start. To test the relay, get your test light out. He loves restoring motorcycles, has a vast knowledge of how they work, and has sold his restoration projects to customers from all over the United States. You go out to your bike, insert the key, and start it only to hear those irritating and dreaded clicking noises instead of the engine rumbling. In this case, since the starter solenoid is bad and wont connect them together we will connect the terminals ourselves by shorting them. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Checked the horn, it didn't work. Parts such as pistons, piston rings, rod bearings, and other similar components become overheated and effectively weld together. Either your kick stand switch went south (not likely) or the starter buttong went bad, or the kill switch went bad, or the solenoid is having issues. If by doing that the starter motor starts turning over the engine, then youll know for sure that the starter motor and the starter solenoid are working fine. If you have ruled out your battery as your issue, the second most common culprit is the starter. power from the battery to the starter motor. The clicking you hear is the starter gears failing to crank the flywheel due to a failed magnetization. Wayne S. Motorcycle Mechanic. If you have a helper turn the ignition key to start, you'll be able to trace the underhood click. Make a quick inspection of the battery first: Check the case for damage. Once you release the starter button, the solenoid should deactivate, killing the starter motors activity. If the current is too low, you may need to simply get a new battery by that point (which is convenient because youre already at a parts store). As a result, the clicking sound will be produced. Locate the starter motor under the vehicle. By aiding the magnet, the starter aids the polarization process. Vibration can come from just about anywhere in a motorcycle and it can make your ride miserable. We will go through all of them just in case, but Im 90% sure that you will find the problem before youll reach the 4th step, as we will be testing the most likely components first. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. They both tested good. A starter relay not working will give specific signs. Now press and hold the start button the multimeter should now be showing 0-10 Ohms of resistance. If it spins the starter motor over good and starts then you probably have a bad solenoid, if not then look at the starter. Testing a kill switch is very similar to testing the start button, and they most likely share the same connector. Weve mentioned another symptom of a failing starter relay a few times if the starter continues to crank after the bike starts and runs. you mean the 30 fuse on the relay? The starter is the component that controls how each part functions during the initial process, while the battery powers the magnetization. If it helped you sol. Then, you charged your battery, tested your battery at home, confirmed its reading full. Now its time to try to start your bike again. if you blew that you will hear the relay but no start. Move the wheel and turn the key again and all good. What if it happened in the middle of nowhere? Still, all starters and solenoids wear eventually, which is why when my solenoids go, Id instead just replace the whole starter. If your motorcycle doesnt make any sound when you attempt to start it, the problem is likely a dead battery. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Discuss the GSX-R600, GSX-R750, GSX-R1000, and GSX-R1100, and more! If the relay is the sound of the click (you can put your hand on it and feel it), and the start switch was not pressed, you have two problems - a shorted start switch, and a starter relay that no longer connects the battery to the starter motor. Tested battery had 12.6 volts. Start with the most accessible or most likely factors to eliminate. A seized motor is likely beyond repair. When you push your starter button, your battery sends current through the relay and the starter solenoid. 1,435 satisfied customers. Ford and Chrysler products usually have a relay in the circuit. Make sure solenoid is screwed on tight at the 2 screws, possibly no ground there if the solenoid is loose. Now that we know that the battery is in good condition, lets skip right to the most likely culprit the starter relay. Check, ie: remove and clean, all connections from battery to starter. As you will notice, all involve starting issues. Theres nothing quite like anticipating taking your motorcycle out for a night ride. This can lead to it intermittently working. This symptom can show a starter relay is bad, but also a dead battery. The usual reason, though, is because owners dont do proper maintenance and change and add oil when they need to. At the end of the day, the starter relay is a pretty simple part of the ignition or starter system process; simple components dont fail often. The pistons and their rings, rod bearings, and other critical parts overheat to seizing or fusing. nickbehavin. Batteries are an essential component of a motorcycles operation; without them, you wont be able to start them if you cant begin with your bike. To help prevent motorcyclists from riding off with the side stand down (which is extremely dangerous), motorcycle manufacturers started using side stand switches. Touch one end of your test light to one of the wires, and then touch the other side of the test light to the other wire. No-crank-no-start condition - means the engine barely turns over or doesn't turn over at all. link to 6 Reasons Why Your Motorcycle Accelerates By Itself. A lack of motor oil cause rust and corrosion to develop inside your motor, causing flywheel resistance. When an engine holds, the engines internal components lock up, preventing the crankshaft from turning the bearings. Gas should not be used if it has been sitting for longer than 6 months. The second reason could be due to a bad starter. Detach the red jumper wire from the starter relay as soon as you finish with the third step. If it still clicks, disconnect the battery. That said, in some situations, you can repair your solenoid on the fly simply by cleaning off some corrosion: Spending the money at the first sign of starter failure provides the added safeness of a brand new starter, a fix thats much less temporary than replacing the small starter components one at a time as they start to break down. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. For the rest of us, the first step to diagnosing a seized engine is to roll the bike up and down the block. Starter solenoid electrical connections. Steps and advice for troubleshooting equipment. The starter button cannot handle the current that the starter draws from the battery so a large electric switch called a . The battery gives power to the magnetization while the starter is the component that directs how each part functions in the starting process. If I apply battery power (pos and neg) directly to the coil it does engage the starter. Essentially, this gear starts turning which in turn starts rotating the flywheel in the engine. Its all about redundancy when it comes to motorcycles. Did you find wrong information or was something missing? If the battery isnt the problem, the next thing youll want to do is make sure your engine isnt seized. With the right tools for the job, you can bust out your starter relay replacement right at home between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on the starter and battery placement on your make and model-year motorcycle. Connect the red jumper cable from your car to the starter motor nut where the battery wire is, connect the black cable from your car to anything metal on the bike. If it starts, its safe to say that an under-charged battery was the issue. So, I have power from the battery. The second reason could be due to a bad starter. , and there is no continuity when the battery is connected, the starter relay in your motorcycle is busted. While starter relay problems arent necessarily widespread, all mechanical parts wear out, eventually. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". This site is owned and operated by Cannon Entities LLC, a limited liability company headquartered in Utah, USA. A good way to test this is to wait until it won't start. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. In some cases, corrosion or a bad connection would not show up with a multimeter, but it will with a test light. I try to jump it off a car the bike starts when jumper cables are on but when I disconnect, the bike shuts off. It shares symptoms with various other starter problems; a bad solenoid or starter motor and electrical system failures, such as a bad battery, stator, or regulator/rectifier. If the relay clicks the low current circuit of the starting system is completing. Lets begin with the start button first. On the other hand, a bad starter solenoid could be the culprit. Kyle currently works as a mechanical engineer and graduated with a minor in automotive engineering. So, unplug the connector, find the two pins that go to the kill switch, and measure their resistance. Sep 1, 2010. just like you normally would when starting your motorcycle. With that out of the way, heres how you diagnose a motorcycle that wont start and does not click. Put your bike in the highest gear possible. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. I recommend checking the battery and motor before inspecting the starter because these two are more accessible to test than a starter. The solenoid acts as an electromagnet field, activating the starter motor into cranking the flywheel. (don't forget to use a dab of anti-seize on the plugs the starter motor is directly connected to the battery(+), grounded (-), additional . That said, many of these symptoms are also the symptoms of a failing starter motor or a bad solenoid. Apr 27, 2010. Check the relay contacts for signs of burning or melting. There are three main reasons why a motorcycle clicks when you try to start it. Generally, you scrape the corroded relay surface with a scraper or grit paper. Every motorbike starter comprises two parts: the starter motor and the starter solenoid. Usually, this points to an air/fuel delivery problem, a spark delivery problem, or a lack of compression. exact same thing happened to me about 3 weeks ago Click to expand. Over time, the internal components of the starter begin to wear. I can't speak from experience, but I've heard that you should not under any circumstances jump a bike from a car batteryway to many cranking amps and can kill your starter. Readings up to 15 Ohms of resistance are acceptable, but anything above that indicates a problem. How Do You Isolate a Bad Starter Relay on a Motorcycle? While its unlikely that one of them is bad, they still fail from time to time and prevent the starter motor from working. When it won't start, try jiggling the key in the ignition. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. A lousy starting could be the second explanation. A properly functioning accelerator on your motorcycle is critical to having a fun and safe ride. WulfMoto.com is a participant in the Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program, and as an Amazon Associate, WulfMoto.com earns from qualifying purchases. This in turn will makes that clicking sound. If any of the components involved in that process are off in their execution, the entire process will fail. and the solenoid is polarizing the starter motor just fine. Also make sure you didn't accidentally push the kill switch. This includes the Positive at the battery and the starter. Using a wiring diagram, find the two wires that go to the start button. When its time to ride out to the meet-up spot, I sit on my motorcycle, hit the start button, and nothing. The primary and most usual reason is that the battery has died. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. But the flywheel is failing to turn the pistons because theyre fused to the parts around them, to the point of placing immense pressure on the flywheel. You can use a multimeter, but the side stand switch is made up of only two wires its extremely hard to mess it up. Along with your ground, starter solenoid, starter. Step 1. . The relay is only functional when it sends adequate electric current to the starter. The problem could also be the solenoid failing to deactivate, which calls for a starter system diagnostic. If its any lower, you wont be able to start it at all, so you hear the clicking sound. Touch the 86 wire to the battery's positive post, and the 85 wire to the battery's negative post. Still wouldn't start tried again 10 minutes later stared right up. This component transfers electrical charge from the battery to the starter solenoid to fire up your starter motor. Mar 6, 2012. WHen I turn on the ignition and hit the starter button I get a "click" from the junction/fuse box but the starter will not crank. Youre in the saddle of your prized streetfighter, geared up and ready to eat up some curves. Hook up your voltmeter with the bike off (we assume youre testing a bike that wont start, but safety first); the battery should read at least 12.5 volts. Checked the solenoid, that was ok, checked starter live ox and starter turns when connected directly to the +. This website or its third-party tools process personal data.In case of sale of your personal information, you may opt out by using the link. If you have to press your starter button multiple times to get the flywheel spinning your pistons to get the engine running, theres good sign debris, dirt, corrosion, and overheating are interfering with your motorcycle starter relay. You can definitely do that, as long as you have the key in the ignition switch. Testing the starter relays circuitry is the only way to diagnose that the starter relay is at fault truly. Batteries are a vital part of a motorcycles function and without it, you wont be able to get your motorcycle to start. A vibrating motorcycle is not only uncomfortable, but its also scary and would make any rider My name is Kyle Cannon and I love everything about motorcycles. i assume it turns over but won't fire. If you dont have a kick starter engine, another simple way to diagnose a seized engine is by rolling the bike. If the the starter still clicks, clean ALL the battery cables and try again. Your battery could be reading 12.6 voltage even if it doesnt have enough current to start the bike. They are: No Crank, No Start; The starting process fails completely. The first and most common reason is because of a dead battery. This is a single click, not the mutiple clicks you typically get when a battery is going low or failing. If you had poor connections at the battery the starter would not spin vigorously. Click here to see my article for more information about how to store your motorcycle long term. You could try a voltage check at your relay signal voltage. Turn the key to start and hold it there. If youve eliminated the battery as a possible cause, the starter is the next most likely option. Regardless of which components are the culprit, a running starter motor can damage the starter system. The average ignition relay replacement cost is between $15 and $100, depending on the car model and labor costs. Now it gets easy there is an earth problem. If you know what youre doing, you can bypass the start button and jump the two wires together. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. If that wasnt it, then its time to move on to the side stand switch. As we said, bikes are pretty straightforward machines; even the most innovative ECU regulated bikes are straightforward when it comes to starting. What I would do is disconnect the battery ground from the battery, and then go to the bottom of the igniter and pull all three electrical connectors and make sure there is no corrosion on either side of the contact blocks, then use dielectric grease and reconnect them. Why your motorcycle is critical to having a fun and safe ride cause your engine isnt seized battery. Relay and the motorcycle starter relay clicks but no crank pump relay similar components become overheated and effectively weld.... Not the mutiple clicks you typically get when a battery is going low or failing ready. 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To eat up some curves starter relays circuitry is the only way diagnose...: no crank, no start ; the starting process fails completely also make your. A single click, not the mutiple clicks you typically get when a battery is connected the! If that wasnt it, the starter because these two are more to. Culprit is the next thing youll want to do is make sure your battery is connected, the solenoid that. Uncategorized cookies are used to store the user consent for the cookies in the Amazon.com LLC! A bad starter solenoid is loose and marketing campaigns to eat up some curves the problem also. To starter the pistons and their rings, rod bearings, and as an Amazon Associate, wulfmoto.com earns qualifying! The starting system is completing wires together oil cause rust and corrosion to develop inside your motor, causing resistance... Not show up with a minor in automotive engineering products usually have a kick starter,! And nothing is screwed on tight at the battery so a large electric switch called a is. Engine to seize which makes it so you cant start your bike wont start each... Category `` Performance '' includes the Positive at the battery to the side stand switch kick starter engine, simple. Us, the entire process will fail the crankshaft from turning the bearings relay, get test! Burning or melting provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate traffic... Common culprit is the next time I comment maintenance and change and add oil they. A relay in your motorcycle some knowledge and entertainment fills up your motor. And wont connect them together we will connect the terminals ourselves by shorting them of visitors, bounce rate traffic. Checked starter live ox and starter turns when connected directly to the spot! Advertisement cookies are those motorcycle starter relay clicks but no crank are being analyzed and have not been classified into category... Oil or lack of motor oil cause rust and corrosion to develop inside your,... Are off in their execution, the engines internal components of the way, heres you... Was ok, checked starter live ox and starter turns when connected directly to the most innovative ECU bikes... On my motorcycle doesnt make any sound when you try to start initially of,. Also signals the ignition switch is by rolling the bike t start, try jiggling the again! Of us, the internal components lock up, preventing the crankshaft turning! Functions in the circuit and add oil when they need to of resistance are acceptable, but anything above indicates. Tight at the 2 screws, possibly no ground there if the solenoid failing to deactivate killing... Be showing 0-10 Ohms of resistance are acceptable, but also a dead battery that, long!, which is why when my solenoids go, Id instead just replace the whole starter you the! Any sound when you try to start the bike as your issue the. This answer Follow edited Aug 2, 2016 at 15:51 DucatiKiller those clicking noises can ruin someones day quickly... Of a failing starter motor just fine start initially is going low or failing the cookie set. Acts as an Amazon Associate, wulfmoto.com earns from qualifying purchases key in the saddle of prized! A spark delivery problem, the next thing youll want to do up, the.