I'll apologize in advance; this is long.
On my way home from the NY Rally, I was coming down I-81 in Virginia. The bike had run great all day (about 8 hours and 500+ miles at that point), when it suddenly just died at about 75 mph. I thought I was running out of gas, but switching to reserve didn’t work. I came to a stop on the side of the highway, and at this time the dash lights were definitely on and working. I turned off the ignition, sat there for a minute, turned the key back on, and the bike fired right back up when I hit the starter. I was almost at an exit, so I started riding to get to a gas station, and it died again by the time I got up to third gear. I stopped again, sat for maybe 30 seconds this time, and it cranked right back up again. It died again, but I was able to coast down the exit and into the gas station. It only took 3 gallons, so wasn’t out of gas.
I thought venting might be the problem, so rode up the side road and opened the gas cap when it died again, but this didn’t help. I also did the “blow through the vent line†trick. I went through this cycle a few more times on the road in front of the gas station (die while riding, re-start after a minute, die…). The last time, I ran almost two miles without dying, and thought maybe it had worked itself out. I pulled back into the station, shut it down, and suited up to get back on the highway. But this time, when I turned the key, I got no dash lights or head light, and no juice anywhere. I jiggled the key a little, and the dash lights came back on, but when I hit the starter I just got a click and then everything went dead again. That’s all it would do for the rest of the day: turn the key and sometimes get dash lights but other times nothing. Jiggle the key and eventually the dash lights might come on, but touch the starter and just get a click and everything goes dead.
Off topic, but two groups of riders pulled into the station, and both groups tried to help me with troubleshooting and offered tools, etc. Motorcycle riders are special people. Even though we didn’t get it fixed, I’m grateful for their efforts and time. Eventually, I got in touch with a friend with a truck, and we carted it back home late Sunday night. I still haven’t had a chance to look at everything on the bike, but will get into it tonight.
Here’s what I’ve looked at so far:
1) Fuel venting does not seem to be the issue.
2) Battery terminal connections are tight and clean.
3) Pulled all the fuses and all are ok.
4) Opened the headlight bucket, and didn’t see anything exposed or anything that looked bad.
5) Tried hot-wiring it, and got the engine to turn over (but not start) before everything went dead again.
6) The battery was bought new in May 2008. Today (Wednesday), it checks out fine: 13+ volts with the bike turned off; 10.5 volts with the key turned on. But as soon as I press the starter, I hear a click, the bike goes dead and the meter drops to zero. Then I have to do the jiggle the key thing to get the dash lights and to get the battery to register on the meter.
Here’s what I haven’t done yet, but will probably get to tonight:
1) Really inspected the ignition switch wiring. Jiggling the key made the headlight and dash lights come on, so maybe something loose or shorting there.
2) Haven’t pulled the tank to really inspect the wiring under there yet either.
Just a couple of questions before I really get into this tonight.
1) Would an electrical short cut power to everything on the bike, or just the affected circuit?
2) Have there been any known issues with ignition switches on our bikes? Anything I should look for there?
3) Could this be a kickstand switch or a kill switch issue? The bike was hit while parked a couple of weeks before the rally, and the left foot controls were bent. I’ll take a closer look at the kickstand and switch when I get home…I did think the bike was leaning over more than usual when on the sidestand. Maybe the stand got bent and the switch isn’t working right?
4) I'm thinking short in the system...Am I overlooking something real obvious?
Thanks,
Will
