"98 Tourer lost electrical power

[2step]

The battery was weak, so I hooked trickle charger to battery let charge a while, then tried to start without unhooking charger first, heard a pop around the fuse box. Now no power at all when turn key on, what did I blow?

[The emperor has no clothes]

Check your "dog bone fuse"

[Chrisj CMA]

The other thing that can go “pop” is the starter solenoid behind the right hand side cover

[The emperor has no clothes]

The other thing that can go “pop” is the starter solenoid behind the right hand side cover

Wouldn't he still have power to the lights and instruments ?

[indybobm]

No, if the connector on top of the starter relay is what went pop, nothing will have power. End up with melted connector and mangled wires. Usually ugly.

[The emperor has no clothes]

No, if the connector on top of the starter relay is what went pop, nothing will have power. End up with melted connector and mangled wires. Usually ugly.

thanks

[2step]

Dog Bone Fuse OK, All other Fuses OK, I guess its the starter solenoid, that's where the pop came from behind right cover.  Thanks for info.

[RonW]

How's the inline fuse on your charger's wire?

[Cracker Jack]

Check your battery connections. Loosen, wiggle wire then retighten. A bad connection can cause symptoms identical to yours.

[Bigwolf]

There is a fuse hidden inside the the connector on top of the starter relay.  Not under the black boot with main cables from battery and to starter but under the clip on connector.  If that fuse is blown, no power to anything.  While you have that connection open, it is a really good idea to make sure all connections there are clean and to add a bit of dielectric grease on reassembly.

I believe this fuse is your problem.  I once had that one blow in the same situation you described.  Since that fuse is not in the main fuse holder it took a while for me to find it.  I replaced it and 30k miles later it still has not blown again.

Bigwolf

[Thunderdog]

What a coincidence.  My '98 Tourer also lost power Saturday.  I cranked it, let it warm up, moved it to put it into another garage and shut it down.  Couple minutes later it would not start, Zero response, no lights/horn, nothing.  Could not find a bad fuse, 30a main, 55a main, ignition 10a all ok, charged it anyway.  While turning the key quickly I saw only a momentary flicker in the little indicator lights but they would not stay on.  Anyone got any ideas on the issue?  I'm thinking maybe the ignition switch?? 2step, did you find your problem?

Lee

[2step]

The 30 amp fuse on top of relay is OK. I ordered the starter solenoid, I believe that's the problem, if not I will look elsewhere, but that's where the pop sound came from. Ill let everyone know.

[Chrisj CMA]

What a coincidence.  My '98 Tourer also lost power Saturday.  I cranked it, let it warm up, moved it to put it into another garage and shut it down.  Couple minutes later it would not start, Zero response, no lights/horn, nothing.  Could not find a bad fuse, 30a main, 55a main, ignition 10a all ok, charged it anyway.  While turning the key quickly I saw only a momentary flicker in the little indicator lights but they would not stay on.  Anyone got any ideas on the issue?  I'm thinking maybe the ignition switch?? 2step, did you find your problem?

Lee

Check battery and ground connections

[RonW]

What a coincidence.  My '98 Tourer also lost power Saturday.  I cranked it, let it warm up, moved it to put it into another garage and shut it down.  Couple minutes later it would not start, Zero response, no lights/horn, nothing.  Could not find a bad fuse, 30a main, 55a main, ignition 10a all ok, charged it anyway.  While turning the key quickly I saw only a momentary flicker in the little indicator lights but they would not stay on.  Anyone got any ideas on the issue?

That same scenario happened to Mofla last month, here.

[RonW]

The 30 amp fuse on top of relay is OK. I ordered the starter solenoid, I believe that's the problem, if not I will look elsewhere, but that's where the pop sound came from. Ill let everyone know.

The loud sound was from the internal plunger slamming against the internal contacts inside the starter relay. You wouldn't hear it over the engine noise if the engine had started up at the same time. Are you sure the loud sound wasn't the fuse blowing on the battery charger. On my Battery Tender Plus, if I draped the wires over the side of the bike, the in-line fuse is level with the side cover.
      

[2step]

The Battery tender is fine got it charging another battery. When I hit the starter button is when I heard the pop and lights and everything went out

[Thunderdog]

Well, my issue turned out to be the battery.  The battery dropped to about 10.4 volts overnight.  Hooked up my handy dandy Harbor Freight 29.95 high tech battery charger, at 10amps it made the solonoid buzz, at 55amps it fired right up.  Then I put in a "weak" battery from my KTM 990 Adventure in and pluged up my Li Ion starter pack and again, the bike fired right up.  So, I'm ordering a battery today!  Thanks guys for the help and things to check!  Mine never went "pop" like 2step's.

Lee

[RonW]

Well, my issue turned out to be the battery .....  Mine never went "pop" like 2step's.

Happy president's day. The *one loud click then no power at all* is indeed a different scenario from yours. If you search the Internet, it happens on all brands of bikes though I've never read anything on the specific gremlin. To differentiate, the bike has full power like normal until you turn the key ON. Then, you turn the key, loud click, and the electrical system flat lines. This as opposed to having no power at all to begin with. It is very unnerving. You start thinkin if this had happened far aways instead of in the garage. My theory is the glitch is a connection point on the heavy gauge wire circuit that is faulty or loose though not obvious for whatever reasons (arrows, below). This assumes all components on the heavy duty wire circuit are healthy. The battery is healthy, the strands in the heavy gauge wires and their crimps are healthy, and the internal heavy duty contacts in the starter relay are not carbon fouled. I wouldn't put much focus on the starter motor if it cranked on a daily basis.

[RonW]

The 30 amp fuse on top of relay is OK. I ordered the starter solenoid, I believe that's the problem, if not I will look elsewhere, but that's where the pop sound came from. Ill let everyone know.

A quick test for the starter relay is to bypass it altogether by bridging the two copper posts on the starter relay with a screwdriver, jumpers, etc. Key ON, transmission in neutral. This connects the battery directly to the starter motor without the starter relay in between them. If the starter motor turns, the starter relay is faulty proven by the bypass. If the starter motor still doesn't turn the starter relay probably not at fault and you must acquit, so on.

[2step]

Well the starter relay is not the problem, so I guess its time to start chasing wires and find bad connection or broken connection..

[Thunderdog]

Well the starter relay is not the problem, so I guess its time to start chasing wires and find bad connection or broken connection..

2step, did you check continuity on the fuse terminals 30A and 55A, with a meter or just visually?  I have had a case where visually my fuse looked fine but was in fact bad.  I suggest check them or replace with a new one since they're so cheap.  How about your kick stand switch or your neutral safety switch?

[John Schmidt]

You do realize if either one or both of your battery connections is corroded or loose and you apply power, you can also get a pop from there!? Likewise the ground connection on the engine itself.

[2step]

I have checked the fuse terminals with ohm meter, everything fine and all connections are fine, no corrosion that I can find. If your neutral switch or kickstand switch was bad it would still allow power to lights and everything just not start, wouldn't it. I don't have any power at all to anything. Got power to main fuse block and to starter relay, could the ignition switch be bad and cause this or how to check it, and also how do you check the small diode at the fuse holders.
thanks

[Hacked Valk]

Since you say there is power at the fuse block the main 30 amp fuse has to be good.  The ignition switch Provides 12 volts to the fuse block on 3 separate wires.  Blue/orange, red/white, and red/black. Do you have 12 volts on all three?  Also if you checked the fuses with the ohm meter with the fuse still installed, remove them and check again with them out.

[RonW]

I don't have any power at all to anything. Got power to main fuse block and to starter relay, could the ignition switch be bad and cause this or how to check it,

I had the same problem, and ended up going through the ignition switch. Taking apart the ignition switch isn't difficult but it's not the culprit to the total lost of power, and maybe not worth your while. You might try inspecting the battery cables and crimps under their wrappings (pic below). You can take voltage readings on the ignition switch wires at the 4p-connector under the plastic boot (red arrow, 2nd pic) which spares you from disassembling the ignition switch if the voltages are up to par. The Red Wire is the +12 power source for the ignition switch. Then, the ignition switch powers the fusebox downstream. A few more tidbits on the red wire in the paragraph below.







The Red Wire plugs into a blade terminal in the green thingie atop the starter relay. The red wire is connected to the starter relay's battery(+) post via two aluminum plates that are encased in the green thingie. Of course, you can't see the encased aluminum plates but the aluminum plates are outlined in red in the left pic below. The two aluminum plates have a Gap X between them. The main fuse bridges this gap. When the main fuse is plugged in, the red wire becomes connected to the battery and is a live wire and remains a live wire even when the key is OFF. Fortunately, the red wire only goes to the ignition switch. It doesn't have branches to serve other devices either.