My lady is dead

[giff]

Hi Everyone, The old girl has been starting great this season until today . I hit the starter switch and everything went dead . I immediately checked all battery connections including the ground, no dice. I cleaned the starter button, checked all fuses and tried using another good battery. Still dead! After about an hour of tinkering, I turned on the ignition switch and everything
lit up. But when I hit the starter button ,I was back to square one. Dead as a door knob. I heard a
click when I hit the starter button and everthing went out and would not come back. I'm tired of poking around for now. What's up with this? Any suggestions? Would a bad starter relay cause this?
I have free towing, but, I'd rather not send it to the stealer. I'm all ears. Help me please. By the way
it's a 2000 standard in great shape with 17,000 miles on her. This is the first problem I've ever had
with the bike.
Thanks,
giff

[John U.]

The starter relay is a likely suspect. Even if it looks good it would be a good idea the clean the connections. Next, check and clean the battery connections and the ground connection to the engine block. It's a PIA to get off but the aluminum can corrode and lose contact.
Last, charge the battery.
If it's still no go, try jumping it from a non-running car or good battery.
Good luck, let us know what happens.

[John U.]

Sorry, I just reread that you've already checked the battery connectiions, still, the ground connection deserves special attention.
You can also jump the starter relay accross the main ignition wire posts. With the key on and in neutral, that will tell you if the relay is bad. New or used ones are available on Ebay.

[R J]

Check this connection under the right side cover in the rubber boot.

If yours looks this way,



Order this part from your stealer or HDL



You will have to move the big red wire to match the Valk.

This part is for an older model Gold Wing.   No need to replace the whole loom when this will do the trick.

PS:     Also, use the larger rubber boot in the kit.

[R J]

Here is a better read of the part #.



If ya still can't read it, it is  Part # 32110-ML8-305


Starter Relay Repair
Relay Part # 35850-MT4-000
Wire loom repair kit - Part # 32110-ML8-305

This repair kit is actually for a 84-87 Gold Wing.

In the kit you get the following parts.
Connector Assy. Not like original but will work
Solder
Shrink tubing
Switch cover. - MUCH larger than the original.

The old one covered up the 30 amp fuse for protection from the elements.

This repair kit has a much larger boot that covers almost all of the starter relay and the connector.

You have to move 1 wire in the connector to the correct slot. It is the big red one, main wire. Move it to the empty slot and everything plugs in as before..........

[R J]

Special note.

Do ya have any after market driving, fog, passing lights added on without a relay?

If so, get a relay in the line or you will be right back here again in about 27K.

If you do not know how to add a relay, go to Rattlebars.com and go to Chet's Shop talk, he has some beautiful drawings showing and explaining how to do it.

[giff]

Just went out and jumped the relay. Nothing happened with or without the key on. Does this now seem more likely that it's the ground to the body? Looks like a pain to get to but that's my next step
tomorrow.
giff

[gordonv]

If I can find the old post, my first thought was the main wire harness connection down at the bottom of the bike, infront of the rear wheel.

[3W-lonerider]

i'd check that battery..sounds like ya got a dead cell.

[Quicksilver]

Had it happen to me today, running fine then parked and turned off, came out and nothing. Rolled it ahead a bit and neutral light would come on and light in tac like normal, push starter button and dead all lights would go out. Looked at battery connections, looked fine however the contact surface under the connector and the top of the positive pole on the battery had some corrosion on it. Wiggled it tightened it up and good to go. Cleaned up terminal after down to fresh material. Just a poor connection is all it was. Hope yours is as simple.

[Chiefy]

i'd check that battery..sounds like ya got a dead cell.

If you don't have a meter, take it out and head over to batteries plus.  They'll put a tester on it for you.

Everything else that everyone else said is sound advice.  But don't get ahead of yourself. 

[MartinT]

My bet is on the battery. Had this exact thing happen to me last year. Tinkered for a week, even bought a new starter relay. Finally checked the battery which only read ~12 V. Replaced it, everything fine.

The starter pulls a lot of amps. A borderline battery will keep lights burning for a while, but crap out when too much is asked of it.

Martin

[giff]

Eureka! I guess I over thunk this dead issue. I took a car battery and jumped her and she came to
life. It's the battery "stupid"! The stealer did the right thing and charged me $66 for a new ytx14-bs.
Thanks to everyone who responded.
giff

[F6BANGER]

Hi Everyone, The old girl has been starting great this season until today . I hit the starter switch and everything went dead . I immediately checked all battery connections including the ground, no dice. I cleaned the starter button, checked all fuses and tried using another good battery. Still dead! After about an hour of tinkering, I turned on the ignition switch and everything
lit up. But when I hit the starter button ,I was back to square one. Dead as a door knob. I heard a
click when I hit the starter button and everthing went out and would not come back. I'm tired of poking around for now. What's up with this? Any suggestions? Would a bad starter relay cause this?
I have free towing, but, I'd rather not send it to the stealer. I'm all ears. Help me please. By the way
it's a 2000 standard in great shape with 17,000 miles on her. This is the first problem I've ever had
with the bike.
Thanks,
giff

If you used another GOOD battery the lights and every thing should have come on. Did you use cables or change out the battery? Im not sure we are getting all the correct info. We need to know so if it ever happens to anyone else.

[giff]

Just to clarify the use of a good battery. I used a fully charged jumper box. When nothing happened,
I assumed the valk battery was good. I later discovered that the jumper box switch is bad. The jumper box was not putting out. Then, I used the car battery with jumper cables and she fired right up.
giff

[F6BANGER]

That makes sense.  Thanks