I decided to rejet the carbs a few weeks ago, and finally got around to putting everything back together this morning. Everything went together just fine, no problem. I put the key in the ignition and turned it to the on position. My neutral and oil lights came on, and I pushed the start button. The motor turned but didn't catch, when I remembered that I forgot to turn the fuel petcock back on! So I turned the ignition off, fixed the petcock, and turned to ignition back on. I hit the start button and....nothing. No clicks, hums, whirs or anything. Then I saw the headlight and tail light didn't work. Neither did the turn signals or the horn. I checked and replaced the fuse with a 20A. Still no headlight or anything. The only lights that come on are the neutral and oil lights.
I took the battery out and to AutoZone, thingink it was too weak to turn the motor. Alas, they told me it was fine and there should be no reason for it to not work. So what's the deal??!! I didn't touch anything electical when I took the carbs out and I checked to make sure I wasn't pinching anything when I put them back in. I have no clue what to do. Starter, relay or motor, solenoid? Any help or ideas anyone has would be invaluable.
Thanks! --Alex
Its very unlikely that its your starter. I would make sure that its not your side stand switch that is causing problems as this is one explanation for the dead ignition switch. Beyond that, you probably want to try the starter relay with a multimeter to make sure that its working properly.
What strikes me as odd is the dead headlight with the good battery - that makes me think that somewhere in the wiring there is a short.
Adam
Are you sure the key was turned all the way on? :dunno:
I'll be sure to check the side stand switch in the morning. My other thought was that maybe the battery isn't as charged as I thought, and isn't producing enough power? But again, no clue. Guess it's time to start sorting through the wiring harness to check and make sure everything is in order.
And yes, I was sure to make sure the key was turned all the way.
Did they do a load test or just check the voltage?
I'd put the charger on it for a little bit and see if that helps. You may have drained it with all the attempts to start and also because it sat for so long
i really don't know how they measured it, to be honest. They hooked up a little calculator-looking computer and told me it read "130", whatever that means. So I will hook up the battery to a charger tomorrow and let it go while I'm at work, and try it out again when I get home. Thanks!
130 probably was the current in Amperes it delivered when connected to a shunt equivalent to the starter. Sounds good to me.