Help please. Electrical Problem

[meyerweb]

Hi all.

My teenage son rides an '05 GS 500F. This weekend, he rode a couple of hours to visist his girlfriend at school, and left the ignition switched on for about 20 minutes when he got there and parked    So the battery's dead.

Later he tried to jump it from a car battery. That worked, and he rode it around a bit to try to charge the battery.

Next day, he tried to start it and no go. So he jumped it again. This time, no joy. The starter won't spin at all.  Here are the current symptoms (based on his description--I haven't seen the bike yet):

With only the bike battery connected, everything's dead. No lights at all, including dash lights.

With another battery connected with jumper calbes, all the lights come on EXCEPT the neutral light. He's verified the bike is in neutral by rolling it back and forth.

The starter motor, however, doesn't spin.  Not even a click when he hits the starter button.  He's tried with the clutch pulled in and sidestand up, too, to see if the neutral switch might be dead.

The kill switch is in the 'on' position, the 20 amp fuse next to the battery (under the front edge of the right sidecover) appears to be good.


Any thoughts about what to check next?  Is there a hidden fuse, or fusible link, somewhere else in the starter circuit?

Thanks much.  I'm hoping I can fix this where it sits, rather than having to rent a truck to get the bike home.

Bob

[werase643]

the N is probably the problem.....

check the wires on the ....left side of the battery under the plastic bodywork
if no green N  it probably  won't start

another idea might be to put in first and hold the clutch and try starting it

another idea is have friends push him/bike and bump start it

i'll look at the schematic and see if anything else...but my book is for pre2001  should be the same

[meyerweb]

Thanks motorcycle god.  He did try to start in in first, with the clutch in and sidestand up.  Still no joy.

And he did try to bump start it (which I forgot to mention), but I don't know how good his technique was.

[DLW]

Just thought I'd throw this out.....did you check the fuse "UNDER" the cap, not the visible one??  The visible one is just a spare.  Believe me it happens all the time.

Also, have you tried bypassing the starter relay to be sure he hasn't killed the starter/relay??

DLW

[meyerweb]

I haven't actually seen the bike yet, but I'm SURE my son only looked at the visible fuse. LOL

Another question, though.  If the fuse were blown, would any of the electrics still work?  He said he got lights when the battery was jumped.

[simon79]

+1 on fuse location, chances are your son spotted the spare fuse. I speak by experience...ask me why
Anyway, if (as you son reported) jumping the battery gives lights-on, the fuse (ok, both of them ) is still operating. When blown, none of the electrics (lights, horn, tach, whatever) can work. Looking at the wiring diagram, the only not fuse-protected device is the starter motor.
If the battery itself cannot even give power to turn dash lights on, I wonder it's probably way dead, and a few minutes' ride might have had no significant effect...could be it cannot hold a charge anymore. It happens...modern batteries have shorter lives as far as I've been able to see.
As DLW said, definitely check the starter relay too...it's an option (...too much current from the car battery??? ), even though I do hope it's just a dead battery.
Just my two cents, I hope I haven't thrown too much into this thread. 

[bigfatcat]

A bad battery ie shorted plates - can make jump starting iffy.

Vehicle charging systems aren't really designed to re-charge 'dead' batteries - an overnight trickle charge at 1/2 amp is better.

Leaving the key on for 20 minutes shouldn't kill a fully charged battery. But would make for a hard start possibly.

I'd make sure of the fuse, and charge overnight - see if it starts next day, before paying for a truck.

[starwalt]

In the event you are schematic savvy, here's John Bates' simplified starter schematic:



This picture is worth 1001 words....if you can read a schematic.
If not, most of us can interpret for you. 

[meyerweb]

Thanks guys.  I appreciate the suggestions. And yes, I can read the schematic, so that will be very helpful. I'm heading out to check out the bike later this week.  Hopefully I can ride it back.

[meyerweb]

Hi guys.  The bike is running again!  The main problem was the battery:  7.2 volts, and one cell almost dry. I got fooled by the lack of screw caps and thought it was a maintenance free, so I never checked it nor told my son to.

The one oddity I encountered was related to the neutral switch.  When I put the battery in, I couldn't get the neutral light to come on, so I had to start it with the sidestand up and clutch in, and put it on the centerstand to warm up,  But about half way home, the light/switch started working again, and seems fine now. 

I guess we'll just keep an eye on it and hope for the best.

Thanks for all your help.

Bob