V-Twin Forum banner

No lights/no start

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Blackened 
#1 ·
I started my bike 3 weeks ago and moved it to winter storage. Four days ago the weather was nice and wanted to go for a ride. When I turned the on switch no running lights and starter dead so I immediately thought battery and didn't think to try anything else but charge it up and hooked up the charger and went home. Two days later I went back, turned the switch and same deal: no lights no start. So I started troubleshooting.

The turn signals, horn, brake lights, oil and on lights all function fine. Didn't have anymore time as I needed to get ready for a road trip to Austin. I'm on that trip now in Lawton, Oklahoma today.

I'm starting this tread to get advise/suggestions of what it might be and how to diagnose/troubleshoot it down to the bad component. In the mean time I will search other posts for ideas also. Thanks,
Keith Mouser
Bountiful, Utah
 
#5 ·
And get some contact cleaner,clean battery cables and terminal ends etc,a soft wire brush is a good idea till things are shiny.
Very common problem,doesn't have to look dirty to be a problem,even a slight film of corrosion can cause trouble.
 
#6 ·
It does sound like you have a bad ground somewhere. Other than the above suggestions, check your ground wires, especially if they are aluminum.

Aluminum cables/wires have a nasty habit of wicking moisture and oxidizing inside the insulation, I've seen a couple older bikes that had more white powder than wire an inch or so up from the cable end.

Copper, no worries, just hit the ends with the wire brush as Y2K suggested.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top