SV650 will only Bump-Start

[Rusty the Scoob]

My SV650 quit on me on the ride home very suddenly tonight - one minute it started fine, the second, no action from the starter motor whatsoever. I was able to get it bump started, and have done so several times, but have not been able to start it the conventional way despite many tries.

I have a multimeter but I'm not sure how to tell if the starter is receiving 12v - where do the probes go?

[JohnnyV]

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold 9930)

Battery or regulator/rectifier would be where I would start

[markbvt]

It might be your clutch safety -- it's easy for the wire to come disconnected. Check the left side switchgear and see if a wire's unplugged. Happened to me on my Wee-Strom once and caused the exact same situation.

--mark

[Degsy]

Wirelessly posted

Clutch safety disconnected again? That happened before, remember? It was when you installed your heated gear.

[SVRACER01]

starter relay?

[Rusty the Scoob]

Wirelessly posted

Clutch safety disconnected again? That happened before, remember? It was when you installed your heated gear.

I bypassed that switch right after that incident - the two wires are now permanently fused together via a crimp connector. You said this was ok because I have a carb instead of FI.

How do I check the starter relay? The relay under the seat looks ok visually, for what it's worth.

[RandyO]

could be broken wire to your fused/bypassed clutch safety switch
bad contacts on starter button
starter relay
starter itself
weak battery

does it run good once started (more than a few minutes, I mean long ride )

[ptk-napalm]

I once had that problem while in gear trying to start it with the clutch lever pulled in, it acted like the sidestand safety switch was the problem, so the dealer thought. Then they found out it was caused by the ignition switch, they replaced it and all the problems went away.

If you use a volt meter on your battery while the engine is off, note the voltage. Then do your bump start & with the engine running check the voltage again, if it has increased in voltage you have now eliminated your charging circuit as the culprit. Although you may still have a battery problem.

[drew5176]

My SV650 quit on me on the ride home very suddenly tonight - one minute it started fine, the second, no action from the starter motor whatsoever. I was able to get it bump started, and have done so several times, but have not been able to start it the conventional way despite many tries.

I have a multimeter but I'm not sure how to tell if the starter is receiving 12v - where do the probes go?

the red probe (hot/live) would go to the starter (follow the cable to the nut on the starter) the black probe (ground) just touch to the frame (bare metal) make sure the meter is set for DC volts. 1 quick question when you try to start it normaly is there and sounds? do the gauge light go out or stay on? it will just take a leg work to find your problem but all the suggestions i've read here are good ones.

[Rusty the Scoob]

Which part of the frame? Not the aluminum part, I assume? I tried the negative probe on a couple of bolts that looked like steel, saw no voltage.

I don't think it's the sidestand switch since it won't start in Neutral either. Clutch switch is a possibility although it's pretty neatly fused.

could be broken wire to your fused/bypassed clutch safety switch
bad contacts on starter button
starter relay
starter itself
weak battery

does it run good once started (more than a few minutes, I mean long ride )

These all make sense. It runs great once I start it, made it 23 miles to work today with no problems.

It literally worked one minute and not the next. I was about 15 miles into my 23 mile trip home, including shutting the engine off for a few long stoplights like I sometimes do on hot days, and then suddenly nothing. So I'm inclined to trust the fairly new battery although I suppose I should try a jump-start just to see.

[BostonSVkid]

Here is how you check to see if the starter relay is bad. Grab a set of jumper cables and connect one side to the battery (positive or negative I can't remember but only ONE of them). Since you have a naked the front of the starter motor is exposed. Touch the other end of the then connected jumper to the bolt head of the starter motor and see if anything happens. If nothing happens then the starter is gone, if it starts then the relay is gone. Also check to see if the main fuse is blow (doubt it). Under the rear seat and plastics is a black unit with a green semi transparent cover. Thats the stater relay.

Edited

Its definitely not the main fuse, if it was that the bike wouldnt even run. FYI the main fuse is located in the starter relay. Check it anyways while in there and there is usually a spare fuse on the starter relay.

[Rusty the Scoob]

Looks like we have bingo. It jump starts fine and also works if you bridge the two connectors on the relay with a screwdriver (basically hotwiring it).

Degsy... you replaced this relay when you fixed my loose R/R I think, right? At least I had one on the shelf in a box with your name on it, which was also bad. So I've gone through two of these relays in 4 years, 24k miles? Is that unusual?

[scottfromboston]

Have you checked for a switching signal on the input side of the relay? With what you observed above, your problem could either be caused by a bad relay or some issue above the relay on the switching side (you're bypassing the "switch"; you don't know if the issue is with the switch itself or that no one has flipped it, so to speak). Easy to check with a multimeter - set to measure voltage, ground one end to the frame or battery ground, and probe each of the switching terminals while thumbing the starter.

[Rusty the Scoob]

Have you checked for a switching signal on the input side of the relay? With what you observed above, your problem could either be caused by a bad relay or some issue above the relay on the switching side (you're bypassing the "switch"; you don't know if the issue is with the switch itself or that no one has flipped it, so to speak). Easy to check with a multimeter - set to measure voltage, ground one end to the frame or battery ground, and probe each of the switching terminals while thumbing the starter.

I get what you're saying but I'm not sure that I'm testing it correctly. The negative battery terminal and positive side of the relay (the wires are marked red and black) reads almost 12V, and the positive battery terminal and negative side of the relay reads negative almost 12V. Thumbing the starter doesn't seem to change either reading.

Edit - Oh, I'm just on the lugs! I probably need to unplug the connector and check there!

Edit 2 - Ok, weird. I unplugged the connector to the relay to check it but it kills the whole bike. Plugged it back in to poke my needle probes into it from the other side (where the wires come out, hoping to find a little bare metal in there) and when I thumbed the starter the bike started! Maybe the relay that Degsy left me isn't bad after all?

[Rusty the Scoob]

Thinking some more: Degsy's relay can't be bad or it wouldn't work at all

It didn't work last night and suddenly started working this morning after I unplugged it and plugged it back in. Therefore I probably didn't have the connector seated correctly. It's not full scientific proof though, unfortunately.

[martia]

Relay are tricky.. When they start to go some times they work and other times they dont... When it gets hot they stop working or get stuck on were it will try to start the bike. They sell new ones on ebay $17 free shiping.. I bought one and had it for 2 years no problems so far... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solenoid-Sta...c1da23&vxp=mtr
Good luck