Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech no start.....

I've never been able to figure out what gets wet when I wash the bike (03 America) - that causes it to not start.....after several hours in the sun, it cures itself......any ideas?

Qualify no start....

Do you have no power, does it not turn over, does it not spark, etc?

Also, how (hose spray) and what do you wash?

it turns over just fine, but has no spark.....and yes, hose spray.....the whole thing!

Under the tank too?

I washed the top of the tank but not below

I am always really careful about where water goes and I use the 'gentle' spray pattern. I never spray the controls, fusebox area, under the tank, or carbs.

I also put di-electric grease on every electrical plug/connection awhile ago. I would suggest the same and see if that cures it.

I have done all that......however, I seem to have missed the plug/connection that is the culpret.....I was hoping to find someone who has been through this and has figured that out.

How about the coil to spark wire? Greased?

snekept had the same issue awhile ago but I don't think he ever was able to diagnose it to anything certain.

I agree sounds like a plug wire getting some moisture in the connection. Grease the connection like Phil said.

On the water note Wendy had the oil pressure light come on after she washed it once. I pulled the boot back on the sending unit and once it dried it was fine.

since this is clearly something that has affected both sides, high voltage leakage is unlikely....coils, wires, and plugs are dry....the problem would seem to be on the ignition's low voltage side....anyone with experience in this?

If you are shooting water onto the cam cover, it might be deflecting water up and into the ignitor which could be a cause of that.

yet another reason not to wash your bike!

Whenever I wash my bike I use plastic bags to cover the handlebar controls and buttons, and the exhaust openings on the TORs. Then I just use a "mist" function on the waterhose sprayer only.
Get an inexpensive spark tester, and next time you try to start after a wash, see if you get any spark to the plugs. If not, remove your fuel tank, pop the plug wires off the coils and see if they are wet, then trace backwards until you find the culprit connector. Then dry it, dielectric grease it up. Also, apply dielectric grease to the BACKS of the connectors on the ignitor. Depending on how the connector is orientated, the back may be open from the top, and then water can leak into the connector thereby disrupting the connection to the ignitor.

Man, you may want to go through the trouble of wetting down small sections at a time checking for starting after each, and find out where the problem is and fix it.
If it does it during a simple wash, you'll be hosed (so to speak) if you get caught in the rain.
I don't wash mine often, but when I do I hose down everything, no care not to wet something, just a lot of soap and water, then I crank it up to dry the engine while wiping down the rest. I've ridden days in downpours, and the bike never had a problem. I never cover anything with bags (except the Sirius when riding in rain) and never 'greased' any connectors.
But since you've identified it as a problem, I'd make it a point to resolve it before it bites you.

...just back from my annual state inspection....talked to the mechanic who did the inspection (he used to work at a Triumph dealership) about the no start when washed issue.....he suspects the kick stand switch...this would explain why it takes so long to dry - sometimes the bike has no spark for up to 6 hours after washing.....I confess that the kick stand switch is not something that I normally take care to keep "dry" when washing the bike....

The kick stand switch was also a common fault on the Yamaha ER5 (don't spit its long gone) after washing. Never experienced with my 02 TBA and I am generous with the water at the bottom end.

Forgot about that one and I had a problem with it a couple of years ago. A liberal application of di-electric grease cured mine. I put it on there where the wires enter the switch body.