bike electrics woes

[chunkolini]

Back in July my bike licence was suspended due to health issues. Hopefully I will be back on the road at the end of December.
I have put the bike a Honda Pan European 1100 on the market and am looking for a Transalp instead.

I started it up yesterday after charging the battery, stated and ran perfectly.
A guy came to look at it today, started nicely, settled to tickover.
Then he went to turn off the ignition and it died.
There are no lights, no electrical action enywhere. Turn the ignition on and the only thing that happens is the clock goes off.
Anybody got any ideas before I start taking the electrics to bits, cant see any blown fuses and the starter relay looks fine.
Not happy.
Cheers, All
Chunko'.

 

[piman]

Hello Chunko,

I'd say battery terminals as the first check, as it sounds like a total loss of power?

Alec

 

[rtbcomp]

Dead battery, bad battery connection.

 

[chunkolini]

I had the battery out this morning charged it for an hour. put it back and all seemed fine.

 

[chunkolini]

Stop laughing at the back.
Some idiot had sneaked in the garage and loosened the + terminal on the battery.
It is cleverly covered by a little rubber thingy.
I think I have to go the pub.
aaaaaargh.
Oh, and thanks for the simple answer, at least I am not spending all tomorrow cursing at electrical gremlins.

 

[rtbcomp]

Put a volt meter or 5w bulb across the battery terminals, right on the lead bits, and switch the ignition on. If the voltage drops significantly it's the battery.

If the voltage stays up try the same thing with the meter connected further inboard, say to the live side of the solenoid, and the frame. If the voltage then drops you're looking at a bad connection between the battery and the solenoid and/or the frame.

Edit LOL

 

[mike os]

Stop laughing at the back.
Some idiot had sneaked in the garage and loosened the + terminal on the battery.
It is cleverly covered by a little rubber thingy.
I think I have to go the pub.
aaaaaargh.
Oh, and thanks for the simple answer, at least I am not spending all tomorrow cursing at electrical gremlins.

sorry chunko but ROFLMFHAO mate..

 

[chunkolini]

Pistols or Sabres?

 

[drjim]

I had a similar problem with a BMW 635CSI, kept cutting out on corners. Checked fuel pump, ECU, you name it. Eventually it occured to me that while fixing the instrument cluster I had messed around with some earths near the battery tray and disconnected the battery. Indeed the battery restraining bolt was loose so it moved as I went round bends, plus the + terminal was loose rather than clamped. I won't forget to start at the beginning where the power comes from in future!

 

[gordonendersby]

I had a mysterious loss of power on my daughters ybr125.
Complete loss of power on all circuits, nothing worked, completely dead.
I got the call at 10pm and had to go and rescue her.
On the side of the road I started at the battery.
Main fuse, ancillary fuses, the lot.
Couldnt find anything broken.

Eventually got it home and the next day started pulling it apart starting at the battery and working through.

It turned out to be the main block connector for the ignition switch.
Hidden in the headlamp bowl. It wasnt obvious till you looked at the block under decent light. Couldnt have found it at the side of the road.
It had got hot, burnt and eventually broke on the main power to the ignition switch. I Put a better quality connector block on it. Twice the size of the old one so the main power feed had a beefier connection and liberally sprayed it with silicon sealant.

And ive added that connector to my servicing list for my bikes.

Gordon

 

[mike os]

Pistols or Sabres?

sledgehammers... in 4m of water

 

[xhead]

I had a Pan - lovely bike - the only time it let me down it was the electrics. The garage thought it was the alternator but it turned out to be the battery!!