Didn't ride for a couple weeks...now GS won't start!

[AR5ENAL]

I haven't been riding for a few weeks because I was waiting for my new chain & sprockets to come in.  I usually make sure to start the bike and let it warm up at least weekly, if I'm not riding it...but for some reason I didn't do that this time.

Anyway, I went to go start it yesterday, just to make sure everything was in running shape, and the bike wouldn't start.  The starter motor was going..and it seemed like she wanted to start, but no go.  A couple times it felt like it caught...but sputtered immediately.  The headlight was going strong, so I knew I had battery power.  There was plenty of gas in the tank, so I didn't think that was the issue.  I had the petcock in the ON position, so I tried switching it to PRI...Eventually, the starter stopped working, so that now, thumbing the start switch doesn't do anything...it's like a dead switch.

What went wrong?  And how do you all think I should go about fixing it?

[snapper]

I would charge it just in case... I had a good strong headllight and mine wouldn't start..needed a charge.  Can't hurt!   :mrgreen:

[pantablo]

you've run the battery dead. Thats why starter switch doesnt do anything any longer.

probably wouldnt initially start due to sitting for a bit. probably wuld have started had teh battery held out. maybe it wouldnt strt due to battery having weak charge to begin with meaning you'd have weak spark too.

I'm just guessing though.

[JamesG]

Probably a sick battery.  The headlight uses far less juice than the starter & ignition system.  It didn't have enough power to kick the engine over and you only made it worse by running it flat.

Gotta get a new one.

[The Buddha]

Starters are supposed to be used in short 2-3 second bursts...and pause and rest them 10 seconds between bursts (I turn off the key after 2 attempts and rest it 15 seconds or so). They heat up and could fry. Anyway I hope you just blew the fuse. If its not doing anything its probably not a bad battery. Bad battery will serial click the relay before it does nothing.
Cool.
Srinath.

[AR5ENAL]

I'll try it again tonight to see if I can hear the relay clicking, but let me make sure I have this straight:

Relay clicks, but nothing else happens = bad battery, get a new one.
No click, nothing happens = check fuse
           Bad fuse = replace bad fuse (got off lucky)
           Fuse okay = need a new starter ($@^%#$)

Just in case the worst possible scenario has happened, how much is a starter?  Does anyone have one lying around they were willing to part with?

[Kerry]

Relay clicks, but nothing else happens = bad battery, get a new one.

I guess you could get a new battery, but is there any reason you wouldn't charge the old one?  How old is it?  If nothing else, at least get a jump from another bike or a car.

No click, nothing happens = check fuse

A pretty good indicator of a bad fuse is the lack of ANY lights of any kind.  Even if the starter switch won't make any noise, with a good fuse you should get a neutral light or turn-signal indicator on your dash.  (Or the lights inside your gauges.)

Bad fuse = replace bad fuse (got off lucky)

Yep.

Fuse okay = need a new starter ($@^%#$)

I sincerely doubt that you have a bad starter.  Try the other things above and let us know what you find out.

[scratch]

AR5ENAL,

I have a charger...and a trickle charger.

[AR5ENAL]

Hi scratch, thanks for the offer.  I have a charger w/ trickle charging though...so if it's just a matter of charging the battery up, I should be fine.  I'll know more tomorrow though.

[AR5ENAL]

Okay, I bump-started my bike today, just to let it run for awhile, and I had a chance to look at things:

-The battery has enough charge.  The electrolyte is within the lines, and the battery appears to be in good shape overall.  I'm charging it now.

-The starter relay wouldn't click when I was thumbing the start switch, so I took a look there.

-The Fuse is in good shape

-I disconnected the starter relay from the starter motor and tried to push the start button...no click.

I've got the starter relay up here, and I want to test continuity, but I have no idea how to run cables from the battery to the relay (where the connector comes in.  My Hayne's says to run a positive cable to where the green/yellow wire comes in, and the negative to where the black/white wire comes in, but those connectors are really small, and there's no way I'm going to be able to get regular cables in there.  Should I even bother testing continuity on the relay?  Or is it pretty much shot?  I need advice again....grrrrr :x

[John Bates]

Did you get it fixed?

I was in the bay area last weekend and didn't see you riding around. :dunno:

Did see a couple GSs though.

[kyzee]

Yeah...a couple of weeks is just good enough to drain off the battery.