Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech '07 Won't Start

Morning All,

A few weeks ago I took the bike out after a long hibernation (1.5yrs). The battery was charged and I thought I was ready to go. I turned the ignition, all lights illuminated and thumbed the starter and..."POP" from under the seat/tank was all I heard as the lights went out. Cycling the ignition did not illuminate the lights so I inspected the fuses, all were intact. I again tried the ignition and the lights came right on and the bike fired up without an issue. It's been running great for over a week but the "pop" and no start has come back. I reseated the fuses again but this time, nothing. I'll be checking the battery later but this originally happened when the battery was at 13vdc.

What would make the "pop" sound and cause a no-power issue? What say the forum?

From your description I'm guessing loose connection in the power supply.. possibly battery cables. I'd clean lube and tighten those..
Dunno about the "pop" though.. solenoid?... starter relay?

Thanks Chy. I'm thinking the battery is shorted internally. I played with the connections last night and noticed if I jiggled the positive cable at the terminal I could get the lights to come back on to try and restart the bike. Again, when I thumbed the starter there was a "pop". What I noticed too was a voltage drop from 12.6 to 0 when the starter was thumbed and the "pop" would occur. It would stay at 0 until I giggled the terminal and it would magically return to 12.6. We'll see what happens after I get a new battery.

Matt,

If the battery cable is tight on the terminal, but the terminal appears loose inside the battery, replace the battery asap. The battery could explode if it is arcing internally (popping noise). You don't want your face close to it. Take care.