HELP MY BIKE WONT START

[sumguitardude]

I am trying to get my bike started but all i hear is a click when i try to start the bike, it sounds like its coming from the relay? on the right side on the subframe. i had the battery fully charged i dont know what else it could be

[JAY W]

Sounds like a faulty Battery,get it tested properly.See if it will turn over from a jump start pack/jump start from non running car,if starts your battery`s prob` down on amps.

[Azza]

I get that sound too, did you find out what it was?

[adidasguy]

Weak battery.
Starter relay engages. Starter engages, uses LOTS of power. So much that the starter relay disengages.... process repeats until battery dead.

What is the battery voltage?

What year bike?

What type of battery and how old is it?

[slipperymongoose]

What the other blokes have said, get a multimeter, read the instructions and check out your battery voltage.

[dmartins]

If your battery is toast, charging it won't help. I tried to start my bike one morning last summer and all it did was click. I bought a battery charger and after charging for a couple of days the battery still could not start the bike. The charger I bought is one that has a float mode so it should turn off when the battery reaches a certain voltage but it never did. That was a good indication that the battery was dead.

[sledge]

Forget multimeters, what you need is a battery load tester.



Gives you a quick and easy go/no-go. Worth their weight in weapons grade platinum. There really is no substitute 

[slipperymongoose]

Get a load tester and have it sitting round for 12 months till you use it maybe once more again? So much more flexibility and uses for a multimeter, if you need a load test take the battery to a battery shop, they'll do it for free.

[BaltimoreGS]

Get a load tester and have it sitting round for 12 months till you use it maybe once more again? So much more flexibility and uses for a multimeter, if you need a load test take the battery to a battery shop, they'll do it for free.

I agree that a multimeter is often a useful tool but in the OP's case a load test is what is required to determine the condition of his battery.

-Jessie

[Kijona]

Load tester might be okay...however.

Bad batteries will often show 12+ volts with the ignition on without the bike running. Then as soon as you hit the starter, the voltage will drop to less than 10 which is unacceptable. I was having some intermittent issues with my SV650 recently. Battery showed plenty of voltage (almost 13) even with key "ON". I thought it was okay. It wasn't until I decided to have a friend try to start the bike that the battery showed its weakness. I was getting a voltage  drop of almost 8 volts...dropping all the way down to 4 and 5v.

The clicking is the starter relay, as others have said. Don't waste money, take the battery to your local auto parts store and have them load test it. It's free.

[sledge]

So much more flexibility and uses for a multimeter

But load testing is not one of them.....unless you know something I dont 

[slipperymongoose]

Yeah test the battery with a multimete and as you try n start and watch the voltage drop like a stone. Thats why the OP should take the battery to a shop and get it load tested for free, if its bad then get another battery and he doesnt need to outlay for a load tester he may only use maybe a half dozen times in 5 years maybe. If the battery is good thats when a multimeter comes into play, he can fault diagnose and with adidas guys help get his bike going.

[sledge]

Yeah test the battery with a multimete and as you try n start and watch the voltage drop like a stone. Thats why the OP should take the battery to a shop and get it load tested for free, if its bad then get another battery and he doesnt need to outlay for a load tester he may only use maybe a half dozen times in 5 years maybe. If the battery is good thats when a multimeter comes into play, he can fault diagnose and with adidas guys help get his bike going.

You talk about voltage...... isnt current an issue when testing a battery and if so how do you measure it with a cheap multimter?

[slipperymongoose]

If the current isn't there it will show with a lack of volts

[sledge]

BS!

[slipperymongoose]

STFU

[sledge]

So.....it would seem its your belief that a massive volt drop across the battery when you hit the starter means the battery is toast.....period? Hhhhmmmm possible I suppose but what effect would a shorted or seized starter motor or starter gear have, or a solenoid that has shorted internally, or a high resistance connection on the LT or ground side? Wouldnt they give the same symptoms? Have you considered these as possibilities......or would you just rush out and blow notes on a new battery and expect everyone else to do the same. Put another way if you took your bike to a pro would you be happy to pay for his wasted time and replacement components that were not needed in an attempt to rectify the problem through guesswork as you are suggesting?

Isolating the battery from the bike and subjecting it to an electrical load that allows a current of x3 the Ah rating or 0.5x the CCA rating to flow and measuring the subsequent voltage after a short period of time is the definative way of testing batteries and the starting point when troubleshooting and diagnosing any charging/starting problem.......but no-one, least of all me said you had to buy one yourself to carry out the test

[slipperymongoose]

I'll put it like this nice and simple for you. I'll get much more use out of a multimeter to check and test various components on the electrical system than I would with a battery load tester which only does one thing. Which is why I and others said if your suspicious of your battery take it to a place that will load test for free. But if you have a multimeter it enables you to test things out initially and get a good idea.

[cheetahman]

Forget multimeters, what you need is a battery load tester.



Gives you a quick and easy go/no-go. Worth their weight in weapons grade platinum. There really is no substitute 

Wow they make weapons out of platinum???  I'm goin to war!!!

[Kijona]

So.....it would seem its your belief that a massive volt drop across the battery when you hit the starter means the battery is toast.....period? Hhhhmmmm possible I suppose but what effect would a shorted or seized starter motor or starter gear have, or a solenoid that has shorted internally, or a high resistance connection on the LT or ground side? Wouldnt they give the same symptoms? Have you considered these as possibilities......or would you just rush out and blow notes on a new battery and expect everyone else to do the same. Put another way if you took your bike to a pro would you be happy to pay for his wasted time and replacement components that were not needed in an attempt to rectify the problem through guesswork as you are suggesting?

Isolating the battery from the bike and subjecting it to an electrical load that allows a current of x3 the Ah rating or 0.5x the CCA rating to flow and measuring the subsequent voltage after a short period of time is the definative way of testing batteries and the starting point when troubleshooting and diagnosing any charging/starting problem.......but no-one, least of all me said you had to buy one yourself to carry out the test

Testing the voltage drop is a preliminary measure to determining the status of the battery. There is a concept called "occam's razor" which states that of possibilities, the simplest of them is often the correct one, or something to that effect.

The chances of the starter motor just seizing up or there being some massive short (unless he bypassed the fuse and the bike somehow didn't catch fire) are astronomically high compared to the chances of the battery being bad. With that said, testing the voltage is far easier, cheaper, and less time-consuming versus going out and getting a load tester, disconnecting the battery, testing it...all of that.

If the battery is good it won't drop much during start-up. If it's bad...voltage will drop way low. End of story.