No Headlights, Won't Start

[GWS]

She ran perfect yesterday. This morning I hit the starter button and ....nothing. When I turn on the key, I have no headlights. I have the taillight, marker lights in front only, idiot lights, horn, turn signals front and back, but no headlights. (It's "headlights" because the previous owner installed the two extra lights on either side of the stock headlight.)
I did the starter button service routine - the contacts were dirty so now they're nice and shiny. I put it back together and ....nothing. I reopened the starter button assembly and checked for power. Sitting on the seat and looking at the now-exposed starter button assembly, of the 4 wires going to the fixed contacts above the button, I have power to 2 - the black wire on the lower right, and the black/white stripe wire on the upper left. The blue/white stripe wire on the lower left (power to the headlights??), and the yellow/red stripe wire on the upper right have no power. Pushing the button has no effect on which wires get power. The battery is good. I plugged it into the battery tender and almost immediately got a green light.
The fuses are all good.
The headlight bulbs all look good.
I've read on this forum that the three headlight setup draws too many electrons through the starter button. Is something fried internally? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!


I've read on this site that that causes too much power going through the starter button.

[Bighead]

First try cycling the kill switch several times and see if head light returns. If not you probably need to take switches apart and clean. That would be my first steps. You

[Chrisj CMA]

Try pressing the starter button many times too. If you get it to fire with several tries you have confirmed it’s the starter button

[gordonv]

Everyone says they cleaned the switch, but no one who doesn't know the 1st question asked doesn't say anything about it.

It's not how clean the switch is, it's if the plates move, do the springs move in their bore, to push the plate and make contact when it's together?


Yes, there is too much power going through the starter switch. You want to remove the power to the extra (and the head light), and put them all through a relay(s), and use the power from the starter button to energize the relay to turn the front lights on/off. I think there is how-to in the Shoptalk, or search is your friend.


Also, try a different known good battery, and try to jump start. Just because you have 12V on your battery doesn't mean it's working.

[GWS]

UPDATE
I was able to jump across the contacts at the starter button and I got headlights. So I went back into the switch and pried up on the little brass nubs and it worked - as far as the headlights go. Earlier I had pried them up too high and the switch wouldn't come back out after being pressed. Finicky little thing, eh?
 
However, I wasn't able to jump across the contacts and get it to start.

So, I removed the right side cover and tried to jump the starter at the solenoid. It didn't work. I've got power to the solenoid, and power coming out, but but no start. Looks like a bad starter.
The bike is new to me, so any other thoughts?

[Bighead]

I will bet it is NOT the starter. Never heard of one going bad yet. JMHO

[Chrisj CMA]

UPDATE
I was able to jump across the contacts at the starter button and I got headlights. So I went back into the switch and pried up on the little brass nubs and it worked - as far as the headlights go. Earlier I had pried them up too high and the switch wouldn't come back out after being pressed. Finicky little thing, eh?
 
However, I wasn't able to jump across the contacts and get it to start.

So, I removed the right side cover and tried to jump the starter at the solenoid. It didn't work. I've got power to the solenoid, and power coming out, but but no start. Looks like a bad starter.
The bike is new to me, so any other thoughts?

That’s your problem. Those little brass nubs as you say are stuck. They should bounce up and down. Remove the brass piece and the spring and use a small razor knife to clean and open the slot so that nub can move up and down on the spring

[gordonv]

Usually the grease is old and solid in those holes. The springs and the nub need to move freely when pressed down.

The springs push the nub up and the nub makes contact on the pins on the other side of the switch.

[GWS]

Well, I'm screwed. I bent the brass contact piece trying to get it out, then broke off a tab on it trying to get it unbent.
Then the little spring under the brass contact piece didn't come out. It doesn't come out. It's attached to the bottom of the plastic. Epoxied, I think. I destroyed it trying to get it out and couldn't get it re-sprung.
I should stick to what I'm good at, and it ain't mechanics. I'm a lifelong dairy farmer/nutritionist. If I break a cow, at least I can eat it.....

[gordonv]

Either that spring was held in with old dried up grease, or had melted into the plastic. One reason to have less power go through that starter switch.

I was thinking a drill bit, small-larger to clean it out, might have worked too with the spring. But that plate, now you hooped.

Don't bet yourself up, it sounds like it may have been toast anyways, or not too far from becoming something you could eat. I think it's been reported a new switch/housing is about $75. So keep that in mind if you get a used one.

[Dusty]

 Good job on learning how the switch works. You will be able to do it better next time because of all you learned. I'm a mechanic by trade and have screwed up quite a bit of stuff in my career. I always learn from my mistakes. I've never had to eat my mistakes . If I looked after cows they would probably quit giving milk.

My journeyman told me when I was an apprentice " the only guy that doesn't F up is the guy that doesn't do anything"

Keep learning    
We are here to help you.

Dusty

[Madmike]

Good job on learning how the switch works. You will be able to do it better next time because of all you learned. I'm a mechanic by trade and have screwed up quite a bit of stuff in my career. I always learn from my mistakes. I've never had to eat my mistakes . If I looked after cows they would probably quit giving milk.

My journeyman told me when I was an apprentice " the only guy that doesn't F up is the guy that doesn't do anything"

Keep learning    
We are here to help you.

Dusty

Yup, I got told that when I was apprenticing over 40 years ago.  You get up to Campbell River stop for a coffee.  I am just getting my bike back going, hasn't run for a few years, I moved down here from Inuvik 6 years ago, was in Northern Alberta before that and all over Northern BC and Alberta and up into the Arctic.  I had my bike with me in Inuvik, 10 miles of pavement out to the airport was it them about 500 miles of gravel down to Dawson City.  I did see a woman on a Valk there one summer.

[GWS]

Thanks for the support and help, guys. I hope you all had some great rides over the holiday weekend.
All done beating myself up. When you're a farmer, often all you have to get through the day is a positive attitude. When you lose that.... you're done.

There's still one question that bothers me - i jumped the contacts for the light on the little black plate and got my lights back, so why wouldn't it start when I jumped the other two contacts? With the key on, I had power on one side. 

I was thinking solenoid issue? I pulled that out yesterday and the 30 amp fuse behind it isn't blown. Before I wrecked the switch, I had it put together and I had the nubs bent too high so that the switch wouldn't return after it was pushed in. It must have been making contact. At that point, to test the solenoid, I had my tester well grounded on one end with the other end on the solenoid output side. Whenever I pushed the starter button, the tester never lit up.

Anyway, before I do anything else I'll wait to get the new switch in place and see what happens.

Thanks again!

[Jims99]

I’m not sure how the Valkyrie is wired, (haven’t had to get into it yet) but I know on some other bikes the solenoid is feed with the negative wire from button.  So if you’re checking for a positive signal from button you’ll not find it.
Waiting till you replace switch is a good idea. It will probably fix all your problems.
I would also do the relay mod on lights as recommended or replace bulbs with LEDs. Relay is cheap and easy. Good luck and enjoy.

[CoreyP]

10 to 1 the spring was not working right. I use straight concentrated orange cleaner to degrease things. If that doesn't work you can stretch the spring a little so it makes better contacts.

Don't worry about ruining the switch, relatively cheap learning experience. BTW there should be a little steel ball on top of the spring if I remember right? Make sure that didn't roll away on you.