Engine won't turn over

Discussion in 'Triumph General Discussion' started by Stimple, Dec 16, 2014.

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  1. Stimple

    Stimple Member

    Nov 8, 2014
    24
    18
    Hey All,
    I dropped my Sprint RS 955i on its left side about a week ago and now the silly machine won't start. It won't even turn over. It gives a clunk a whir and then nothing.
    I have spoken to one or two people who think it may be the sprag clutch.
    Any suggestions?
     
  2. sprintdave

    sprintdave Nurse,he's out of bed again

    May 25, 2014
    1,491
    750
    Birmingham
    the clunk and whirrr do sound like sprag problem but was it ok before you dropped it?? if it was I would start looking elsewhere first as that would be too much of a coincidence for me. I would be checking all wiring on that side of the bike to see if it is a loose connection somewhere. check battery connections are tight too and waggle the kill switch. while there check your sidestand and clutch lever cutout wiring is intact, tho I do not think this would cause the problem tbh.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Stimple

    Stimple Member

    Nov 8, 2014
    24
    18
    I have narrowed this problem down to 3 things. It is either a battery problem, a short somewhere or something preventing the engine from turning.
    The first is easy to check. just ask a neighbour if he has any jump leads. I had ruled this one out as the battery is only a few months old and the charger said that it had full charge but the lights dim to nothing when I try starting it. Sounds the most likely cause though.
     
  4. sprintdave

    sprintdave Nurse,he's out of bed again

    May 25, 2014
    1,491
    750
    Birmingham
    a battery can show full charge but still be shot and not giving full power under load,ie starting.on my old cb500 the battery looked ok on the meter but would not start the bike, a new battery sorted it out
     
  5. PeteH

    PeteH Active Member

    Oct 1, 2013
    57
    28
    Chester
    The clunk I don't know about.... The whirr is probably the injectors priming and the only thing that will prevent it turning over is the clutch switch or its wiring
     
  6. Jonester

    Jonester New Member

    Dec 15, 2014
    1
    1
    Horsham West Sussex
    Wondering if the lack of start after dropping it has anything to do with the tip sensor not resetting after you picked it up.
    My Bonny has one and the t,internet says that the ST has one too!
    Just a thought.
    Jonester
     
  7. Dodge74

    Dodge74 Active Member

    Oct 16, 2014
    151
    43
    Lincoln
    #7 Dodge74, Dec 24, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2014
    was it running at the time when it fell over , just wondering because sometimes fuel fills the combustion chambers on certain models , particularly if they haven't got a tip sensor & locks the engine up solid . If you take the spark plugs out & spin the engine over on the starter , the fuel will jet out (watch your eyes) and then pop the plugs back in & it'll be okay . If this is what has happened then providing the engine stopped fairly quickly as this happened there will be no significant damage to engine parts , what can happen in extreme circumstances are that the valves get slightly bent
     
  8. Stimple

    Stimple Member

    Nov 8, 2014
    24
    18
    #8 Stimple, Jan 18, 2015
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2015
    Ha. Problem sorted.
    Before I start though I would like to point out that a Gel Battery does not like being fast charged and it turned out that a new battery was required even though that wasn't the problem.
    The reason it wouldn't turn over is that it had "Hydrauliced" In other words the oil had found its way up the breather tube on the left side of the crank casing and into the pistons. The oil was stopping the piston from moving as it had no where to go. It even found its way into the exhaust, Still plugs out turn it over a few times and clean up the mess and all is good. I have to point out here that it was someone else who did all the hard work and charged me £100 for the privilege. It is something I probably would have found myself if I had managed to work out how to get the socket to fit the plugs in order to take them out. But still you live and learn.
    Ps. Keep the shiny side up folks.
     
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  9. PeteH

    PeteH Active Member

    Oct 1, 2013
    57
    28
    Chester
    Glad you got it sorted, I thought it was just the 885i motor ( Tiger )that suffered from this problem as the breather feeds into the left side of the airbox, plenty of info out there on doing a divert to prevent future occurance
     
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