Battery /Solenoid?

[Blackthou]

Thank ypu all for your help and suggestions. I have LED lights and they barely blink when I hit the start button.

I do have a digital voltmeter now so will check battery voltage with lights on. It may be possible to get an independent check on it too

 

[Fingers]

@DEcosse will led headlight be enough of a load?just curious!

 

[DEcosse]

Probably - you would still be drawing 6-7A - actually at the instant you turn on the key, you will be pulling about 10-11A while the pump is running (for about 3 secs after key-on).
If you like, you can repeat that extra load by leaving key on and just turning the Kill/Run switch off and on - lights will remain on regardless of the Kill/Run switch position.
See what the voltage is and how rapidly it is dropping as you leave it on.
it should be at least in lhigh 11/s to low 12's even with the lights on (and I would say the latter since you have LEDs)
And it should NOT be dropping rapidly.

I have LED lights and they barely blink when I hit the start button.

This one is potentially a big clue .....
If you hold the starter button (with clutch pulled of course) the lights should go completely OUT (even if the starter does not run) !!
(if outside and it's still light out, you can put the hi/lo switch on Hi and just watch the high beam idiot light - which should go off along with the lights)
If they do NOT go out, then the headlight/starter relay is not energizing
That could be
a) Relay itself
b) Start Switch
c) Clutch switch.

 

[Blackthou]

Thanks.

Do you think it may be the clutch switch then? She always cranks and starts with jump leads so does that negate the clutch switch question?

Can’t honestly say I can recall the lights ever going out when hitting the starter button. It makes sense as I always thought it was daft trying to start a bike with 2 headlights on.

 

[DEcosse]

... She always cranks and starts with jump leads so does that negate the clutch switch question?

Red Herring then, my deduction was based on your statement
If it always cranks and starts with jump leads, can assure that the lights are indeed going out when you start, you just haven't noticed that.
And if always cranks and starts with jump leads, then almost certainly your battery is toast and it is just not sustaining a charge.

 

[John Ward]

I had same problem, and my copper parts in the solenoid look ok as well. I cleaned and reinstalled it and the problem was still there, so I bought the £13 kit of ebay and replaced everything...bingo no pause it just fired right up and still does. Id replace the bits and clean all the battery connections etc before I looked elsewhere.

 

[Mittzy]

I had an issue that sometimes the starter solenoid would engage (Clunk) and nothing had full charge lithium battery 1.4kw starter heavy battery cables and even hooked up tiny LED's to the clutch switch and start button to determine where the issue was. turns out that the starter relay (Replaced) and the connectors in the relay block required a clean and a firmer fit and new dielectric grease - BINGO never a problem since.

 

[Blackthou]

Thanks.

I've thought of all those things and considered the helpful replies. I'm still not sure if the battery is duff and that's why jumping works or something is adrift and the extra amperage from connecting the car battery overcomes it.

“Hooked her (jump leads) up to my car. She was hesitant on turning over - it seemed a while after pressing the button before she turned over and fired. Left her running for 10 mins. Turned her off. waited a few minutes and retried, again click then nothing. Put her back on the Optimiser and left her for the rest of the week.

Anyway I decided to get a new battery but before I fitted it I came across the thread re the solenoid. I thought that had to be it. Today I removed the starter motor and took the end cover off the solenoid. I had expected pitting and burning from what I read but all looked good. Never-the-less I removed the contacts and cleaned them, dressed the copper ring and carefully reassembled everything to make sure it was square and true. I then rotated the central piston several times to check for witness marks on the contacts. All looked good. I removed and cleaned the nuts on the terminals and the ends of the cables. Reassembled the unit back onto the bike. Checked, cleaned and refitted the battery cables. The battery voltage was 12.75v”.

I went to fire her up and still click and no rotation. Wheeled her out, hooked her up to my car again and after a pause from pressing the starter button she turned over and fired up. Let her run for a few minutes, turned her off and tried a restart while hooked to my car again. There was the same pause before she turned over and fired. This time I let her run for about 10 minutes. Tried her on the button, half a revolution then click. The voltage had dropped to 12.3v but after a few minutes was back up to 12.6v.

What do you all think? I haven't tried the new battery yet in case that wasn't it and I could return it. Is it simply the battery has failed?

Jump starting works but after some hesitation. Could that be because the bike's battery is duff and that's sapping some power from my car and causing the delay”?

Today I will try as Captain DEcosse recommends watching to see if the lights go out and hope to take the battery to a garage to get it checked out.

Thanks again for your welcome suggestions.

 

[leatal]

Possibly ground cable to rear of engine has corrosion. Seems simple- remove, clean, reinstall, fire that puppy up.

 

[Blackthou]

Update

To cut a long story short, I removed the battery and took it to a local garage. They tested it and although the volts were good, the stored amps were less than half. We also noticed there was a slight bulge in the side. The meter said it needed replacing. Hope that's it now.

Thanks again to all for your help.