So I went down the other day.  Through a positive turn of events, I met a man who owned a mechanic (car) shop that wanted to fix the bike for me.  $350 later he had replaced everything that it needed (I.e. bars and bar mount), and most of the cosmetic stuff.  He drove it around to make sure it rode OK.  Later I had my old boss drive it home for me because I had injured my ankle, unrelated to the bike.  I actually didn't get injured in the "crash."

 

Finally went out for a ride today, and came back home to make adjustment to the shift lever, which he had to replace.  Went to start back up and no start.  The gauge came up full brightness along with the check engine, neutral light, etc.  I could hear the fuel pump after each attempt just like normal.  The starter kinda made a clicking noise.

 

I don't really  know what is wrong.  Is it possible that the crash could have messed up the alternator or starter?  If the battery is low would the gauge still light up?  Any suggestions welcome.

 

The bike went down low speed on the left side.  The damage was mostly to the bar and there were scratches on the black plastic below the painted tank covers.  There were no scratch marks on the engine are itself.

 

Thanks for any ideas!

Edited November 17, 20177 yr by rweakley

Went inside and ate.  Went back out and she started right up.  WTF is going on with my baby????????

1 hour ago, rweakley said:

the battery is low would the gauge still light up?

Yes, and it may not have enough juice to crank it.  Or not knowing ho hard you hit yes maybe the starter took a hit, I am not sure how fragile the starter may be or maybe a wire is loose between starter, battery or other.  Any bike shop will check a battery even that mechanic guy can if he has a battery checking thngy do hicky

Went out this a.m. and it did the same thing.  The clicking noise is coming from the rear, like under the seat maybe?

1 hour ago, rweakley said:

Went out this a.m. and it did the same thing.  The clicking noise is coming from the rear, like under the seat maybe?

That noise is a relay, it means the battery has no charge or that the battery has not enough charge to flip the switch.  Get the battery tested and replace if needed.

2 hours ago, r1limited said:

That noise is a relay, it means the battery has no charge or that the battery has not enough charge to flip the switch.  Get the battery tested and replace if needed.

Thanks, that's a relief.  Should be a quick and easy fix!

You may want to check the alternator/regulator. Why did the battery go flat? is it a bad battery or has the charging circuitry failed. If the problem is with the alternator, you wont fix it by changing the battery. I would suggest putting the battery on charge so you can start the bike and then once you have it charged, check the volts across the battery without the engine running, then start the engine and check the voltage again, you should see a volt or two more when the engine is running. If you don't it's likely your charging system has an issue, if you do see a voltage difference then it could be the battery, so at that point you could drive to a shop and get it tested.

 

Gary

6 hours ago, Thrasherg said:

You may want to check the alternator/regulator. Why did the battery go flat? is it a bad battery or has the charging circuitry failed. If the problem is with the alternator, you wont fix it by changing the battery. I would suggest putting the battery on charge so you can start the bike and then once you have it charged, check the volts across the battery without the engine running, then start the engine and check the voltage again, you should see a volt or two more when the engine is running. If you don't it's likely your charging system has an issue, if you do see a voltage difference then it could be the battery, so at that point you could drive to a shop and get it tested.

 

Gary

Good advise, wish I said that

To wit above is correct, a bad battery can act as if the charging system is not charging, getting that checked and doing what Gary Stated will bring you closer to resolution

The battery may have been damaged internally in the fall. I've seen it more than once, sadly.

 

Good luck on the bike, and glad you weren't hurt in your accident!

It could also be a loose connection somewhere.  The mechanic may not have tightened the battery terminals back down.  It happens.  Then, when you move the bike around, the terminal wiggles to where it will work, move it again it wiggles where it doesn't work.  Check all the connections that he had taken loose.  Or take it back and have him go back through and check.

I believe there's also a tip-over switch somewhere that may be doing weird things.  Not sure about it on this bike though.

Edited November 18, 20177 yr by rider

Thanks for all the advice!  I got a battery tester and one of those super high amp Li-ion battery jumpers from amazon.  I've been wanting to get one for each of my wife and my car anyways.  The tester has a battery voltage indicator as well as tells me if the alternator has a fault.  I'll check during thanksgiving holiday and report back.  The bike hasn't shut down while driving so that seems to tell me the alternator is working ok.  I've seen the unfortunate circumstance where a bad alternator takes down a battery, and all of a sudden your spark plugs stop firing.  Then you're stuck buying both.  And waiting for a tow.

Edited November 18, 20177 yr by rweakley

Quick question.  I've read people's comments on dead batteries stating "left the key in the ignition."  Is this a problem even if the key is off?  I default to leaving it in at home in my garage, but I always turn it off.

Edited November 19, 20177 yr by rweakley
Auto correct

5 minutes ago, rweakley said:

Quick question.  I've read people's comments on seas batteries stating "left the key in the ignition."  Is this a problem even if the key is off?  I default to leaving it in at home in my garage, but I always turn it off.

As long as the key is in the correct "Off" position it should make no difference on battery life/condition whether it's inserted or removed. I choose not to leave the key in my bike just incase my garage gets burgled. I don't feel like making it any easier than  need be to be for someone to steal my stuff.

I'd check the kickstand switch. If it started after lunch, I'm guessing the alternator and battery are fine. Intermittent issues are a nightmare. 

On 11/18/2017 at 7:20 PM, mick97702 said:

I'd check the kickstand switch. If it started after lunch, I'm guessing the alternator and battery are fine. Intermittent issues are a nightmare. 

After that once, it never started again on the battery.  I got a tester and one of those ridiculously high amp-hour battery jumpers from amazon.  The battery was back and forth between low and dead.  But checking with the bike running (courtesy of the jumper), I was reading 14+ volts.

 

So I took the batt to O'Reilly and had it tested.  After about 30 minutes of charging/testing, it came back with a "good" reading.  So I bought a maintainer charger, and went on my way.  I charged it over night and rode it a few times today with no problems.

 

I was planning on getting a jumper anyways.  I borrowed from a friend once when my truck battery died so I could get to work and around town until I could get a new battery.  I probably jumped my truck (V6 Tacoma) around 7 or 8 times before getting a new battery and never recharged the Li-Ion jumper pack.  Highly recommend one of those!

have you ever checked the voltage when off after the day is done, then check it in the morning if or when it did not start?

 

So if you check the voltage in the moring reads 12.x or whatever and the next morning or whatever does it read the same?

 

If it does not then you have a problem someplace that is discharging battery at a rapid rate.  Do you have any 12v mod on the bike?