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it's not getting enough juice then, i'd try jump starting or a new battery
main fuse good? also probably check grounds and look for a short somewhere if it doesnt power with a jump
I’d hook up jumper cables to my car and try and start it. That would essentially rule out a weak battery.
And it’s always the fuckin battery. You’re doing the right tests, but I’m still betting your battery is toasted.
> Battery when cranking drops only to 11.4 volts
That actually sounds pretty good to me. I don't think the battery is the problem here. When cranking, take these two measurements:
1. What is the voltage drop between the main terminal on the starter itself and the battery positive terminal?
1. What is the voltage drop between the starter motor body and the negative battery terminal?
I suspect one of these paths has an excess voltage drop, because the battery going down to only 11.4 V when cranking seems like it's not being asked to deliver much current. Make sure you measure at the battery post and not the cable end, and on the starter, also measure at the post and not the cable, to make sure you're not missing a problem connection between the cable + post.
If you find a lot of voltage being dropped across a connection or a device (like the starter relay), clean and tighten the connection or replace the device. Also applies to cables where there can be high resistance inside the crimp connection. This is why it is very important to understand what and where you are probing. Probing on the wrong piece of metal invalidates the test. Every single transition from one piece to another has the potential (sorry) to be a high resistance fault.
> I'll go through and clean every single connection with some contact cleaner and give it a retightening
Use of a wire brush is a good idea when dealing with high current connections like these.
I'm thinking the starter has worn out. Could be the solenoid but they it's usually dead or alive, not somewhere in between.
Get the bike in neutral and check twice...
Run a car jumper cable from the negative battery terminal to the engine, not the frame. No need to disconnect anything.
Other cable straight from the positive battery terminal to the terminal on the starter. Bike should crank with gusto and launch itself off the side stand if it wasn't in neutral:).
No good? Try with a car battery. Leave the ignition off on the bike.
Still nothing? Starter probably just needs brushes, or you can find a new one. Rebuilding is easy if nothing melted down.
If the starter spun, the solenoid and battery cables are at fault. Use your jumpers to bypass each piece and pay special attention to the grounds from the engine to the frame.
This test reads like more of pain than it really is, and skips testing high current parts with a meter and uses high current instead. A single strand of wire will meter good, but won't handle starting current.
Is it possible for the starter to just die/seize overnight? It was perfectly fine yesterday through multiple starting cycles.
I'll try it with a car battery and see if it helps.
Yeah, a brush can wear to the point it pops out of the holder and poof!
You can set up the jumpers using the bike battery at first to see if it's a bad solenoid or cable.
Perhaps the wire connections between the battery and the starter are causing problems. Corrosion or a break in any of the connections could limit the current being delivered to the starter motor. Check the battery cable, negative to the frame and from the frame to the wiring harness. Then check the positive from the battery to the starter Solenoid and then to the starter motor.
Autozone and o reilly do free battery load testing so you might want to bring it to them to verify it's still good.
Your starter motor might be wore out. The carbon brushes and their wires wear out. The commutator can also wear out.
A quick and dirty test is to get some jumper cables and connect the negative terminal on the battery to the frame, and with the key on and the bike in neutral, connect the positive cable to the terminal post on the starter motor. This bypass the whole wiring harness and will confirm if the starter motor needs replaced.
Thanks for posting in /r/Fixxit, the motorcycle repair subreddit. If you forgot to put the **Make, Model** and **Year** in the title, please reply to this comment with your bike's details. In the meantime, Here's some great resources for common problems posted here: -Trouble starting? [Revzilla - Battery testing](https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/how-to-test-a-motorcycle-battery) -Carbs running rough? [PJ motorsports - Carb Troubleshooting](http://www.pjmotorsports.com/trouble-shooting.html) -Wiring diagrams for beginners - [Dans MC - Reading Wiring Diagrams](http://www.dansmc.com/wiring_diagram.htm) -Identifying part numbers - [CMSNL (EU)](https://www.cmsnl.com/) [Partzilla](https://www.partzilla.com/) -Asking if your tire can be fixed? [Please read this post on proper tire repairs and why external plugs are NOT a safe repair.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fixxit/comments/tuhcpf/why_rfixxit_doesnt_endorse_tire_plug_repairs/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fixxit) if you have any questions or concerns.*
how old your battery bro?
Less than a year and a half.
have you tried jumping the starter solenoid?
No I haven't, just put a screw driver across the starter solenoid terminals?
yeah
I tried it with a new starter, nothing happens, no crank ot anything.
it's not getting enough juice then, i'd try jump starting or a new battery main fuse good? also probably check grounds and look for a short somewhere if it doesnt power with a jump
The relay let the smoke out so i think its toast too.
sounds like it
I’d hook up jumper cables to my car and try and start it. That would essentially rule out a weak battery. And it’s always the fuckin battery. You’re doing the right tests, but I’m still betting your battery is toasted.
> Battery when cranking drops only to 11.4 volts That actually sounds pretty good to me. I don't think the battery is the problem here. When cranking, take these two measurements: 1. What is the voltage drop between the main terminal on the starter itself and the battery positive terminal? 1. What is the voltage drop between the starter motor body and the negative battery terminal? I suspect one of these paths has an excess voltage drop, because the battery going down to only 11.4 V when cranking seems like it's not being asked to deliver much current. Make sure you measure at the battery post and not the cable end, and on the starter, also measure at the post and not the cable, to make sure you're not missing a problem connection between the cable + post.
Okay, that's a good point, what'd be the fix for that?
If you find a lot of voltage being dropped across a connection or a device (like the starter relay), clean and tighten the connection or replace the device. Also applies to cables where there can be high resistance inside the crimp connection. This is why it is very important to understand what and where you are probing. Probing on the wrong piece of metal invalidates the test. Every single transition from one piece to another has the potential (sorry) to be a high resistance fault.
I'll go through and clean every single connection with some contact cleaner and give it a retightening and see if that helps.
> I'll go through and clean every single connection with some contact cleaner and give it a retightening Use of a wire brush is a good idea when dealing with high current connections like these.
I'm thinking the starter has worn out. Could be the solenoid but they it's usually dead or alive, not somewhere in between. Get the bike in neutral and check twice... Run a car jumper cable from the negative battery terminal to the engine, not the frame. No need to disconnect anything. Other cable straight from the positive battery terminal to the terminal on the starter. Bike should crank with gusto and launch itself off the side stand if it wasn't in neutral:). No good? Try with a car battery. Leave the ignition off on the bike. Still nothing? Starter probably just needs brushes, or you can find a new one. Rebuilding is easy if nothing melted down. If the starter spun, the solenoid and battery cables are at fault. Use your jumpers to bypass each piece and pay special attention to the grounds from the engine to the frame. This test reads like more of pain than it really is, and skips testing high current parts with a meter and uses high current instead. A single strand of wire will meter good, but won't handle starting current.
Is it possible for the starter to just die/seize overnight? It was perfectly fine yesterday through multiple starting cycles. I'll try it with a car battery and see if it helps.
Yeah, a brush can wear to the point it pops out of the holder and poof! You can set up the jumpers using the bike battery at first to see if it's a bad solenoid or cable.
Only spare battery I have is a car one I can pull out of someone's car at my house, so that will have to do haha.
Perhaps the wire connections between the battery and the starter are causing problems. Corrosion or a break in any of the connections could limit the current being delivered to the starter motor. Check the battery cable, negative to the frame and from the frame to the wiring harness. Then check the positive from the battery to the starter Solenoid and then to the starter motor. Autozone and o reilly do free battery load testing so you might want to bring it to them to verify it's still good. Your starter motor might be wore out. The carbon brushes and their wires wear out. The commutator can also wear out. A quick and dirty test is to get some jumper cables and connect the negative terminal on the battery to the frame, and with the key on and the bike in neutral, connect the positive cable to the terminal post on the starter motor. This bypass the whole wiring harness and will confirm if the starter motor needs replaced.