Gas station, no start.

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mhodge
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My Bike: 2000 Suzuki Intruder VS1400

Gas station, no start.

Post by mhodge »

So, my issue is a little different than the other thread on here about not starting.

First off, the bike and I are back home, so no urgency here.
Had this bike a few months, so far I've had to redo the fuel lines, fix the reversed fuel cock issue, front and rear tires and tubes, carb tune, and replace the battery box and battery. I ended up going with the gBatt 'cause of all the hype from here, and to get this out of the way beforehand, the battery is at 100% and was at 90% when this occurred.

Just finished a complete rebuild of the front and rear calipers and master cylinders on the brakes, getting rid of the nasty fluid and deposits the previous owner never bothered to fix, decided to finally get the bike out before it gets too cold. Bike started in less than a second from a cold stop, wonderful, new battery is doing wonders. I drive about 10 minutes up the road to a gas station to fill up before I go on the rest of my ride... However, when I go to start the bike... Nothing. All lights are lit, but with the kickstand up, clutch held in, transmission in neutral there's not so much as an electrical noise or a tick from the starter. For reference, I've had the battery go dead on me before, so I have a little experience with how this bike behaves when the voltage is just too low. At this point I figure that despite all odds even with the new battery, it's dead and the R/R is probably out, so I call a buddy for a jumpstart. However, the jump doesn't make any difference. Left it charging with the cables for a few minutes, no difference. In the end, I just sat on the damn thing jabbing at the start button about a hundred times in different positions until magically the bike started up like nothing was ever wrong. Hurried home and parked it under cover, and now here I am.

Any ideas? It could just be the button I suppose, but that would seem strange to me. Maybe a break in a wire somewhere? I tested the battery when I got home, and it was at 90%, so it's not a R/R issue or a dead battery. Tomorrow I plan on running some continuity tests, but I don't really have any idea where to start... Hoping you guys might know.

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Fred
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by Fred »

Do it again . If you can its the button.

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Herb
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by Herb »

I would start by checking the safety switches and the start switch itself. You have something that is not always making good contact. The problem is that you have to get it to fail in order to find it.
I can't seem to win the lottery. I think I have used up all of my good luck riding motorcycles.

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hillsy
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by hillsy »

Did the fuel pump tick over when you switched the bike on? If not, then that would indicate it might be a problem with the engine stop switch rather than the starter / side stand / clutch switches.

Lechy
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by Lechy »

First off, pull the wires off the sidestand and clutch safety switches and jumper them together, paper clip works for this. Then check the main fuse and emergency shut off switch.

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mhodge
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by mhodge »

Dang that's a lot of replies, thanks guys. I promise I'll try everything first thing in the morning.
Not sure about the fuel pump... Mine's always been so quiet I can't even hear the dang thing.
The rest, I'll need to look at. I did remove and replace the kickstand safety switch when I did the brake job, that could have something to do it with. I'll have to check everything else later.
Thanks!

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mhodge
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by mhodge »

Oh. My. God. Finally, a simple, easy to fix problem.

It was the clutch safety switch. checked all the fuses and jumped the kickstand and the clutch switches, and the after jumping the clutch it started right up... I'm so happy.

I think I'm just going to bypass it for now, I always hated the damn thing anyway.
Thanks guys

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Blaine
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by Blaine »

I did away with mine but kept the side stand switch.
If at first you succeed,don't be surprised.

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mhodge
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by mhodge »

Bypassed the switch. I pulled the switch off, broke off the slidey part and soldered the two separate copper pads for the switch together so that its always "on", then reattached the "switch" ... I figure this way, I can always replace the switch later on if I need to, and it works well for now.
Now I just have to fix the rear tongue of the seat, turns out it broke loose and the seats just kinda sitting there mainly by gravity. Wonderful! Oh well, i've got plenty of epoxy.

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Herb
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by Herb »

Blaine wrote:I did away with mine but kept the side stand switch.
Same here.

I have a throttle lock that has a bar that covers the kill switch. I use the kickstand switch as a kill switch.
I can't seem to win the lottery. I think I have used up all of my good luck riding motorcycles.

jonnycando
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by jonnycando »

I put a new clutch switch on mine at 40000 miles, not because the old one didn't work but at it's age it could go anytime....that's anal I know but....

Lechy
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Re: Gas station, no start.

Post by Lechy »

jonnycando wrote:I put a new clutch switch on mine at 40000 miles, not because the old one didn't work but at it's age it could go anytime....that's anal I know but....

Ya gotta do what you gotta do to keep the wind in your hair and the bugs in your teeth.
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Grow old disgracefully young man.

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