85 FJ1100 completely dead, no power.

[fj316]

My old battery had starting problems and needed to be charged so today I got a new one of the same type. I changed the battery and at the same time changed my defective headlight bulb. All was well, the bike now started immediately and there was light in front. Then I drove to the auto parts store to return the old worn battery. Turned off the bike with the ignition and forgot to use the kill switch. Entered the store and came out a while later to a completely dead bike. No lights no nothing.

I looked at some threads here with my cellphone and spent an hour outside the store trying all kinds of troubleshooting to no avail. This evening I removed all the fairing so the bike is now naked and ready for me and a multimeter tomorrow. I also have a good service manual on PDF as a reference. But I simply don't know where to start so if anyone has any ideas overnight it would be helpful.

To summarise what I tested:

A multimeter was used on the ignition switch, it closes and opens normally and the in voltage was around 7 one one pin and 12 on the other.

The bike has been damaged and repaired so the fuse box was deep inside the fairing but I checked the 3x15A fuses there and they were ok, there was also a glass fuse at the battery, also ok tested with a multimeter.

There are two red wires going to the positive pole of the battery, one of them seems to give power to the digital clock, that is the only thing alive on the bike. That leads me to believe it's not a grounding issue. The frame is measured and gives the full battery voltage reading to the positive pole on the battery.

So the bike as it is now is completely without any form of power, no dash lights, no brake lights etc. Only the digital clock taunts me with it's functionality.

I'm going through the elecrical schematics tonight to try to figure out where to measure/troubleshoot next but any tips or help would be very welcome.

[Dan Filetti]

Keep it simple, do make sure that the start switch is not partially stuck in.  It can act funny when it is partially in, although you said 'completely without power'  which does not sound like the stuck starter button issue.  Anyway it's worth a service as it is a known weak point.

Dan

[Arnie]

Why do you say you "forgot to use the kill switch".
While I frequently do turn the bike off with the kill switch, it doesn't or shouldn't matter, unless your lights are always on.
Since you have just changed the battery, are all the connections clean and tight?
Also, since you get 12V at the ignition switch, we should be able to rule out a dropped cell on the new battery.

Dan's first suggestion to check the start switch would be mine as well.  Also, check that the clutch, and stand safety switches work properly.

Arnie

[fj316]

Thanks for the replies and pointers. The reason I said "forgot" is that I wanted to be as thorough as possible in the description of events that lead up to the dead bike. I know it shouldn't matter and not lead up to a catastrophic faliure, but no stone unturned.

The battery connections were clean and tight and I looked over the switches and cleaned them up to be on the safe side. Apart from the stand safety which I could not locate and suspect has been removed on my bike by the PO. Would that be worth refitting?

But what happened before that was that the bike overnight seemed to have come to its senses and now operates normally with restored power, all indicators ok, starts and runs. But as this faliure leaves the bike stranded it's something I need to explore further before I dare take it on any rides that do not end at my own doorstep.

I noticed that what I measured last night on the connection to the main switch (key) was not the same readings I got today. Yesterday there was one 12v and one 8v Unfortunately I am not entirely sure what wires I got what result on as it was dark and just a general troubleshoot without schematics before I started this thread.

It spent the night under a tarp and nothing else was done or happened to it from when I went to bed to about 10am today. The sun had hit the tarp for a little while so if there was moisture that might have done something to evaporate it along with the light breeze. Being that no fuses were harmed that is just speculation though.

I am stumped and concerned about this since it potentially could strike at any moment, could such a fault be related to the generator assembly as that is the part on my schematic that is the first one to touch the electric flow and in my reasoning if faulty could cause the rest of the system to "collapse" and not receive power. Looking at the web for a generator it has some really absurd prices of a thousand USD which is half what I paid for the bike new, granted it is available used for 50USD but if it could be the cuplrit I suspect just replacing my used one with another used example would just leave me open to the same problem further down the road if it indeed is the generator that is at fault somehow.

I'll give it a little while of afterthought before I start to refit the fairing and continue to ride with my fingers crossed.

And I put up some pretty pictures so that this wasn't all a waste:

[Woodsman]

Any joy finding the ghost in the machine?

[fj316]

No ghost has yet resurfaced. The bike is overall performing better now than before the battery was changed. Easier starts (the old battery needed to be removed and charged approx every 5th start) and it seems stronger electrically now with more headlight power and stronger dash lights when dark. But it has not died during riding (never has as long as I've had it) and no power failure after stopping.

On a positive note is that when reattatching the fairing I was thourough with replacement of defective and missing bolts and the old trusty gaffa on cracked panels so now the bike no longer rattles when uneven road or speeedbumbps are encountered.

I added a multimeter and a multitool in the storage under the seat so that if this problem rears its head again I'll be ready to measure and curse like a real man in hopes that it will solve the problem without having to transport the bike home on a trailer again. I'll be riding with an eye out but I suspect the electrical overhaul will have to wait until the end of season when the acute mechanical issues like oil leakage and chain slack has been remedied. It puts a damper on long rage trips though since one never knows if a problem like this feels like resurfacing when your riding down a desolate road at an ungodly hour.

Will keep this thread updated and/or answer questions as things progress, but as of now it's a slightly nervous kind of stasis.