800ss won't start

[bandito]

I finally got my bike back together after having it in pieces. It won't start. The battery is completely dead so I tried boosting it with my truck. You could hear the engine start to kick over and then it would stop. The bike is in neutral, checked all fuses and they are good. I thought that since the battery is dead that maybe the immobilization system needed to be reset. I don't have the card with the code but I do have the red and black keys so I tried a few of the step anyway. I now only get a clicking noise, as if the starter wants to go but doesn't have the power. Can anyone shed some light?

[DuckItalia]

I had an isue once with the coil wires where it would wanna start and putter a few then die when it was about to start. It was because I have inverted one coil wire for one cylinder. as far as immobilizer I don't know thought, never had any on my bikes.

[bandito]

If you're talking about the ignition coils I never touch them. Posting in other forums and it looks like it may just be the battery. Thanks for the reply.

[bandito]

I checked the battery and it turns out it's bad. I bought the Yuasa replacement for my bike (yt12b-bs). Picking that up tomorrow. One of the mechanics where I work mentioned the I wasn't able to boost it because the starter isn't grounded properly. I looked through the manual but cannot find anywhere the points to a ground. Does anyone now where the ground wire is so I can check it?

[The Goochman]

The starter is grounded to the engine by being in direct contact with the engine casting. No ground wire required. (If there is a gasket between the starter and the engine casing then the bolts that hold it in place do the job.)

Did you disassemble the bike and paint the frame by any chance? If you did, the new paint may be breaking the ground path.

It would be worth while checking the ground paths just in case. Assuming that you have a multimeter, the quickest way to check for bad grounds is to connect the positive lead of the meter to the positive terminal of the battery and start probing the various ground points with the negative lead. Be systematic about it. Touch the negative terminal of the battery. This will measure battery voltage. Now touch the connector on the battery, reading should be the same. Find the other end of the cable and touch the connector, you should get the same reading, or maybe slightly less (0.1v +/-). Keep working your way down the system until you get to the end.

If you find a serious voltage drop, you have a problem somewhere between the last good measurement and the bad one. Look carefully between the two points, the problem usually is obvious.

A word of warning, it is possible for a bad connection to pass voltage, but not current. I once encountered a bad main fuse on a Honda. It passed voltage, but as soon as you put any load on the system, all power died. I am embarrassed to admit how long it took me track down that problem (and the number of systems that I took apart trying to identify the problem.)

You can also track a bad ground by looking at voltage drop from one spot to the next or by measuring resistance.

I hope this helps.

Dave G

[bandito]

Thanks Dave for the detailed reply. I didn't paint the frame but I did put some grease between the frame and engine bolts. Not sure if the may be the cause. I will have to do as you said once I have the new battery in.

Thanks again.

[bandito]

Turns out that the ground where the oil breather is was loose. Once I put the new battery in and tried to start the bike I saw it arc, tightened it and I'm riding. Thanks to everyone for all of you help.