Bike won't start. Dash lights up...sometimes..

[kdogg2077]

So yesterday I took my bike on a good 45 minute ride on some back roads. To refuel I stopped at a local eatery (Chiptole mmmm) for about 10 minutes. When I got back to my bike I put the key in and the dash lit up but upon pressing the ignition switch the dash died and then nothing. The key was in on position and the bike was in neutral. I also tried putting the kick stand up though that shouldn't matter if the bike is in neutral. The dash kept refusing to even light up with the key in the on position. After about 2 minutes of waiting (and fearing I'd need to call someone to pick me up) the dash lit up and the bike started. This battery is like 6 months old.

This seemed really strange...after all that riding the battery should have been all charged up.

I rode home which took about 30 minutes on the highway and parked my bike. This morning I was going to ride to work but the same thing happened again. Dash lit up, hit ignition, dash dies. I don't think the bike even turned over.


This has to be some kind of electrical problem. Could it be the alternator? I only bought the battery in Feb/March. It was a cheap one though.

I figured tonight I could check the connections and put my battery on a trickle charger. If it fires up after being on the charger then the problem is most likely the alternator, no?

[Skullz]

Check the connection at the battery, make sure both positive and negative are clean and tight.

[jkv45]

As Skullz noted, it could be the battery connections.

It could also be the battery. Just because it's 6 mo old doesn't mean it can't be bad. Check the voltage before you start it. 12.6V is fully charged. Check it when you hit the button. It should still give you 11-something or more. If it's under 10V chances are it's bad if it read fully charged while sitting.

Even if the battery reads "fully charged" on a charger it can still be bad when under load. You can confirm alternator output by checking the voltage at the battery with the engine running. You should see 13V+ and higher when you rev the engine to 3000 or so (not sure the exact specs, but you will see over the regular battery voltage of 12.6)

I'm thinking it's the battery.

[subxero]

I would think loose connection type problem, batteries generally don't tend to revive themselves plus there is no foreseeable reason for your battery to be down on charge. It is fairly new, it has been warm out since you got it, you ride fairly often, you are not powering anything external, your bike isn't that old or abused so i can't imagine charging system issue, you haven't really modded anything electrical where you messed something up to create a parasitic drain.

Check connections first, especially anything you have futzed with in the past month or two.

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by jkv45

As Skullz noted, it could be the battery connections.

It could also be the battery. Just because it's 6 mo old doesn't mean it can't be bad. Check the voltage before you start it. 12.6V is fully charged. Check it when you hit the button. It should still give you 11-something or more. If it's under 10V chances are it's bad if it read fully charged while sitting.

Even if the battery reads "fully charged" on a charger it can still be bad when under load. You can confirm alternator output by checking the voltage at the battery with the engine running. You should see 13V+ and higher when you rev the engine to 3000 or so (not sure the exact specs, but you will see over the regular battery voltage of 12.6)

I'm thinking it's the battery.

Concur!
see the wiki for more info
https://www.ninjette.org/wiki/Battery

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by jkv45

Even if the battery reads "fully charged" on a charger it can still be bad when under load.

True dat! I had one of those "new bad" batteries this year on the 4wheeler. It only lasted a month. Took it back for an exchange.

[kdogg2077]

OK so I got home and the bike started up immediately. Stared it multiple times with no problem.

So it can't be the battery or alternator right? Most likely something is loose.

[subxero]

try again after the bike has sat for a while but like i said, i don't think it is your battery.

There is no reason for it to start all of a sudden like nothing happened when you first experienced the problem, dead batteries don't do that.

[Asspire]

if it starts normally then its not battery. Most likely a loose connection some where or a relay failling some where, or worse, a short. Which dash lights were out? The gauges backlight? or the warning lights(ie. neutral light, oil, coolant)? did the fuel gauge move?

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by kdogg2077

...... So it can't be the battery or alternator right? Most likely something is loose.

Note that everything started after the stop at the local Chipotle.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Note that everything started after the stop at the local Chipotle.

[kdogg2077]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Note that everything started after the stop at the local Chipotle.

Yes I often tend to bog down and run slow after visiting Chiptole...first time it affected my bike I can't resist it though.

Actually there have been a few times this happened where the bike didn't start right away. Usually another twist of the ignition switch and the problem went away. At Chipotle the problem just took longer than ever before to get better. Then yesterday the bike refused to start at all.

Now it seems to be fine again. I tempted fate and rode to work this morning. I was thinking of taking my bike on a trip to NYC or Philadelphia at the end of the summer and I better figure out what is wrong before then.

Maybe this weekend I can take of all the fairings and check the cables. It's about time to do an oil change too.

[kdogg2077]

Originally Posted by Asspire

if it starts normally then its not battery. Most likely a loose connection some where or a relay failling some where, or worse, a short. Which dash lights were out? The gauges backlight? or the warning lights(ie. neutral light, oil, coolant)? did the fuel gauge move?

All the dash lights refused to light up for a bit there.

I do have a spare relay now. I bought it for a future LED install. Would it work with the stock lights if it is designed to work with LED's?

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by kdogg2077

Yes I often tend to bog down and run slow after visiting Chiptole...first time it affected my bike I can't resist it though.
.........At Chipotle the problem just took longer than ever before to get better. ........

Yes, it seems to be associated to vibrations that last for a trip, or to heat at the end of it.

It also seems to be a problem with the starter system rather than with the ignition system (the engine never quits while working).

I would check all the connectors, switches and relays of the starter system.

Click on the "Starter circuit schematic" here:
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Wiring_...s_%26_diagrams

[csmith12]

I have to do this from time to time on the 4wheelers.

Check all "hot spots" for burned wires. Strip the fairings have go over things with a fine tooth comb, you will find your short/loose connection.

[kdogg2077]

I just popped open the battery compartment and sure enough the negative was a little loose. I tightened it and the bike fired up. Of course it's kinda bi-polar and was already starting and stopping when it felt like it but I think that was probably the issue all along.

Thanks for the helpful advice. Hopefully this was just newb error. That way I don't have to buy more parts.

[Asspire]

good to hear, now you got to sell it and buy a R6. Comes with battery cables welded on......

[kdogg2077]

Originally Posted by Asspire

good to hear, now you got to sell it and buy a R6. Comes with battery cables welded on......

Welded on??? Genius!

[Alex]

If you only used a screwdriver, go back at it with a nut driver to get it uber tight. The bolts are shaped that way to take quite a bit of torque. Nothing good comes from loose battery cables.

[kdogg2077]

Originally Posted by Alex

If you only used a screwdriver, go back at it with a nut driver to get it uber tight. The bolts are shaped that way to take quite a bit of torque. Nothing good comes from loose battery cables.

Hmm I'll have to dig and see if I have one of those around.

[subxero]

^ i would hope you have a metric socket set. I feel it is impossible to own a Japanese motorcycle and not have metric socket set. If you don't go to loses and pick a 1/4" drive set for like $15 bucks.