Hey there yall,
heres my problemo...
I recently had an issue with my bike ceasing to run after I had forgotten to turn the fuel on. I turned the fuel on, and but there were no lights when i turned the key. I walked it no more than 3 feet forward and the lights came back on and I was on my way.
It then happened a few miles up the road at a stoplight, I again walked it a few steps forward and I was fine.
Things have been going smoothly until this evening, when I cut the engine and sat with the headlight on for about 30 seconds. This time when I walked it to try to get power back, the lights came back on, but as soon as I pressed the starter they shut off, and now I've got nothing, I pushed it a ways and its not coming back around.
I have no desire to go back to the shop, I was just in there last week for oil issues and Im outta cash now.
What I want to know is, can I jump it?
and if so, where am I to connect the leads?/whats the procedure?
Its a 96 ZX6R..
Thanks Ben

 

rastacore,

I would not recommend jump starting the bike, there'sa possibility you can do more damage to the battery and/or electrical system by overloading it. I think the first thing you should do is buy or borrow a Battery Tender Jr., it is a charger that you connect to the terminals on your battery, usually located under the rider seat. You'll have to take out a few bolts but it is very simple. Just remember where the bolts came from. The BTJr only costs around $30-35 so I think that is your safest and cheapest start. Put the charger on your bike for at least overnight, preferably a full 24 hours. Since, your bike shows that the electrical system is working but power cuts out, it seems to be your battery. Your starter can still turnover but not push the engine if your charge is too low. Sometimesbatteries can do weird things. If you charge your battery and the bike works fine, then you have obviously fixed the problem but if it returns to the way before, then i'd say buy a new battery. Hope this helps.

 

Question: How did you walk the bike the 3 feet? Clutch pulled in? or in neutral? Before it started for ya

 

Yea there might be a neutral switch or a clutch switch acting up, otherwise I would be checking the fuse holders and the battery and ground connections.

 

first check the fuses - then pull the connectors of the kickstand switch and either use a multi meter on the switch or jumper the wires together to bypass it to see fi that was the problem.

 

Sounds like loose or corroded (poor contact) battery terminals. Clean & Check them for good contact & tightness. Also check you main ground on the frame & engine. If the above are all good, then you may have abroken wire or an open in the ignition switch.

 

Walked it with clutch pulled in..

 

sounds like a broken/shorted wire.. they can go to ground and NOT blow a fuse... theres alot of things it can be.. is it random? the fuel could just have been a cruel coincidence..

oh, and welcome to KF!!

 

Start with the Basics first. The easiest thing to check and you shouldbegin withis for loose battery connections,and a fully charged battery. Seems that some thing is loose because when you move the bike, it makes contact and starts working. So it'smost likelyloose connections or a broken wire or contact.

 

Yeah this beats the hell outta me. My buddy was going to come up and take a look at it.
I took the seat off before he got here, checked all the fuses to see if they were intact and also the connections of the battery.
The fuse box had come out of its holster but didnt seem to have any loose wires. I places it back in the holster, and then turned the key to unlock the steering so I could move it to a more manageable space, and the power came back.
I started her right up like there was never anything wrong.
Not sure if there are just some loose wires in or around that fuse box, but it was a quick fix.
Thanks for all the advice, as always.
Ben