Electrical Issues and No Start Condition

[draggindakota]

Wow, it's been a loooooooong time since I've been around these parts. Hope everyone has been ok with all the crap going on in the world.

My '01 800 sat in the garage for about 1.5 years and now I'm trying to get her going again. I originally parked it because I was having turn signal issues, then just never got around to messing with it. I put Sta-Bil in the tank, had it on a battery tender and started it every couple months...for a little while. You know how things go. Battery tender got moved to the boat, battery died, then it didn't get started for many months... Anyway, since my wife's car has been in the body shop for 3+ weeks and insurance won't give us any more rental days, I figured I would fire the old girl up and ride her. Obviously that didn't happen .

So here's the issues I'm having, and I'm getting the feeling that they are all interlaced.

1. No starty-start. More on that below.
2. No horn. I can hear the relay click and the horn makes a noise, like it would if the battery is dead.
3. Turn signals both blink no matter which direction is on, alternating flashes.

I have the factory manual and the Clymer manual and have been going through that.

So far I've:

• Checked all fuses (visually & for continuity)
• Charged the battery. Still sounded weak when cranking though.
• Tested signal generators - OK
• Tested for spark. Only getting intermittent spark it seems. Nothing when the starter is cranking. Let off the button and BOOM spark plugs be sparkin'.
• Swapped in new NGK's
• Tested for voltage at the coils - 6-ish volts. No bueno.
• Replaced the battery with a new one. (With star washers! I know enough about Intruders to know that if you have a flat tire...it's probably because you don't have star washers on the battery ). Same intermittent spark. 9-10v at the coils when cranking.
• Cussed
• Ohm-tested both ignition coils and replaced them. They tested out of spec when cold, but ok when warm. No change.
• Cussed some more
• Tested side stand switch - OK
• Tested neutral safety switch - OK but nasty. My clutch slave leaks, which is right above the NSS. It will get replaced when I rebuild the slave but it seems to be working fine.
• Tested clutch switch - OK
• Tested the kill switch - OK
• Checked fuel pump relay - Relaying
• Checked fuel pump - Pumping. A funny thing about that...I had the pump disconnected and fuel hose off, tried to crank it for grins and giggles and the dang thing caught and sputtered for a second then died.
• Cussed, dropped tools & went to be in disgust

Now I freely admit that I've been putting off the inevitable by not pulling the carbs and cleaning them, but it does seem like electrical to me. Something else that COULD be related: Way back not long after I got the bike (probably 6 years ago) I had a minor...thermal issue...under the seat that melted the 5-pin plug from the rectifier. I cut the plug and spliced the wires and all was fine. Not 100% sure what caused that issue other than maybe a bad battery (it was old and weak).

So that's where I'm at. Not sure where to look next.

[Herb]

Fix the no start first... If it won't rune there is no point in fixing anything else.

First thing to do is replace the battery. The system has no spark if the cranking voltage drops below about 11 volts. Weak batteries cause all kinds of electrical problems. I would be wiling to bet that if you put a meter on the battery while cranking the voltage will be 10.5 volts or less.

You will never get anything to work correctly with a bad battery.

[hillsy]

Did you fully charge your new battery before you put it in?

And how old is the fuel? I know you said you put Sta-Bil in it but that doesn't work forever.

Maybe try some starting fluid to get it to kick.

[draggindakota]

Did you fully charge your new battery before you put it in?

And how old is the fuel? I know you said you put Sta-Bil in it but that doesn't work forever.

Maybe try some starting fluid to get it to kick.

Yes, battery was fully charged before I put it in. The fuel is from when I parked it. Didn't smell bad, but is probably stale. I just drained the tank and will try fresh fuel tomorrow when I have more time. I tried starting fluid but got nothing at all.

[Herb]

Take the battery to a place to have it load tested. Auto Zone tests batteries here.

If you are cranking it and no spark, it is probably a bad battery.

I just replaced my battery. The old one would charge up and show 13 VDC but when I tried cranking it, with the plugs in, it dropped to 10, or less,VDC. No spark at that point...

BTW, A plug will show spark when not under compression that isn't there when under compression.

[hillsy]

Try and jumper the battery with your boat battery and see if the bike fires up.

If it fires with a jumper then your current battery is probably shot.

If it does the same with confirmed full charge then you might either have a defective starter motor or solenoid.

[draggindakota]

Just to be clear...the battery is brand new, bought yesterday and charged fully prior to installing. I still have the old battery as well and plan on getting it load tested just to be sure, but I'm pretty sure it's bad.

[hillsy]

Just to be clear...the battery is brand new, bought yesterday and charged fully prior to installing. I still have the old battery as well and plan on getting it load tested just to be sure, but I'm pretty sure it's bad.

OK - so can you jumper the battery with another to ENSURE you are getting full power? If you are still getting sluggish cranking, etc after this then you need to look at other areas - like is the ground lead connected properly? The positives to the solenoid and starter?

[navigator]

Just to be clear...the battery is brand new, bought yesterday and charged fully prior to installing. I still have the old battery as well and plan on getting it load tested just to be sure, but I'm pretty sure it's bad.

What size battery?
How many CCA?
New stuff can be bad out of the box...load test the new one.

[Herb]

Sorry, I misunderstood that you had replaced the battery. I have had batteries that were new and still not up to what they are supposed to put out. I would have it load tested just to be sure.

Other than that there is something drawing too much power or bad ground. Could be a starter problem.

[Designer]

Sorry, I misunderstood that you had replaced the battery. I have had batteries that were new and still not up to what they are supposed to put out. I would have it load tested just to be sure.

I can second that! These batteries can sit on a shelf of years, and still be sold as "new". Anyone can make as mistake ,....it takes a Person Of Character to admit it as did you, ....instead of just glossing over it trying to Okay it.

Other than that there is something drawing too much power or bad ground. Could be a starter problem.

Good suggestion.
Since the battery is already installed and all,...why not do what you say and work on the possible Bad Ground/Oxidized/Corroded Wire Terminals in the system first?