Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Statring Problem.

Tried to go for a ride this afternoon but my bike wouldn't start. I turned the key but the head light doesn't come on and when I hit the start button it just goes click.
Any idea why she won't start?

Check your battery terminals. And fuses. Grease everything as you go.

Check the battery connections first. They have a tendancy to be loose from the factory/dealer.
If tight, check the 30amp fuse in the fuse box. It may be loose. The fuse box in these things are junk and are the root cause of many problems. Make sure the fuse is installed tight.
If the problem persists then remove the clips from the back of the fuse box and install a watertight, inline 30A fuse holder.

Damm thats wierd exactly the same thing happened to me yesterday afternoon while out for a ride.
Pressing the starter button got nothing but a click click of the starter relay. We shorted out the solenoid and it started ok. Checked the fuse and found the headlight starter circuit fuse was blown. Took the headlight apart and found the cause, the light had for some reason been getting a bit hot and had melted the connector on the headlight bulb. The wires were a bit melted and the bulb terminals had some burning marks on the earth pin.
We wrapped it up in some insulation tape and replaced the fuse and did not have a problem for the rest of the day, bike started no worries after that.
All I have to do now is replace the connector with a heavy duty one as the old one is pretty badly burnt.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the responses guys; I'll check it out at sun-up.

Looked at her this morning...

Checked the battery - Checked OK
Checked the fuses - Checked OK
Checked Headlight for short - Everything OK in there too.

With switch on
Symptoms:
-Headlight out
-Only small bulb on
-Hit starter button, only click from start relay
-Turn signals work, good and bright
-Horn honks good and loud
-Tail light good and bright

Just before it went bad:
Rode to car wash the day before, brought it home cleaned the chrome, started it one more time to park it, and then wouldn't start the next afternoon.
I did notice there was water behind the little plastic cover that covers the fuse block, but the fuses were dry.

Called the dealer where I bought the bike, and I'm still under warranty, so I'm hauling her back to him to get it fixed.

Will update when I get her back.

I got my bike back today.

They told me they replaced the starter relay, and the headlight fuse.

Apparently if the headlight fuse blows the bike won't start. The mechanic told me that this was the first time they had one do this. They weren’t really sure why the fuse blew out, or if they needed to change the relay because they changed the relay before they realized the fuse was blown, and they just left the new relay in.

I did'nt ask him where the relay is located on the bike, because I wonder if it is posible that when I washed the bike the relay got wet causing the fuse to blow?

Oh well, if it ever happens again at least I'll know what to look for.