Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

Howdy folks,

On my way home from work tonight my bike quit. I was at a stop light, when it turned green and I rolled on the throttle the electrical system died. No lights, no starter, nothing. I'll be getting up bright and early to check things out.
What are some things to look for? Obviously the first thing I check will be the fuses.

I checked the five pages of troubleshooting tab but didn't see anything.

I'll be checking back throughout the day and hopefully I can get it running before I have to go to work

Thanks in advance

Re: Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

Also check the battery cables. Make sure they are clean and snug.

Re: Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

Make sure you did'nt hit the kill switch by accident.(It happened to a friend of mine).

Re: Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

I think that if the kill switch had been accidentally turned off, the lights would still work.

I reckon it needs going over with a voltmeter, checking for a voltage (to earth (ground?)) at each fuse, relay, connector etc. starting with the battery, & working outwards. If EVERYTHING went out, I'd think that the problem is somewhere near the battery, before it spreads out into individual circuits. Good luck!

Just remember that if you find a fuse blown, you need to find the cause. For some strange reason, some folk think that you can get away with just replacing the fuse, then seem surprised when it blows again. :)

Re: Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

:plus1:

While it doesn't happen often, batteries do sometimes go "OPEN" and totally fail without warning.

Other likely causes....fuses and loose cables that have already been mentioned....and the ignition switch. That is more likely to fail if you have other "stuff" hanging on a ring with the bike key.

Re: Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

Oddly enough that did happen to me once on a bike. It just totally shut down. Replaced the fuse and never had a problem after that. Although it did make me wonder about my safety due to a faulty fuse. I was lucky to be on a local neighborhood street with little traffic.

Re: Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

some times a fuse will just blow, doesn't always mean it will happen again nor does it always mean you have some kind of issue... but some times it does.

Re: Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

Hey Everybody,

It was a blown fuse. One of the 20 amp ones under the passenger side panel. Probably the main fuse. Replaced it and the bike started right up. I checked all the connections while I had it apart(everything was good); but have not checked it with a voltmeter yet. I'll do that this weekend.

I'm not sure what caused it. We've had a lot of rain down here recently so something might have been wet. Or it rattled loose and shorted out. I have never checked my fuses before but it will now be a part of the regular maintenance.

:2tup:

Re: Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

No need to! If everything's working fine the voltmeter won't show anything but healthy circuits :)

Re: Turn the key on and nothing happens
 

You should get a couple replacement fuses for every fuse in service. That will probably assure no more blown fuses. And you may be able to help a stranded rider sometime due to a fuse going south.