Motorcycle Repair: Nothing lights up..., 30 amp fuse, inline fuse

Question
Hi Wayne...thanks in advance for your expertise....I have a 2004 1100 v star classic...from new...has @ 35,000 miles...runs great...till today....I started it up and pulled it out of the garage to the curb....when I went to start it to leave, it started to crank-then quit.....nothing....so...I got out the owner's manual and looked for the fuses...found the main 30 amp fuse under the seat....spare there,too...yanked both....looked good....then opened the side tool panel to get at the other fuses....all looked good.....thing is---when I turn the key on, I get no lights at all.....no green light (neutral).....no red ignition light...NOTHING......now I do have LED lights on the bike...separate on/off switch with an inline fuse.....all checked out ok....battery okay....tried LED switch...LEDS go on...no problem there....however...I did find that when I left the LEDS on and tried turning the ignition switch to on-the LEDS went out.....turned the ignition switch off-the LEDS went back on......could it be a faulty ignition switch ?.....if so...must the tank be removed to replace ?......or could it be a bad kick stand ignition switch..?......I'm at a loss here....can you possibly know what it might be ??

Answer
Hi Steve,

It sounds like your bike has a total power loss which
could be a few different things.

First off would be having a load test done on the battery
as it may have some power but not enough stamina.

Next would be testing the connections on the battery
terminals and also the connections to your frame ground.

If you have checked the main fuse with a multimeter to be sure
it is okay then there is also a possibility of a
broken wire or a faulty ignition switch.

There is a red wire that goes to the regulator and also
the ignition switch. That wire is direct from the battery
positive and should be live.

You can unplug the regulator temporarily if you
want to make sure it is not a problem.

If you have power on the red wire but no power getting
through to the rest of the bike with the ignition on then also check
the other fuses with a multimeter.

No power on the other fuses with the ignition key on means the ignition switch is likely
faulty. Just verify the red wire has power to the regulator or
ignition switch.

The red goes to the ignition switch and then to a brown/blue wire
to the fuses.

Check that out and if I think of anything else I will follow up.

Wayne S
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