hey guys My bonnie has died. Went to start her today and she wouldn’t fire up. Lights come on strong but all I get is a strong click. I read somewhere that it could be the starter relay so took it apart and pushed the contacts together manually. The bike Tried to start but couldn’t. Could this be a battery issue? I tried to get a jump off of our car but she still wouldn’t start. Any ideas?
Its worth checking that battery as above I usually connect my multimetre then switch all the lights on then press the starter button if theres a defective cell or short you will see your metre drop to whatever the voltage is the last defective battery I did this on went down to 4.8 Volts not enough amperage there to wind the starter motor over I hope this helps.
When activated by the Starter Switch, the Relay directs power from the Battery to the Starter Solenoid to engage the Starter Motor. Based on the fact that you have lights and you heard the click in the Starter Relay I think the following is what a service manual would normally suggest. Secure the bike first and make sure it's in neutral. If you hear a CLICK, run a jumper cable from the positive terminal of the Battery to the positive terminal of the Starter Motor. a) If the Starter Motor turns over, you may have a loose or damaged Cable; or a bad Starter Relay or Solenoid. b) If the Starter Motor does NOT turn over, you may have a bad Starter Motor.
Thanks guys. I’ll try out the suggested. One more question tho. If it’s the battery as has been suggested why wouldn’t the bike start when connected to a car battery?
Unless you are pretty careful to make a good connection, regular car jumper cables are fairly large when compared to the battery terminals and tight spaces on a bike. Sometimes, you think you have a connection, but they really aren't touching. Try the battery checks first (easy enough) and if it looks OK, then try the steps I outlined to see if you can isolate the problem. Let us know what you find.
I had the same problem, turned out to be the battery. As has been mentioned earlier they are very fussy about the voltage. When I replaced it with a Yuasa battery it seemed less fussy??? I've got a spare battery here if you want to try it.
