Help

[Steve - Frisco]

So I am riding along and my speedo and tach stop working, the bike is running kind of funny.  I pull into a parking lot, turn it off.  Turn the ignition back on and the speedo and tach are working.  But I get a clicking sound when I try to start.

So is it?  A. The battery ( have no idea how old, I bought the bike used in October). B.  The starter. Or  C.  The switch?

If I let it sit, it trys to turn over for a second then starts clicking and the speedo and tach go out. 

I am leaning towards battery..

Help!  Thanks

[sugerbear]

battery buy a new one and charge it just the way the instructions say.

don't ask LOL

[Ratdog]

Ok, start your diagnosis/rule out exercises.  Put a volt meter across the battery terminals and see what the reading is with the engine off.  You "should" get at least 12 volts.  When the bike is running, you should get 14.7 (or, thereabouts) volts.  If you get less than 12 volts, put the battery on a charger and see if it "holds" the charge.  If it doesn't, the battery's probably dead.  If it does... then consider the charging system being unable to charge the battery.  How many miles are on your bike?  And... what year is your bike?  (I ask that for a reason).

Double check that your battery connections are clean/tight.

Do a search of Rattlebars.com site and find the Starter Button Maint. "how-to".

While you're there, read through the "how-to" that I had Chet add to his site concerning inspection of the starter relay.  '97-'99 Valks are more prone to failure of the relay.  In '00, Honda added a supplementary rubber boot to shield the relay from moisture intrusion.  If the relay is cooked, the harness' connector will probably get cooked too.  After disconnecting the battery, you CAN take the charred relay apart/clean it and reassemble with some dielectric grease for a "field repair" until you get replacement parts.

[RP#62]

If we're still at the guessing stage, I vote alternator.
-RP

[Thunderbolt]

Charge the battery and do what Ratdog suggests.  I suspect that you will find that the alternator is not charging the battery.  Check the alternator charge fuse, it is a fishhook looking fuse held in place by screws to the right of the small fuses for the lights etc.  If no one has used it, there should be a spare in the cover for the small fuses.  I thought I had an alternator problem once, turned out one of the screws was loose on the alternator fuse.  There are 4 screws, two hold the fuse and one is the termination point for the alternator and the other is where the battery connection terminates.

[Ratdog]

If we're still at the guessing stage, I vote alternator.
-RP

If it's not a dead battery... I'm suspecting thrashed brushes inside the alternator... that's why I was curious about the number of miles on the bike. 

[Scott from FL, now in Maine]

Check your battery ground, both ends of the cable 

[John Schmidt]

I agree with the other posts....if it died while riding, your alternator is bad is my guess. And, it's most likely the brushes, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than a winding.

[clintsdivco]

So I am riding along and my speedo and tach stop working, the bike is running kind of funny.  I pull into a parking lot, turn it off.  Turn the ignition back on and the speedo and tach are working.  But I get a clicking sound when I try to start.

So is it?  A. The battery ( have no idea how old, I bought the bike used in October). B.  The starter. Or  C.  The switch?

If I let it sit, it trys to turn over for a second then starts clicking and the speedo and tach go out. 

I am leaning towards battery..

Help!  Thanks

Basically the same scenario happened to me last November and it turned out the be the alternator.  The speedo and tach and the whole display on my IS started acting up.  I only got about another half mile and it quit.  Wouldn't restart until I got a jump start and only went another couple of miles (enough to get home) and started acting up again.  Charged the battery overnight and was able to make it to the bike shop the next morning running on just the battery.

Clint

[Gryphon Rider]

To summarize:
1. Check battery - will it take a charge?
If yes, charge it, reinstall it, check all connections within charging system.
2. Check battery voltage, then start the bike and check again.  12V & 14+V
3. If running bike doesn't give you 14+V, you probably have an alternater problem.
4. Check condition of brushes, and check for an open winding in the rotor (common problem).  See the shop manual for procedure.

[Ratdog]

So I am riding along and my speedo and tach stop working, the bike is running kind of funny.  I pull into a parking lot, turn it off.  Turn the ignition back on and the speedo and tach are working.  But I get a clicking sound when I try to start.

So is it?  A. The battery ( have no idea how old, I bought the bike used in October). B.  The starter. Or  C.  The switch?

If I let it sit, it trys to turn over for a second then starts clicking and the speedo and tach go out. 

I am leaning towards battery..

Help!  Thanks

Basically the same scenario happened to me last November and it turned out the be the alternator.  The speedo and tach and the whole display on my IS started acting up.  I only got about another half mile and it quit.  Wouldn't restart until I got a jump start and only went another couple of miles (enough to get home) and started acting up again.  Charged the battery overnight and was able to make it to the bike shop the next morning running on just the battery.

Clint

Some friends and I were out riding once... one guy's alternator died, so... what we did was, we pulled all the fuses for anything that would not keep the bike from running (lights and everything) and then swapped batteries with him and put him in the middle of the two of us and escorted him home. With more than 100 miles to go... all we needed to do was swap out batteries one more time.  The bike'll go a long ways without lights draining the resources.    He learned how to swap out his brushes and then put his fuses back in and he was good to go.  He made it home... life was good.

[Mikey]

If we're still at the guessing stage, I vote alternator.
-RP

+1
I had a Celica that lost the voltage regulator on the alternator. It boiled the battery, blew the lights, coils, and melted a wire harness... I was on the highway when my gauges started going funny.

[Steve - Frisco]

Thanks guys, I am going to replace the battery since I have no idea how old it is. 

Also the bike is a 2000 IS with 51,000 miles, give or take a few.....

After that it's check to make sure that the bike is charging and if not, go through all the checks, I might as well do the starter button as well.

[Ratdog]

Thanks guys, I am going to replace the battery since I have no idea how old it is. 

Also the bike is a 2000 IS with 51,000 miles, give or take a few.....

After that it's check to make sure that the bike is charging and if not, go through all the checks, I might as well do the starter button as well.

I'd double check whether there's corrosion on the contacts for the starter relay.  It's about a half hour of your time to do the inspection/cleaning.  The benefit is... a relay is $70 and the wiring harness is $300 (plus labor by the shop).  The inspection/cleaning is free to you if you do it yourself.

Also, consider pulling your alternator and doing a cleaning of the internals and inspecting the brushes.  "Generally" speaking... if you do a cleaning/inspection at 50K and brush replacement/cleaning at 100K intervals, you're improving your chances of issues.  The design of the Valk's alternator is not condusive to being able to purge the dust that is generated by brush wear.  Letting that dust remain inside can cause preventable wear to the inner workings of the alternator. 

Here's the adventure I went through with it.  This wasn't an I/S... but, it should cover the basics for those as well.  I'm sure there's other chores to consider while inside there... if I've missed something (pertaining to the alternator chore) I'm sure another will add to the fray. 

http://www.vermin-club.org/mods/Alternator_Service.html

[Ricky-D]

I would suggest do one thing at a time.

Retest and insure everything is as it should be and then go on to another item.

Doing multiple things at one time will be a nightmare if one is not correct. Where to start?

A new battery should be the first thing and don't forget the help about first time charging.

***

[Ratdog]

I would suggest do one thing at a time.

Retest and insure everything is as it should be and then go on to another item.

Doing multiple things at one time will be a nightmare if one is not correct. Where to start?

A new battery should be the first thing and don't forget the help about first time charging.

***

Yup... agreed... that should be a given for all changes.   

[GotValk]

I have a 2000 I/S , Mine did the exact same thing you have said . I had maybe 28000 on her, I also checked every thing everyone has mentioned . But I wasn't very lucky I was hoping for bad brushes but ... No I had a bad winding so I ended up replacing the alternator with the most expensive one I could find. But once she was running again I just bucked up and forgot about the pain in my wallet.

Love those Valkyries!!!

Good Luck!

Gary