The Fat Girl let me down... (starter relay?)

[texaninsouthfl]

I was on my way last night to a five year memorial for murdered Broward County Sheriff deputy Chris Reyka, who was my neighbor and just after I filled up with gas... hit the starter button and "click" and then nothing (no lights at all) ... then it alternated a couple of times between lights coming on when I turned the key but but going dark as soon as I hit the starter button... then dead altogether.

I checked all the connections and couldn't find anything loose or fried looking, so I figured that the battery had taken a dump. I took the battery out this morning and went down to Advance Auto Parts and they put their fancy diagnostic doohicky thing on it and it checked out just fine.

I checked everything again and this time (in better lighting) it appears the starter relay is toast... the red plug part. I can't find anything else that looks other than normal (to me anyway) so after looking at a few posts on the tech board, I guess that's the problem. I ordered the repair kit from HDL. There are only three wires so even I, with my kindergarten level wrenching ability should be able to manage that.

Any other ideas from you vastly more mechanically inclined and knowledgeable Valkyrie experts out there?

[tank_post142]

do a search for starter button maint.

[Quicksilver]

Similar issue on mine caused by poor contact at battery cable connector. Used steel brush on post and bottom of connector, good to go. Looked good and tight at first as well. Just sayin.

[JaysGone]

I was on my way last night to a five year memorial for murdered Broward County Sheriff deputy Chris Reyka, who was my neighbor and just after I filled up with gas... hit the starter button and "click" and then nothing (no lights at all) ... then it alternated a couple of times between lights coming on when I turned the key but but going dark as soon as I hit the starter button... then dead altogether.

I checked all the connections and couldn't find anything loose or fried looking, so I figured that the battery had taken a dump. I took the battery out this morning and went down to Advance Auto Parts and they put their fancy diagnostic doohicky thing on it and it checked out just fine.

I checked everything again and this time (in better lighting) it appears the starter relay is toast... the red plug part. I can't find anything else that looks other than normal (to me anyway) so after looking at a few posts on the tech board, I guess that's the problem. I ordered the repair kit from HDL. There are only three wires so even I, with my kindergarten level wrenching ability should be able to manage that.

Any other ideas from you vastly more mechanically inclined and knowledgeable Valkyrie experts out there?

5 years already.
He was the cop shot in the parking lot??
Seemed like yesterday I was reading about it in the Sun Sentinal.

Anyway.
Try jumping the relay.
Use a big asssed hunk of metal or the bigest screw driver you have.
It will arch like a welders torch.
But if it does start it isnt the relay.

The handle bar control seems to be a problem child with these bikes.

[texaninsouthfl]

I was on my way last night to a five year memorial for murdered Broward County Sheriff deputy Chris Reyka, who was my neighbor and just after I filled up with gas... hit the starter button and "click" and then nothing (no lights at all) ... then it alternated a couple of times between lights coming on when I turned the key but but going dark as soon as I hit the starter button... then dead altogether.

I checked all the connections and couldn't find anything loose or fried looking, so I figured that the battery had taken a dump. I took the battery out this morning and went down to Advance Auto Parts and they put their fancy diagnostic doohicky thing on it and it checked out just fine.

I checked everything again and this time (in better lighting) it appears the starter relay is toast... the red plug part. I can't find anything else that looks other than normal (to me anyway) so after looking at a few posts on the tech board, I guess that's the problem. I ordered the repair kit from HDL. There are only three wires so even I, with my kindergarten level wrenching ability should be able to manage that.

Any other ideas from you vastly more mechanically inclined and knowledgeable Valkyrie experts out there?

5 years already.
He was the cop shot in the parking lot??
Seemed like yesterday I was reading about it in the Sun Sentinal.

Anyway.
Try jumping the relay.
Use a big asssed hunk of metal or the bigest screw driver you have.
It will arch like a welders torch.
But if it does start it isnt the relay.

The handle bar control seems to be a problem child with these bikes.

Yes, Chris was the deputy who was shot in the parking lot of the Walgreens. He got out of his patrol car to check a suspicious vehicle and the guy jumped out with weapon already drawn and firing. Chris never had a chance. He was one of the good guys.

A for the the bike... It's not the relay itself that's fried, it's the female side of the harness... the red cap thingy.  I ordered the repair kit but I think I'm going to try the repair that's described on Rattlebars.... you connect each wire individually (with quick connector from Radio Shack) to the spades on the relay. Seems easy enough.

[JaysGone]

Thats an easy enough fix.
Just a few spade lugs.
But
You have to question what caused it to heat up like that and melt the boot.
It is one of the higher amperage connections, 30amps on the bike if not the highest.

If there was say a dead short in the relay.
The fuse should have popped on the relay side.
But thats going in 1st.
The battery side so to say.
Unless you just plain over heated it cranking and cranking.
Id have to know what caused it, to have some peace of mind myself.

[texaninsouthfl]

Thats an easy enough fix.
Just a few spade lugs.
But
You have to question what caused it to heat up like that and melt the boot.
It is one of the higher amperage connections, 30amps on the bike if not the highest.

If there was say a dead short in the relay.
The fuse should have popped on the relay side.
But thats going in 1st.
The battery side so to say.
Unless you just plain over heated it cranking and cranking.
Id have to know what caused it, to have some peace of mind myself.

I've never had to push the starter button more than a second or two before it started. I figure that a combination of a lot of juice going through there over the course of 14 years ... that the connector can just burn out over time.

[R J]

Have you a pair of driving lights?   Do they trip a relay instead of going directly   to the starter spade?

That is usually the culprit that is burned, orange connector.

 

[RP#62]

What usually happens is that being that the receptacle is pointing straight up, water sometimes gets into it and corrodes the connections.  Once they've got a layer of corrosion on them the resistance goes up and they turn into heating elements.  It pays to take the connector off once a year and clean the connections and smooey a little silicone grease to help waterproof the connection.

-RP

[texaninsouthfl]

Well, I cut off the crapped out red harness and reconnected the wires to the male spade connectors on the relay with insulated quick connectors And..... Nothing. Arrrrgh!!!   So back to the drawing board.  

I looked at every other connection I could find from the batter back... no corrosion or anything loose as far as I can tell. So I'm thinking maybe the relay itself (Not just the red connector) is bad... or maybe the starter switch.

Good grief, I hate electrical crap.

[Gryphon Rider]

Try jumping the relay.
Use a big asssed hunk of metal or the bigest screw driver you have.
It will arch like a welders torch.
But if it does start it isnt the relay.

If you jumper the main terminals of a starter relay and it starts, the only thing you've ruled out is a weak battery and a bad starter.  If you then jumper the hot lead of the relay control circuit and it starts, THEN you know the relay is good.

[valkyriemc]

What usually happens is that being that the receptacle is pointing straight up, water sometimes gets into it and corrodes the connections.  Once they've got a layer of corrosion on them the resistance goes up and they turn into heating elements.  It pays to take the connector off once a year and clean the connections and smooey a little silicone grease to help waterproof the connection.

-RP

+1 Part of my service.

[texaninsouthfl]

Well... I removed the red cap, re-connected the wires with quick connects... nothing... then I ordered and replaced the relay itself... nothing. So I gave up and took it to my mechanic....

This whole thing started when I turned on the ignition key and hit the starter button and everything went dead... it seemed logical that the problem had something to do with the starter button... starter relay or something in that area.... right?  Nope.

He determined that everything had juice, but the bike would only light up when he grounded the battery directly to the engine. So it turned out to be a bad connection of the ground cable at the bottom back of the engine block... and of course had absolutely nothing to do with anything connected to the starter.

At least now I have a well connected new starter relay. The red harness thingy was pretty well cooked so it's well that it was replaced even if it hadn't yet failed.

Did I mention how much I hate dealing with electrical stuff?

The good news is I'm back on two wheels... I was grounded (or maybe I should say NOT grounded) for 10 days.... the longest I've been without riding since I got the bike in November of last year.

[Thunderbolt]

Thanks for posting the fix.  Others will benefit from your experience.  Sorry we forgot to mention that tidbit.