starting

[david lee]

 went to start the shovel and all i get is a clicking sound every 5 seconds. from 1 of the 3 circuit breakers under the seat when i turn the key on.the oil and neutral wont come on either the battery has 12.3 v. i did have the fender of and it fell down on top off the tyre could i have disturbed something or a relay has failed. help would be appreciated

[kd]

If the tail light wiring was still attached you likely pulled it and caused a short to ground.  Follow those wires and you'll probably find it.

[david lee]

all the wires are connected.would cleaning the terminals be the cause.or can the breaker actually fail inside thanks all the lights work

[guppymech]

I had a replica turn signal flasher unit come apart in the headlight that gave a direct short to ground, had the same symptoms as your having.  I was out on a ride when it happened and had to find and fix it so I could get home.  I'm the last person on earth that doesn't have a cell phone.  ha!

[david lee]

If the tail light wiring was still attached you likely pulled it and caused a short to ground.  Follow those wires and you'll probably find it.

you mean the tail light wires going in to the tail light thanks

[billbuilds]

     Are you certain that it's a circuit breaker making the clicking noise or could it possibly be your starter relay.? I'd advise you to take the seat off and see if you can isolate which breaker (if in fact it is a breaker) is making the noise. Putting your finger on each breaker as you hit the start button should enable you to feel which one is tripping. How about your horn, does it work? It sounds like you have a wire grounding out. Isolating which breaker is tripping wil help you narrow down which wires to check for continuity. 

[david lee]

     Are you certain that it's a circuit breaker making the clicking noise or could it possibly be your starter relay.? I'd advise you to take the seat off and see if you can isolate which breaker (if in fact it is a breaker) is making the noise. Putting your finger on each breaker as you hit the start button should enable you to feel which one is tripping. How about your horn, does it work? It sounds like you have a wire grounding out. Isolating which breaker is tripping wil help you narrow down which wires to check for continuity.

the seat is off and the fenderis resting on the tyre.the clicking is coming from the starter circuit breaker as soon as i turn the key.the starter relay will click separately when i press the starter button the lights work when i turn the key to the next position.  what i will say is the bike fell of the jack with no shocks and the frame bottoming out on the ground and bending the chain guard the 3 circuit breakers might have hit the frame when that happened but they dont look damaged ive pulled the ign and all wires look good thanks

[Tynker]

went to start the shovel and all i get is a clicking sound every 5 seconds. from 1 of the 3 circuit breakers under the seat when i turn the key on.the oil and neutral wont come on either the battery has 12.3 v. i did have the fender of and it fell down on top off the tyre could i have disturbed something or a relay has failed. help would be appreciated

At 12.3 volts, your battery is toast.

[david lee]

went to start the shovel and all i get is a clicking sound every 5 seconds. from 1 of the 3 circuit breakers under the seat when i turn the key on.the oil and neutral wont come on either the battery has 12.3 v. i did have the fender of and it fell down on top off the tyre could i have disturbed something or a relay has failed. help would be appreciated

At 12.3 volts, your battery is toast.

i just went and turned the headlight on and when i pressed the starter the light did not dull and got only a click from the starter relay. but what was unusual is when i pressed the indicator buttons dont work. if the battery is toast wold i still get intermediate clicking from the igh circuit breaker under the seatwhich has not done before with a dud battery. thanks

[kd]

Charge the battery and if possible have it load tested.  It's likely if you have had the lights on a bunch the surface charge on the battery is depleted. It still may be weak but test it after being charged for a real world check. Is it still clicking every 5 seconds or so key on without touching anything?

[david lee]

Charge the battery and if possible have it load tested.  It's likely if you have had the lights on a bunch the surface charge on the battery is depleted. It still may be weak but test it after being charged for a real world check. Is it still clicking every 5 seconds or so key on without touching anything?

yes still clicking with the ign on and clicks once when the ign is turned off

[Hossamania]

Look again for a short, a damaged wire. Charge the battery. Disconnect it while charging. Note the load when reconnecting, there should not be a large spark.

[david lee]

Look again for a short, a damaged wire. Charge the battery. Disconnect it while charging. Note the load when reconnecting, there should not be a large spark.

as in 2 wires touching.theres no wires touching the frame thanks

[david lee]

you can feel the clicking going thru the yellow wire from the ign switch to the circuit breaker

[xlfan]

Have you tried to energize the thin small solenoid post wire directly from the 12V+ feed post on solenoid?

[david lee]

Have you tried to energize the thin small solenoid post wire directly from the 12V+ feed post on solenoid?

no

[xlfan]

Make sure you are in neutral. If starter works as it should, you have at least verified that starter and solenoid is ok, and that battery still has ooomph to pull.

[motorhogman]

at 12.3 V your battery is about 50% charged.  as others have said,, Charge it and test it..

[david lee]

charged battery stiill the problem even  changed battery from my trike which i know is good still the problem.the one thing i did notice by feel is the thick yellow wire has insulation tape wrapped around it at the ign joining point.but feels connected.will check cant see any damaged wires or wires touching.could the breaker be damaged inside when the bike fell and how can it be tested thanks

[Hossamania]

Easiest way to test is to replace it with new, they aren't that expensive, or swap it with another known good one.

[david lee]

a mate whos a wizard with mc wiring is coming to sort the problem out hes convinced its a dead short. will post the result for those interested

[xlfan]

a mate whos a wizard with mc wiring is coming to sort the problem out hes convinced its a dead short. will post the result for those interested

Steering head/fuel tank area?

[crock]

 

[david lee]

a mate whos a wizard with mc wiring is coming to sort the problem out hes convinced its a dead short. will post the result for those interested

Steering head/fuel tank area?

maybe its  a tight fit there

[xlfan]

And almost always constant movement resulting in mechanical wear. 

[david lee]

what i did do was disconnect the thick yellow wire from the ign at the breakers end and clicking stopped but when reconected clicking returned.im ancious for my mate to turn up and solve the problem and what it is. will post the solution. some might be interested

[david lee]

what does the single pink wire do and go to from the ign breaker when i disconnect that wire everythings back to normal it goes thru the harness up under the tank someone has joined that wire with a 2 inch piece of wire where it goes under the tank and when i stripped the insulation back where it was joined it was all kinked up. should that wire have power when not connected to the breaker with ign on thanks all

[billbuilds]

what does the single pink wire do and go to from the ign breaker when i disconnect that wire everythings back to normal it goes thru the harness up under the tank someone has joined that wire with a 2 inch piece of wire where it goes under the tank and when i stripped the insulation back where it was joined it was all kinked up. should that wire have power when not connected to the breaker with ign on thanks all

    Dave, That pink wire goes to your tachometer.

[crock]

At the top of this category there is a sticky for wiring diagrams. Check it out

[capn]

I had the same thing happen on my shovel.Every time I turned the ignition on the breaker tripped.It was a dead short inside the handlebar on the wire to the on/off switch or start button cant remember which. I just disconnected the wire and installed a remote start button.Mounted on the coil cover.

[david lee]

what does the single pink wire do and go to from the ign breaker when i disconnect that wire everythings back to normal it goes thru the harness up under the tank someone has joined that wire with a 2 inch piece of wire where it goes under the tank and when i stripped the insulation back where it was joined it was all kinked up. should that wire have power when not connected to the breaker with ign on thanks all

    Dave, That pink wire goes to your tachometer.

thanks will pull the dash and have a look. is that a live wire when ign on

[david lee]

I had the same thing happen on my shovel.Every time I turned the ignition on the breaker tripped.It was a dead short inside the handlebar on the wire to the on/off switch or start button cant remember which. I just disconnected the wire and installed a remote start button.Mounted on the coil cover.

did you change the bars that caused your problem i have not touched my switch.what did you find inside the switch thanks my wiring does not go thru the bars

[capn]

Could be just the push button or on/off switch.Undo the switch cover and look inside see if there are burnt wires.

[david lee]

Could be just the push button or on/off switch.Undo the switch cover and look inside see if there are burnt wires.

THAT WILL BE MY LAST LOOK WILL PULL THE DASH AND CHECK THE PINK-ORANGE WIRE FROM THE TACO TO THE BREAKER THATS CAUSING THE PROBLEM

[billbuilds]

    Dave, Hold on, I told you wrong. Just to be sure, IIRC you have a 1980 FXS correct? If so, that pink wire goes to the high bean indicator light. The tachometer gets an orange wire on one terminal and a yellow on the other. The orange wire brings power to the tach light, the yellow wire comes off the top of the coil and that's what works your tach needle.  Sorry for the      Bill

[david lee]

    Dave, Hold on, I told you wrong. Just to be sure, IIRC you have a 1980 FXS correct? If so, that pink wire goes to the high bean indicator light. The tachometer gets an orange wire on one terminal and a yellow on the other. The orange wire brings power to the tach light, the yellow wire comes off the top of the coil and that's what works your tach needle.  Sorry for the      Bill

thanks dash is unplugged .off the bike and still the problem

[billbuilds]

    Is your ignition breraker tripping almost the instant that you turn on the ignition switch or just when you hit the start button? If it trips the instant you turn onthe ignition switch I'd check the white wire that goes from the ig terminal on the ignition switch to the top or buss-bar side of the ignition breaker. Do you have an ohmeter to check for continuity/ground outs?

[david lee]

    Is your ignition breraker tripping almost the instant that you turn on the ignition switch or just when you hit the start button? If it trips the instant you turn onthe ignition switch I'd check the white wire that goes from the ig terminal on the ignition switch to the top or buss-bar side of the ignition breaker. Do you have an ohmeter to check for continuity/ground outs?

clicks when turn the key. my mate has the meter.im waiting for him to show up with the offending wire connected or not connected i get a faint clicking at the ign relay when pressing the button with the battery fully charged.the relay was good until this problem thanks

[bump]

Check the starter soleniod small wire mounted on primary. If the large wires from battery are on wrong terminals it will do what you are getting. My shovel did that when I changed the large cables. Wiring diagram sowed the two wires backwards.

[Hossamania]

Check the starter soleniod small wire mounted on primary. If the large wires from battery are on wrong terminals it will do what you are getting. My shovel did that when I changed the large cables. Wiring diagram sowed the two wires backwards.

It seems everything worked fine until the bike fell off the lift. Unless some work was done while it was on the lift that hasn't been mentioned.

[david lee]

Check the starter soleniod small wire mounted on primary. If the large wires from battery are on wrong terminals it will do what you are getting. My shovel did that when I changed the large cables. Wiring diagram sowed the two wires backwards.

It seems everything worked fine until the bike fell off the lift. Unless some work was done while it was on the lift that hasn't been mentioned.

no work done on lift thats why its puzzling the one thing that has changed is the starter relay is clicking when you press the starter even if the offending wire is connected or not with a fully charged battery that didnt happen before its like i could leaved that wire disconected as everything works exept the starter relay maybe the relay and that wire have something in common. that wire is there for a reason thank you

[Hossamania]

Going to have to find the dead short then.
You could replace the relay as a test, but pretty sure it is a short somewhere.

[david lee]

Going to have to find the dead short then.
You could replace the relay as a test, but pretty sure it is a short somewhere.

yes. thats what my mate said its just a matter of him coming to find it thanks mr hoss

[Hossamania]

Good luck, hope it goes well.

[david lee]

the offending wire actually goes to the accessory breaker.what i did find out is when i put a test light on that breaker and the lights breaker with ign on there was power but no power to to ign breaker. i might be getting somewhere

[david lee]

for those interested when the bike fell it cut the org wire near the starter relay and was earthing out on the bracket that holds the starter motor under the battery tray thanks to those who replied

[bump]

An old quote from Mechanics teacher.

A close visual inspection will often reveal the source of the problem.

[david lee]

An old quote from Mechanics teacher.

A close visual inspection will often reveal the source of the problem.

yes but it was hidden behind a bracket

[76shuvlinoff]

  Glad it's resolved.

I hate electrical issues, the most finger printed pages in my shovel manual are the schematics.  20 some years ago I got fed up and replaced the whole harness. Good lord you would not believe the cobbling I found between the tanks. Been good since ... and I just jinxed it. 

[capn]

Glad you got it goin David Lee.Now a nice ride to put it behind you.

[Hossamania]

Yup, good find, congrats!

[billbuilds]

     Glad to hear that you found the short. Yes the starter runs off the acccessory breaker as do the horn and directionals. Lesson learned: if you have to remove a bracket to be able to fully trace a wire, remove the bracket.   

[kd]

   Thanks for the report. Did you determine how or what caused the wire to get cut at that point?  Was it a pull on the harness from the fender when it fell?

[david lee]

  Thanks for the report. Did you determine how or what caused the wire to get cut at that point?  Was it a pull on the harness from the fender when it fell?

thats a mystery from memory i dont think the guard was on when it fell.my mate found the problem and when i looked it was jammed tight between the starter motor and mounting bracket with the insulation cut on the org wire