QuestionI was outta town for a few days a storm blew the cover off my bike and naturally it got wet. I drained water out of the turn signals and what not, started the bike ran it down the street and the motor died. The motor would turn over when I tried to start it, but would not start. I ran the battery down, so I pulled it, recharged it and tried to start the motor again, but now the starter doesn't even roll over. I have power, lights work and are bright. I pulled the starter, tested it and it's good. when I went to the starter relay and tried to jump the posts ... I get nothing. I think there is some kind of test I can perform on the relay to see if it's good, but am not sure what that would be. Can you give me some guidance from this point?
Thanks
AnswerHi J.R.,
I suspect water shorting causing the original problem. I suspect the battery is the source of the "now" problem.
You should test the battery thoroughly. Perform a voltage test and specific gravity test on each cell to learn the condition of the battery. Otherwise, recharging is fruitless.
I return tech repair/test information files via email. There was no email address in your question as requested. Send to my email: "mshively1@woh.rr.com"
See sample files below.
Respectfully,
Mark Shively
Starter Solenoid Testing 101
By Mark Shively
Check the Starter Solenoid by isolating it from other components (disconnect small electrical wire). Check the primary winding by connecting a VOM (multimeter, Ohm meter, or continuity tester) to the small, 12 VDC wire. You should have continuity or little resistance (if any) when connecting meter test leads to the single wire and its metal body (ground) with engine off.
The larger terminals on the solenoid are tested by listening for the "click" sound when starter button is pressed while starting engine. What's happening when you hear the click is the solenoid is an electro-magnet. When the starter button is depressed, battery voltage through the small wire creates a magnet effect inside the solenoid. This attracts the high current contact (a spring loaded T-shaped contact inside the solenoid) to travel upwards and connect with the two large exterior terminals on top of solenoid (heavy cable leads 10 gauge wire). When this connection is completed, current flows to the starter motor for starting engine.
Another bench testing method is to connect the solenoid's small 12 VDC lead to a 12 VDC battery source while grounding the solenoid body. Watch, feel, and listen for the solenoid "click and jump" when voltage is applied. This test verifies total solenoid performance.
High current contacts may become pitted or burned by arcing. This is normal wear. In severe cases, pitted and burned contacts may cause starting problems. The solenoid may be disassembled, inspected, and repaired, though internal parts are not sold separately. Disassembly requires de-soldering and re-soldering of the small wire from the solenoid cap, and bending metal retainer tabs before cap removal is possible. Once separated and opened, clean and file the contacts to restore performance. There are only a few parts to the solenoid; cap, body, T-contact, and contact return spring (not counting primary wire).
I prefer to use dielectric grease on electrical connections such as multi-connectors and bullet type connectors. Dielectric grease helps to prevent shorting due to rain and washing. It also helps to prevent formation of corrosion.
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Dielectric Grease Therapy
Here's a fairly quick and inexpensive way of preventing electrical problems and other miscellaneous diagnostic codes on your motorcycle.
Water is a great electricity conductor. Sometimes, water can find its way into a connector producing a temporary short circuit which will then give an error code to your computers. Dielectric grease prevents water shorting at connectors. Also prevents corrosion formation on connectors.
A loose connector doesn't make a good conductor and may produce heat which can melt plugs and connectors. This is the main cause of regulator/rectifier failure.
Buy a tube of silicone dielectric grease and go through the entire wiring on your motorcycle. Work dielectric grease into each connector. All wire connectors should be serviced for best protection. Removing the tank and bodywork may be necessary in some cases, but its well worth it. Dielectric grease will get rid of the problems, or at least help prevent them.
Afterwards, you shouldn't get false error diagnostic codes just because you simply washed your pride and joy.
You may discover loose connectors that could have been troublesome if left unattended.
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Electrical Testing
(Basic electrical troubleshooting tools)
Few things can be as frustrating as trying to troubleshoot an electrical problem on a modern street or dual sport bike, with their plethora of unidentifiable electrical components, hard-to-remove electrical connectors, sealed wiring harnesses, etc. Much of the trouble associated with fixing electrical problems can be attributed to a lack of proper tools and technique.
Your best friend when troubleshooting bike electrical systems is an electrical multimeter, sometimes referred to as a VOM (Volt-Ohm Meter) or just plain old multimeter. A multimeter reads current (amps), potential (volts), and resistance (ohms), each over a variety of ranges that the electrical troubleshooter must choose. Cheaper model multimeters can be had at Radio Shack for less than $20--more expensive digital models can cost hundreds of dollars. Nonetheless, no garage should be without one.
If you're buying your first multimeter, a cheaper model is recommended for two reasons. First, the measurements you'll need to make when working on your dirt bike are mostly crude kind of checks which require little real accuracy. Secondly, as a electrical neophyte, the possibility always exists to smoke the meter through a wrong connection or test procedure. While superior meters are better protected by fuses, circuit breakers and the like, the ramifications of frying a $20 multimeter are not all that serious. Bottom line: buy the cheapest meter you can find that offers some sort of fuse protection. And buy extra fuses too! An up-to-date electrical schematic of your project is also nice to have, especially when trying to identify various mystery components. However, it is not essential, and in a pinch can often be overcome by a little patience and common sense.
There are essentially three troubleshooting techniques, facilitated by the use of your trusty multimeter. They are: measuring continuity, measuring potential and measuring current. Continuity means that there is a electrical connection between two points, whether they be via a dedicated wire or through the engine or frame. Measuring continuity is especially useful for locating grounds, intended or unintended, checking switch operation, mapping out wiring harnesses (when a schematic is unavailable), checking fuses or connectors for good electrical contact, and so on. Continuity is checked by using the meter to measure resistance, selecting the R X1 scale and connecting the two leads of the multimeter, in parallel, between the two points for which continuity is in question. The R X1 range is used to limit meter pegging (which could potentially damage the meter), and is certainly sufficiently accurate for this simple test.
The meter essentially sends a low voltage signal between the two points (generated by the meter battery) and indicates whether the circuit is completed or open. Open circuits (no continuity) are read as infinite resistance (no meter needle movement), whereas a completed or closed circuit reads as zero (or near zero) resistance (full sweep of the needle). Caution must be taken when using your multimeter in the resistance mode not to run an outside current through the ohmmeter (i.e. checking for continuity between a hot battery terminal and ground), as this will either blow a protective fuse (on meters so equipped) or fry the meter outright. A good precaution is to disconnect the positive battery lead and allow sufficient time for any system capacitors to discharge (on machines so equipped).
Switch your meter to the voltage measuring mode when you need to find hot leads for connecting accessories, check the health of your battery or lighting coil output, and determine if power is reaching a malfunctioning component. A zero voltage check across two points will also tell you it's safe to do a continuity check without fear of meter damage. Voltage measurements are taken with the meter linked in parallel with the suspected potential. Most multimeters have ranges from a couple of volts to a couple of hundred volts, measuring both AC and DC. Surprisingly, you may need both capabilities as the output (lighting) coils of most bikes produce AC. While nearly all street and dual sport bikes rectify this AC voltage to DC (because it's easier on electrical accessories), enduro or trail bikes often run the AC right to the headlight and tail light.
If you're checking an ignition coil output or an unrectified lighting coil output, start by using the AC scale closest to, but not less than 12 volts. For rectified lighting/accessory voltage checks, again choose the scale closest to, but not less than 12 volts, from the DC choices. If the meter reads DC voltage backwards, simply reverse the polarity of the meter leads. With analog meters, it can sometimes be a little tricky determining what the actual voltage reading is, as there are usually several scales printed on the front of the meter. The trick is to look for the higher number of the range you've selected (i.e., look for a 50 if you've chosen the 0-50 VAC range) at the extreme right of the meter and that's the scale that should be used.
Current flow is measured using the ammeter function of your meter. The presence of current flow indicates that your lighting coil or battery is actually accomplishing some work. This is good if a head lamp, turn signal or the like is in operation, but bad if everything is turned off (dead battery syndrome). The ammeter function of your multimeter is useful for locating shorts or determining the draw of a particular accessory. Current measuring requires a slightly different technique, as the meter has to be in line (in series) with the circuit. Most multimeters are capable of measuring a couple of amps draw, way on down to milli- (1/1,000) and even micro- (1/1,000,000) amperes. When using the current measuring function, choose a high current range and work your way down to lower ranges. This prevents the dreaded meter pegging and associated damage.
Troubleshooting techniques are dependent upon the notion that current flow should be zero with the ignition and all accessories turned off. If you're still reading current at this stage, then you've probably got a problem with a shorted or failed accessory. Start disconnecting things until the current draw goes away, and that'll isolate your problem. Beware, however, of charged capacitors discharging and reading as current flow.
