[lwarrior1016]

I posted on here yesterday with my carb issue and it was determined i should run some seafoam through there. Well i went to take the bike to the parts house, sat down, turned the key (everything normal so far), hit the start button, and it clicked 3 times real fast and everything died. Turn the switch off and back on, and nothing. Waited a few hours and power came back to the dash but the same thing happened. Now I am getting no lights or anything. I checked for bare wires with no avail. So i started poking around with my multimeter and I am getting power to the ignition switch and when i turn it on every post on the switch gets power (don't know if all of them should). Then i started checking grounds and i discovered that with the switch on I am getting power to all my grounds and when i turn the switch off it goes away. Does this mean i need a new ignition switch? Thanks for all the help.

 

[TmikeX]

If you were getting power to the grounds you would have fire. How old is your battery? Do you keep it on a tender?


Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App

 

[lwarrior1016]

I just got the bike about 6 months ago while i was in afghanistan so i don't know how old the battery is. I just got home about 2 weeks ago and have been riding just about every day without having trouble starting it. I had Auto Zone check the battery today and their machine says its good. Now when I said i had power to ground i meant if i put the negative lead from my fluke meter to the negative battery terminal and I put the positive lead from the fluke to any ground point on the frame it shows 12.87 volts with the key switch on. When i turn the key switch off the voltage goes away.

 

[SCHMIDTY]

I just got the bike about 6 months ago while i was in afghanistan so i don't know how old the battery is. I just got home about 2 weeks ago and have been riding just about every day without having trouble starting it. I had Auto Zone check the battery today and their machine says its good. Now when I said i had power to ground i meant if i put the negative lead from my fluke meter to the negative battery terminal and I put the positive lead from the fluke to any ground point on the frame it shows 12.87 volts with the key switch on. When i turn the key switch off the voltage goes away.

WHAT ??? !!! Negative to negative and the meter is reading B+ !!!
Maybe I'm not understanding what you're saying.
Try this: Disconnect the negative cable from the battery and put the meter leads between the battery terminal and the disconnected negative cable. Set the meter to the mili-amp scale and take a measurement. It should show approx. 7 to 12ma.
By the way ... thanks for the service to our country man !!!

 

[lwarrior1016]

I will try the mili-amps when i get back home tonight. I will also try to make a video of what I am talking about with the hot grounds. Thanks again for all the help guys.

 

[lwarrior1016]

OK so I just went out and turned the key on and the dash lights lit up like everything was fine, so I hit the start button and just like before it clicked three times and went dead. This time I noticed where the clicking was from, it was the ignition module under the seat that clicked. Could something inside there be shorting out and causing all my problems?

 

[SCHMIDTY]

I don't think it would be the ignition module. Below the module in front of the rear fender is where the relays are mounted and that's most likely where the clicking is coming from. Look in behind the oil tank on the right side in front of the rear fender splash guard and you'll be able to see the relays.

 

[chasarms]

I know you said they tested it, but it sure sounds like a bad battery.

 

[lwarrior1016]

OK well i have been pulling my hair out about this electrical problem and i have been asking everyone what they think it was. Well I was told a hundred times to check my grounds and all of them looked great and had good continuity. So just for laughs i took the main ground off the frame (no corrosion by the way), scratched on the wires and the frame with a file, put everything back together, and viola! just like magic it works again. Thank you guys for all the replies and help.

 

[Drkcougar3]

OK well i have been pulling my hair out about this electrical problem and i have been asking everyone what they think it was. Well I was told a hundred times to check my grounds and all of them looked great and had good continuity. So just for laughs i took the main ground off the frame (no corrosion by the way), scratched on the wires and the frame with a file, put everything back together, and viola! just like magic it works again. Thank you guys for all the replies and help.

Double check the negative wire on the battery and make sure it is tightened down good. Seeing as you moved the wire to clean the other end, that may also be the problem, and you just improved the connection for the time being.

 

[lwarrior1016]

Double check the negative wire on the battery and make sure it is tightened down good. Seeing as you moved the wire to clean the other end, that may also be the problem, and you just improved the connection for the time being.

When i went to take the wire off completely unhooked it and cleaned both ends. Now that you brought it up though I will definitely recheck it all.