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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
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Message started by codytuttle96 on 06/14/17 at 18:12:54

Title: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by codytuttle96 on 06/14/17 at 18:12:54

I have been riding the Savage off an on since pulling it out of storage and it has been running flawlessly. It is a 96 that is pretty much stock expect for the Harley muffler and raised seat mod. I go to try to start it this morning and nothing happens. The lights turn on and works as it should but when I try to start it it acts as if I have the kill switch on. It was on when I mounted the bike but nothing happened no matter what I did to satisfy the safety switches. Any suggestions on where to start looking?

Thanks!

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/14/17 at 18:16:33

How old is the battery?

In neutral, sidestand up, hit start.

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by IslandRoad on 06/14/17 at 19:08:18

3A252324393E0F3F0F37252962500 wrote:

How old is the battery?

In neutral, sidestand up, hit start.

... clutch in.

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by Gary_in_NJ on 06/15/17 at 04:54:15

What is the condition of the sidestand switch? Check/clean the connections.

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by verslagen1 on 06/15/17 at 07:14:26

When troubleshooting a starting problem, I follow the juice.
Easiest place to check the start button is the clutch safety.
pull the plug at the clutch switch and one of the wires will show 12v when you push the button.
Next I'll check the relay, one terminal will show 12v when you push the button.

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by codytuttle96 on 06/15/17 at 15:51:21

Thanks for the input guys! My battery isn't exactly new, it was on the bike when i bought it a couple years ago but the multimeter says it's putting out 12.4 volts so I don't believe that the battery is the problem. To be honest, I have this bike tore apart (Tank and seat off) and I'm not certain what connections I am looking at. I'm looking for a wiring diagram as I type but if anybody can shed some insight on what I need to be testing (not sure which one is the clutch safety) that would be super helpful. Thanks guys!

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by bobert_FSO on 06/15/17 at 16:05:31

If you've got a meter on the battery, keep it on there while you crank the starter. If the voltage drops below about 10-11 volts, there may not be enough voltage for the CDI unit to fire the spark plug. This is one of the idiosyncrasies of this bike that bites a lot of people. Your's truly included.

Weak batteries can often meter good at rest, but drop fast under load. They can also unexpectedly fail-- like drive up to a gas pump and not be able to start the bike after you fill up. That even happened on my wife's car. I've also had a new battery from the store that was basically dead on arrival.

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by codytuttle96 on 06/15/17 at 16:24:03

With the leads connected to the battery it now reads 11.85 and when hitting the starter button it doesn't drop at all. It drops when I turn on the Hi-Beam or flash the turn signals. I think I found the connector for the safety switch but how do you test? I disconnect it and put the leads on the contacts that are supposed to be for the clutch towards the battery side (not the connection attached to the wires that run up to the clutch) and nothing happens when hitting the starter. I'm not sure if I'm doing right since I only have two hands to hold the leads to complete the circuit and hit the button.

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by codytuttle96 on 06/15/17 at 16:33:04

I got a little help from my brother for hands and while he held the leads on the portion of the connector for the clutch safety switch, I engaged the starter button. It was reading around 11.5 volts.

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by batman on 06/15/17 at 18:02:25

Battery voltage doesn't tell you much but a healthy battery usually read slightly over 12v. but it takes many amps to turn the starter over,and the volt meter can't tell you that.I'd try charging your battery ,or jumping it off a car battery(car not running).

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by codytuttle96 on 06/15/17 at 18:37:53

Thanks so much for the help everyone! I was at my wits end and just sprayed some electrical cleaner in the connectors from each handle bar controls and I believe the ignitor (according to the wiring diagram) and put it back together to work on another day but turned the key and slapped the switch for one last hope and it started! It always happens to be the simplest things :o

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by verslagen1 on 06/15/17 at 19:37:03

now put some di-electric grease on those connectors.

Title: Re: A No Start Situation Out of Nowhere.
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/15/17 at 21:10:09

Now you just need to make sure you don't have a
No Start in the Middle of Nowhere.