Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Won't start !

I washed my bike yesterday and now it will not start. It will crank but it does not seem to be getting a spark. I have not pulled the spark plugs to check for a spark yet since I'll have to pull the tank to do this. It ran just fine up until this point. It has had all night to dry out but still will not start. Has any one encountered this same problem and what did you do about it?

Check your fuses perhaps. Some of that dielectric grease on the contacts might help?

Why would you pull the tank to pull plugs? Not needed at all.

I'm guessing here .. did you pull a connection off during washing?

Did you wash it where you store it or did it move after washing?

Gooch, I had the same thing happen right before the Georgia Rally this summer. I tried everything, disconnected and reconnected and inspected every connection I could find, no luck. After sitting the whole weekend, Sunday night it fired up as if nothing had ever been wrong. The only thing I could think it might have been was the Throttle Position sensor (since I hit it with a stream of water while washing which normally I never did) or the black box under the frame by the rear wheel (I also sprayed this area strongly too, which normally I never wash!!) Hope it dries out and fires up for ya!

And once again, the garden snake....er....hose, rears it's ugly head!

and now the flat battery out of warranty rears it's ugly head!!

I checked the fuses - all o.k. pulled a spark plug, grounded it on the engine,hit the starter...no spark at all.

Gooch, same symptom here....

I pulled every connector to look for moisture. I'm beginning to wonder if the kill switch has water in it. I quess thats the next place to look.

It is if he hasn't removed the AI.
But you new that didn't you?

Gooch, get a manual and hunt down the ignition coil. Check to make sure the coil wire isn't broken. Also check for any loose ground wires. Good luck

Well I put the bike out in the sun this morning hoping to "dry it out" before I had to call my dealer to make an appointment. Around noon I half-heartedly hit the starter and she came to life as if nothing ever happened!

Gooch, don't ya love the high tech solutions!!! I had a theory when mine did that, that maybe it was jealous. For Mothers Day (which was the weekend my bike acted up) I rented out a convertible (she has been begging me for one for a long time), and I think us spending the whole weekend riding around in the convertible while my bike sat untouched made her (the bike) jealous!!