| Author | Message | ||
     Djkaplan |
I posted this in the M2 specific forum... http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/380113.html?1217207866 ... please feel free to tell me WTF you think it might be because I don't have a clue yet. | ||
| Oldog |
DJ bypass the breaker for a test. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I tried that... I don't think it's the 30 amp breaker now. I jumped it with a socket and it didn't change anything. I'm thinking this could be a bad ground now... somewhere. I guess I better get bizay with the multimeter and test light. Thanks, O'dog. Your interest and response is much appreciated. | ||
| Rich |
Danny, I had a wire to the 30 amp breaker break once. It broke inside the solderless connector sheath, I had a Hell of a time finding it. In the dark. | ||
| Djkaplan |
That's going on the to-do list Rich. Would have never suspected that. | ||
| F_skinner |
DJ, you might need to go through your whole wiring harness a section at a time. This sounds a lot like a frayed wire short or like Rich pointed out a broken connector. I have has similar symptoms on my S1W and twice it was a connector and the other time it was a frayed wire that shorted against the frame. I did not see until I went through the whole harness. I used a redneck approach by shaking wires and connectors while trying to start the bike. A meter is a better way to go and will not drain your battery as much. Frank | ||
| Oldog |
DJ can you send me a copy of the wiring diagram the X1 is EFI and some differences exist, I will be following this thread and would like to help if I can. you have eliminated key switch main breaker Oh BTW main ground sounds like a good canidate Do I understand correctly the whole bike is dead? nothing works. | ||
| Oldog |
can you power the bike via j-cables? | ||
| Sparky |
I'd check the integrity of the battery cables by doing a voltage drop test on each cable: Put the multimeter set to read VDC across the positive cable from battery post to the other end of the cable. Try to start the engine. It should read 0 VDC; if it reads 12+ VDC, that cable is bad or has a high resistance connection. Do the same for the negative cable only select a different ground point on the frame than where the the cable terminates. Watch polarity with the multimeter leads: for the positive cable, put the meter red lead on the positive battery post; for the negative cable, put the meter red lead on the frame. | ||
| Djkaplan |
SUCCESS! And, oh what twisted webs it weaves... "Do I understand correctly the whole bike is dead? nothing works." Yeah, it started sputtering and eventually just died, no electrics, no warning. It was like someone was turning the key off and on until it just turned off. The battery is 3 years old and was still giving the starter a pretty good kick before this happened so I didn't think that could be the problem (my first mistaken assumption). The weird part is that the electrics came back when I got the bike home, but if I hit the starter button, the starter solenoid would click and everything would go dead again. No amount of prodding and twisting along wiring harness could reveal a worn wire or short. The electrics would eventually come on again (the lights and speedo) so I started from the top and worked my way down. After eliminating out the keyswitch (you would not believe how easy it is to hotwire it) and jumping the 30 amp breaker to no avail, I checked the battery (but only after the electrics came back on - this is where I made my second mistake) by putting a mulitmeter on it and checking the voltage before and after hitting the start button. I took my eyes off the multimeter for just a second (my third mistake) after the solenoid clicked. When I looked back, it was still reading the same voltage, so I figured the battery could be eliminated. It wasn't that old and even if it got weak, it wouldn't keep the bike from running. I started checking connections at the ground strap, battery cables, etc, and eventually started double checking everything that I had done from the start, starting from the ignition switch again (all you need is a safety pin to hotwire it). When I got back to the battery. I did the voltage test again and that's when I saw it... the battery would play dead for a while (sometimes just for an instant) and come back to life. I saw it in the voltage readings... IT WAS THE BATTERY! It must have an internal short because of vibration or something. I learned something about how these bikes must be wired that I apparently didn't understand: I thought the bike would run off the stator after it was started even if the battery was removed. That is not the case; the short in the battery was keeping the electrical system from being grounded and cutting power off completely, even from the stator. I confirmed the battery was the culprit and the mulitmeter wasn't lying when I put a 2amp charger on the battery while it was still in the bike. The system was able to get a ground from the charger and everything came back to life. The battery continued to mock me with good voltage readings, but I was able to spy it's game of possum on the multimeter... exposed at last. I feel good that nothing I could have done on the side of the road with my pocketknife (and the nail I found) could have saved me and it wasn't a fundamental 'Buell' problem that left me stranded, I had never been stranded by an American bike before. A bad battery can happen to any bike... but maybe I better check the voltage regulator and stator output too. Thanks for all the help, gentlemen. Everyone of the suggestions offered was utilized and eventually lead to the success of this most foul of all projects for a rider to encounter. Huzzah everyone! Huzzahs all around! (Message edited by djkaplan on July 29, 2008) | ||
| Psycrow |
Good to hear DJ I went through my own Electrical Nightmare last month. $60 later and a lot of heated words with 2 Harley parts guys and 1 dumass Tech, I ended up diagnosing it myself. Bad Ignition Relay. But DYTing feels sooo good. | ||
| Rich |
 | ||
| Oldog |
Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah! | ||
| Reepicheep |
I tried running my M2 without a battery just to experiment... ran like crap, and only at higher RPM's, and that was a gravity fuel fed carb. I imagine the fuel injected bikes probably would not run at all. Even though the stator is producing power, it is very messy power (rectified AC wave form). Without the battery to "smooth it out", it is nearly useless. It would be like trying to push a car with a jackhammer... | ||
| Djkaplan |
"Even though the stator is producing power, it is very messy power (rectified AC wave form). Without the battery to "smooth it out", it is nearly useless." That's an interesting, spacially astute description of a process that can't actually be seen. I know the concepts behind electricity and how it's created and utilized, but to my simple, connect-the-dots mechanical mentality, it's still of the mystical arts, practiced and understood only by wizards and double-E's. | ||
| Road_thing |
IT WAS THE BATTERY! ...told ya... rt Glad you got it sorted out! Treat yourself to some nice fried okra! | ||
| Djkaplan |
"...told ya..." That you did, R'thing... that you did. There is much wisdom to be found here - much to be gathered and shared, much to be learned and remembered. I am just barely worthy of it's power, a mere apprentice at the foot of the Mountains it seems. | ||
| Creature_x1 |
Mine did the same thing once, turns out the connections on the battery were loose. Every time i hit the starter button the loose battery cable would arc on the post, causing the breaker to do its thing. Boy that was a fun one. |
