It wont start,help!

[Deleted]

Evening all!
 Right first up Im a newbie to all this forum stuff so please bear with me for acts of halfwittedness.
Ok, I bought a 600 Divvy and it wont start.
Its turns over fine when I short out the starter solenoid with no electrics wired up. As soon as I connect everything as it should be and I press the starter button it seems to drain the battery of all power untill the starter motor makes a clicking groaning noise. I even tried jump starting it of the wifes car and the same thing happens,even a 2 litre turbo diesel cant turn it over,its like all the power from the battery(s) has been soaked up.
Ive checked the loom for damage and it looks in fine fettle and all the lights ect work. Its just as soon as I try to turn it over/start it the volts just seem to dissapear.
Could this be an earth problem? (the electrical type,not the thing were all on. Seen that little gag allready and the blue wire thing,thats the next problem! )

All  solutions greatfully received
Cheers!

[Pops]

hi jacko73 and welcome
I don't know if you realise or not but your first post in the welcome thread is blank.
So without knowing anything about your bike or you I don't want to teach granny to suck eggs or anything but have you checked all fuses and kill switch etc. Has the bike gone through any maintenance of late, has something been changed or altered, Did the problem just start or start after some work being done. Without knowing too much of your problem I would suggest you start with the obvious first. Like the battery, cables and connections, ht cables and caps. Then check to see if plugs are sparking. With you saying even with a jump start you just get a clicking sound makes me think the problem lies in that region.
I of course might be jumping to the wrong conclusion but I am sure someone with greater experience then me will be along shortly and point you in the right direction.
hope you get sorted soon.
Pops

[Deleted]

Hi Pops.

Cheers for the welcome and the advice on the first thread,Im still stumbling my way around forum land but Ill get the hang of it,hopefully!
I bought the bike recently with the engine out of the frame and re-built it over the last few weeks.
All the connectors have been double checked,new plugs and caps fitted,new battery and I even replaced the generator/alternator as some one thought that could be draining power but it made no difference.
All the fuses are fine and correct rating but I am surprised that none have blown if it is an earth problem,as for a spark it wont turn over long enough for me to see if there is one.
Again,cheers for your help and it its most appreciated.
Rob.

[neilmud Lord Protector]

Have you checked the earth at the battery I had a similar thing with my Hardly all the lights worked but would not turn over battery showing 13+ volts went right through the elec-tricks all ok then checked battery terminals earth was loose

Nipped it up all OK a wasted couple of hours.

Neil

[Deleted]

Hi Neil.
I tried relocating the thick earth cable onto the back of the starter motor and cleaned all the terminals and its still the same,grrrrrr!
I have blagged some more jump leads of next door so Im going to try another jump start off the car tomorrow. I think maybe the first set of leads could of been duff as surely the car should of cranked the bike over like a spinning top? Tomorrow will tell!
Cheers!
Rob

[CD]

DONT RUN THE CAR ENGINE or even have the ignition switched on. Back emf and spikes from the bike starter risk blowing some electronics in the car.

Clip the black lead on first and be 100% sure its solid. It can be to any bare metal on the bike or car.
Clip the red lead on and try the starter. Also try with bike battery earth lead disconnected from battery. If bike battery is shorting internally this can suck away the start power.

If no start, short across the start solenoid contact bolts with a spanner. If this turns the starter you have a duff solenoid or damaged wiring that switches it.

If still no start the starter motors is suspect.

[Deleted]

Cheers for the advice on the jump lead set up. The last thing I want to do is knacker my lass's car!
The starter motor is in good nick,luckily the bike came with a box of spare parts including 2 starters,2 generators and 2 ignition units.

I didnt know about battery's shorting out internally so I will investigate that further.

However,the bike DID turn over initially when I first dropped the engine in with out the wiring loom connected and cranked over with a pair of pliers on the solenoid terminals,this was with the spark plugs in so it was turning over with compression and it did so just fine.
But now it will turn over on the starter button WITHOUT the plugs in but only for maybe 10-15 seconds before the battery dies but there is still enough volts left to make the light and indicators work,weird eh?
Anyway,I have bought another multimeter ( the other one was getting a bit long in the tooth) so weather permitting its out into the garden to try and suss it out and then try it on the car battery again.
I must admit that electrics have never been my strong point (as if you cant tell,haha!) and I have been out of the bike tinkering loop for some time but as allways any hints,tips and help is most gratefully received. Keep em coming untill this thing fires up!

[Deleted]

Time to unwind the wiring loom and see if theres 'owt nasty lurking in there.
We tried the car battery to start it,still p**s all,nothing,nowt,nada apart from the click of a solenoid and a faint groan from the starter motor,again.
All the terminals have been checked and cleaned.
All the switches are good.
The battery is on charge AGAIN (even though its new)
If I cant find anything in the loom then maybe its time to give up as this bike is doing my bloody head in.

[xjrider]

apologies if dealt with above but I had a load of hassle until I realised the kill switch was on doh!

[Deleted]

IT LIVES! THE BLOODY THING LIVES,ITS RUNNING,WELL SORT OF.
Fist things first though,a big thanks for everyones input to this problem.
So what happened?
Today I opened the loom up and checked every connection inside,all was good and not tampered/bodged up.
So it all got plugged back together and we hooked it up to the car (bearing in mind CD's words of wisdom)
It groaned and tried to turn over so I tried tapping the starter motor with the handle of my trusty ratchet and flicking the starter button,the more I did this the more willing to turn over it became.
After 30 odd seconds it was spinning over freely and eventually after a minute it was trying to catch and fire up and after a few coughs and splutters it ran! (a bit like me on a morning)
But only on the middle 2 cylinders,bugger, but hey its progress,or failing that I have a Divvy 300 twin?
Right,time for a new post on a new problem,how to get it running on all 4?

[CD]

The starter motor brushes are probably worn.

The non running cylinders may be a coil fault or wiring to the coil. Its unlikely to be the ignition box because the outers do run.