Electrical failure ...

[Rumpole]

My 1997 Valkyrie has been in bits.

She's nearly back together, and i thought that everything electrical has reconnected.

The petrol tank is still off.

Anyway, i was refitting the headlight, and testing it. All good. High, low, indicators, left, right, brakes, front, back - all good.

Test the horn he thinks to himself, and without thinking, presses the start button. Yeah, i know ... must have been the first bit of black plastic i saw ..  :uglystupid2:

Anyway, i hear a reasonably firm "click", like when a fuse goes, and the bike goes dead.

I cannot find a blown fuse. Have checked the 55A fuse. it's fine (also discovered the built-in spare one!). Found two 30A fuses, and the fuse box.

All fuses are intact.

Batter returning "12 V".

No power.

Any ideas?

 :cooldude:

[Daniel Meyer]

Bad/loose cable connection, either at the battery or possible the ground cable to the bike...

[Rumpole]

Thanks Daniel. I will check those things, but everything was fine until i pressed the "Start" button.

[Daniel Meyer]

Thanks Daniel. I will check those things, but everything was fine until i pressed the "Start" button.

It can be common on engaging a starter or other heavy load for a bad connection in a 12 v system to "pop" and then not conduct...usually battery cables corroded at the battery or the other end.

[Valkpilot]

Thanks Daniel. I will check those things, but everything was fine until i pressed the "Start" button.

It can be common on engaging a starter or other heavy load for a bad connection in a 12 v system to "pop" and then not conduct...usually battery cables corroded at the battery or the other end.

Does it seem to have recovered, i.e., if you turn the key off for awhile and then back on you have lights again?  If so, another possibility is a bad battery.  They'll behave this way too (personal experience.)

[Regis]

check the start relay  harness connection

[Thunderbolt]

Sounds like a loose connection.  Take a set of jumper cables and connect one end to the frame to a bolt that screws into the frame or an exposed area.  Connect the other end to the negative post of the battery.  If the lights come on and or it starts, you have found the problem.  You can do the same thing to the positive post, but you have to be very careful to not ground it to the frame near the battery positive post.  The positive lead from the battery goes to the 55a charge fuse that you mentioned.  You might tighten all four screws on either end of the fuse first.  If none of this works, check the connections to the start relay, they may be burned or corroded.

[Rumpole]

Thanks for the advice.

Work commitments preclude me doing anything til Saturday (tomorrow), so will try those things then.

Cheers.

[Rio Wil]

On the start relay, there are two large black wires (with clutch in or in neutral), jumper across the two wires and see if the starter runs...... If the starter runs, it verifies the ground connection from the battery to the engine frame as well as the positi9ve connection at least over to the start relay and 30A fuse mounted on the start relay.

[Regis]

hope this helps . I was running down the interstate in rush hour traffic when all electrical went dead , engine died , lights went out ,everything . After some probing with a volt meter I found the plug at the start relay melted and pulled away from the relay . It was an easy fix . But all of my electrical was dead , no power to the key switch and no blown fuses. worth a look .   

[Rumpole]

Must have been the battery. I put it on the trickle charger for a few days and reconnected it this morning. Good as new. I am going to get a new battery anyway. This one has been on trickle charge for 2.5 years!

Thanks for all the tips. Every time I ask a question here, I learn a whole bunch of stuff!

Cheers from Oz.