[petermichalik]

hi, just a little background on me and the bike first...
i've owned over 40 bikes and 6 have been ducatis, 3 of them monsters.

what i've checked so far on this bike is:
all connections checked and cleaned
fuses
celenoid
positive and ground wires
starter
battery
start switch
ignition switch

what happened is that i would go to hit the switch and it would click but not turn the bike over.... more then not, the bike would finally start after several times hitting the switch. that got more rare.... now it just won't start. just click, clic, clik.... won't turn over.... so sounds like its not getting spark..... i'm at a loss.....

any suggestions? thanks in advance. pete

 

[DeadMR2]

hi, just a little background on me and the bike first...
i've owned over 40 bikes and 6 have been ducatis, 3 of them monsters.

what i've checked so far on this bike is:
all connections checked and cleaned
fuses
celenoid
positive and ground wires
starter
battery
start switch
ignition switch

what happened is that i would go to hit the switch and it would click but not turn the bike over.... more then not, the bike would finally start after several times hitting the switch. that got more rare.... now it just won't start. just click, clic, clik.... won't turn over.... so sounds like its not getting spark..... i'm at a loss.....

any suggestions? thanks in advance. pete

if it's not turning over, my guess is you are having some sort of 'starter problem'. perhaps the starter relay?

 

[test-reg]

Charge the battery and g..et the battery load tested. Then check the charging system. It sounds like a classic low battery.

 

[dirtyfoot]

I just had a similar issue spring up after doing some other work on the bike. Just clicking, and it was the battery. It was just a little too low to get it started, a charge at the shop, and it fired right up.

 

[petermichalik]

hmm....starter relay? thanks, i'll check that. i thought those were like a light switch though, either worked/on or dead/off? i'll check it....any way other then plugging in a known working one in its place? as in, if i pull out the relay is there a test i can run on it or bridge something on the bike?

the battery is a good guess...but, i have a dry cell odyssey thats less then a year old. now, sure, it could still have gone bad but i swapped in a known good battery from a buddys bike and that didn't fix my proble, hence me eliminating the battery.

i'll follow up on the relay for sure.....anything else? greatly appreciated.

pete

 

[64duc]

Jumper the relay, large cable to large cable. If the bike turns over you have your problem.

 

[petermichalik]

marty916? norm? duckstew? bevel? help!? haha

ok, so i jumpered the wires after i took the start relay out and guess what? yup, a big 'ol nothing! still just clicks after hitting the button... bike does not start. ugh..... i'm seriously at my wits end... and, back to square one!..........any other suggestions????? ahhh! its supposta be sunny this week and this wknd! i'd love to get a few rides in before the rain! (i like in seattle!).

 

[ducpainter]

Re: marty916? norm? duckstew? bevel? help!? haha

ok, so i jumpered the wires after i took the start relay out and guess what? yup, a big 'ol nothing! still just clicks after hitting the button... bike does not start. ugh..... i'm seriously at my wits end... and, back to square one!..........any other suggestions????? ahhh! its supposta be sunny this week and this wknd! i'd love to get a few rides in before the rain! (i like in seattle!).

With the key on if you jump the two cables at the starter relay the starter should turn the motor over without touching the starter button. If not, it's either a low battery, or you have a bad starter. Have you charged the battery?

 

[petermichalik]

no sh**t?! did i jumper the wrong cables? i don't remember now but it was the yellow with red stripe and brown i think.... and when i jumpered them the lights came on w/o me having to turn the ignition switch on, the pump powered on too. so then i turned the key, hit the button and nothing!

so you're telling me that the bike should start turning over and start w/o hitting the button by just jumpering the connections? which position should the key be on? if you read my first post, i seriously doubt its the battery.... so its the starter then huh? you know i suspected that and my mechahic cleaned it (we took it apart in the bike).

any sure way of testing the starter w/o taking it out first? i don't want to take it out w/o knowing its junk first. looks like a pain in the a$$ to take it out! not to mention ebay hunting for a replacement first b/c i'm not into paying $500 right now.

thanks

 

[ducpainter]

The starter relay looks like a small "can" It is located under the battery on the right side. The positive battery cable goes to one terminal. The starter cable is on the other terminal. There is also a small connector with two light gauge wires. The two heavy gauge cables are the ones you want to connect. You can use a screwdriver or pliers. The starter should engage.

 

[petermichalik]

um, ya.......thats the starter celenoid i believe (pretty sure, its how i use to hot wire cars! not sure why i didn't think of this). i'll try that tomorrow and tell ya how it works.

the relay i was thinking of is the yellow one under the seat, next to the fuses, next to the flasher realay. is there a way of testing that one, other then the way i described it?

 

[ducpainter]

Not that I know of. Generally when that fails nothing happens when you turn the key to the on position. No lights.....nada. Not even the click you describe. Good luck.

 

[test-reg]

If the solenoid is clicking the relay is good. Battery+ to starter lug, battery- to ground the starter will turn if it is good. Do make sure the bike is in neutral. Your mechanic should be able to test a starter.

If you want to check the relay, apply power to terminal 85 and 86. You should have continuity at between 30 and 87.

Not for nothing, did you check that the engine does turn over?

 

[petermichalik]

allright, so more or less we're assuming here the relay is fine then? (i'll test it for continuity too).

now back to the celenoid........so i should take a wire from battery positive and run it straight down to the starter lug? or can i just undo the two heavy wires from the celenoid and connect them w/o the celenoid in the middle? ugh... sorry if i'm making this more difficult then it is! and thanks

 

[test-reg]

Do whichever is easier for you first. Running direct to the starter will tell you whether or not the starter is good. If you bypass the solenoid and it cranks you know the solenoid is bad. The solenoid is a remote heavy duty switch. The starter button activates the solenoid allowing current to flow to the starter. If the solenoid doesn't work neither does the starter.

 

[petermichalik]

thanks, i'm still a little confused. i know the celenoid is good... how? my mechanic gave me a known good one and i replaced mine with it.

so now, if i run a wire from the battery positive to the starter, should i disconnect the one from the celenoid to the battery? should the bike start then or do i still need to hit the start button then? ugh, ok, i'll play with this tomorrow and raport back the findings! thanks again for the help.

 

[test-reg]

It should crank with the key off, start with the key on. What you are duing is bypassing the whole starter circuit. The solenoid wire can stay in place.

 

[ducpainter]

After you do all this.....humor us and charge your battery.

 

[test-reg]

After you do all this.....humor us and charge your battery.

Yep, I mentioned that 13 posts ago.

 

[Monstermash]

Charge the battery and g..et the battery load tested. Then check the charging system. It sounds like a classic low battery.

+1 on the low battery. I had the same problem at the end of last year.