electrical issue

[rustyshackles]

Clicking noise near battery, error code “err,” auxiliary LED lights and dash readout flickering.  Battery is relatively new and lives on a tender so I don’t think that’s it.  Very recently had gear position sensor replaced but bike ran fine on ride home from there. 45,000 miles.

Bad starter?

 

 

[micah2074]

I just replaced the battery on my atv. It was doing the same thing your FJ is. New battery and all is well.

[skipperT]

7 hours ago, rustyshackles said:

Clicking noise near battery, error code “err,” auxiliary LED lights and dash readout flickering.  Battery is relatively new and lives on a tender so I don’t think that’s it.  Very recently had gear position sensor replaced but bike ran fine on ride home from there. 45,000 miles.

Bad starter?

 

 

Doubt it.

The starter isn’t getting enough juice from the battery when you press the start button.  The clicking you hear is probably the starter relay, which lives just above the battery (towards the pillon seat area, not towards the tank). It has a plastic cover over 2 8mm bolts, check those with a socket to be sure they are tight. (One goes straight to the battery so don’t bump anything metal). 

Check the fuse in your tender lead to be sure the tender is actually charging the battery when plugged in. 

Sounds to me like your battery is on its way out or weak. The “Err” appears on the dash when the FI system voltage level is too low to power it up. It could also be a loose or dirty battery terminal connection, or dirty start switch. 

Start with the simple stuff first. Check and clean connections, remove, charge and load test the battery. Confirm the clicking is coming from the start relay as I suggested, or let me know that’s not it and we can provide some more help  

-Skip

[rustyshackles]

‘twas the battery 

[texscottyd]

27 minutes ago, rustyshackles said:

‘twas the battery 

Did the Battery Tender act like the battery was fine & fully charged?   I got faked out that way when the OEM battery died...  the tender showed fully charged, but the battery was definitely toast. 

Glad it wasn’t too major of an issue.  

[rustyshackles]

Yes tender showed green light fully charged.  A dud battery I guess, still under warranty.

[dazzler24]

I know this an old thread but it pertains to the issue I'm currently having here in this thread.

To summarise:-

 Bike not cranking - sometimes?!

Battery a Yuasa OEM YTZ10S 4 years 7 months old.

Battery has been charged and seems to hold voltage when ignition on and starter button held - (but doesn't mean it's not got a problem)

In the other thread I mentioned that I get nothing when I hit the starter - but that was with earplugs in and helmet on. 🙄

Thought I'd investigate more thoroughly and did the following: -

Charged the battery with a tender to get it to the 'green' light. Then disconnected.

Measured voltage on the battery terminals and get 13.2V.

Turn ignition on and get a steady 12.6V

Hit starter and get a solid click from starter relay (while starter held) and battery voltage doesn't change or drops  marginally.

I can toggle that starter switch on and off repeatedly and hear the click of the starter solenoid every time when suddenly the starter motor will crank strongly and the bike starts!? WTF.

I can then turn everything off and repeat the cycle or it will start straight away randomly!

I have had this experience on occasions when out and about but not to the current degree.

What is the consensus?

Battery, starter solenoid or starter motor.

I've checked and my cables are tight.

 

 

[skipperT]

Unfortunately Daz, you’ve probably developed a “flat spot” on the armature of the starter motor. What happens is that the starter motor has trouble spinning up when voltage is applied to it and acts as though it’s “stuck” and won’t engage when require. Replacing it fixes the issue. I don’t know of anyone taking one apart and cleaning up the brushes and armature to clean up the wear and maybe repair it. But that fix may be temporary only. The other thing that can happen is that the bearing/bushing wears and or the magnets can detach. 

pull the starter and inspect, but I’d have a new one ready to install. 

the only other test to perform would be to rule out the starter solenoid as well as dirty/poor grounds and other connections on the + side. 
HTH,

-Skip

 

[dazzler24]

16 minutes ago, skipperT said:

Unfortunately Daz, you’ve probably developed a “flat spot” on the armature of the starter motor. What happens is that the starter motor has trouble spinning up when voltage is applied to it and acts as though it’s “stuck” and won’t engage when require. Replacing it fixes the issue. I don’t know of anyone taking one apart and cleaning up the brushes and armature to clean up the wear and maybe repair it. But that fix may be temporary only. The other thing that can happen is that the bearing/bushing wears and or the magnets can detach. 

pull the starter and inspect, but I’d have a new one ready to install. 

the only other test to perform would be to rule out the starter solenoid as well as dirty/poor grounds and other connections on the + side. 
HTH,

-Skip

 

Thanks Skip. I was afraid someone might say that it was the starter itself.  I'll rule out the other bits as you've suggested first - JIK.

Thanks again.

[kilo3]

I would also ensure you're seeing 12ish vdc at the starter motor itself when engaged easier said than done but I'd agree with skip.

[dazzler24]

1 hour ago, kilo3 said:

I would also ensure you're seeing 12ish vdc at the starter motor itself when engaged easier said than done but I'd agree with skip.

Yes, good tip.  I can probably do that at the solenoid end of that cable - just for ease of access.

[dazzler24]

I'm really hoping that the starter is not the issue.... check out the price of a new one!!!  That's AU $.

Ouch!

If it is at fault, I think I'll have a crack at repair.  Did I say ouch!

 

EDIT:- Just found this replacement.  A BIT better at 'only' $290.

 

[Heli ATP]

Yours is saying not available.

https://www.amazon.com/Topteng-Motorcycle-Replacement-Electrical-2015-2017/dp/B09DPJ1ZR9

[dazzler24]

59 minutes ago, Heli ATP said:

Yours is saying not available.

https://www.amazon.com/Topteng-Motorcycle-Replacement-Electrical-2015-2017/dp/B09DPJ1ZR9

OK, but it looks like you've been redirected to a US equivalent as that's not the same as the link I've posted.  Also the seller's name is different?  Same part though.

Anyway, I've found another  third party equivalent for AU$138 (after discount) delivered from the bay of Es that should do the job if mine proves to be faulty which is looking increasingly likely.😞

I could buy 4 of these for the cost of the OEM part!!

Worst part is I've got to remove 'everything' first to get at the bloody thing!  Looks like I'll be doing my major service  earlier than expected.  Certainly can't risk going anywhere anyway as it is ATM.

[dazzler24]

STOP PRESS - problem identified! 

@skipperT - Wanting to be thorough and rule out all possibilities before buying a new starter motor and getting into a tear down of the bike, I thought I'd use the time proven crow-bar method of bridging the terminals of the starter solenoid to rule that out as a possible problem as per your suggestions.

This pic is out of the service manual -

• First, I tried again with the starter button/switch and got the now familiar solenoid 'thunk' as it activates but still no starter action.  Repeated that a couple of times to be sure it was consistent - it was.
• Ignition off.
• Next, my oldest pair of combination pliers were used to bridge the terminals on the solenoid.
• Amid a shower of sparks (followed immediately by another shower in my drawers) the starter was cranking hard.
• After I cleaned up, I repeated the activity a couple of times with the same result - minus the earlier drawers incident. 😉
• Just to be sure, I tried the starter button again and just got the same thunk but no starter.

So, just goes to show that even while the solenoid sounded fine and was activating, it appears that it must be burnt out at the contacts inside.  This now explains why I was getting the occasional no-start symptom that I've mentioned in other posts and that always puzzled me but wasn't a consistent occurrence so I (foolishly) ignored it - till now.

Thinking I'll get this third party one for $28 delivered (apparently it is compatible with the OEM part 2PP-81940-00).   OEM part is around AU$67 before shipping.

Thanks for your inputs.