Question No power

[Bmn]

Ok I have had my bike for almost 12 years and don’t get much time to work or ride on it lately, I have run in to an electrical problem, once you turn the key to the on position the hole display goes blank as if no power, as soon as you turn the key off it lights up like it wants to start.

Battery is at 13.6v with my voltage meter on the battery drops 1v, I ohm out all my fuses and they are good at .13-.18 ohm, we can’t get to the diagnostics on the screen as it goes blank as soon as we turn the key.
any help would be helpful.

 

[Gary in NJ]

Welcome. I can’t believe it took you 12 years to find us.

There are some oddities here, one might be my interpretation of your data. Let get to them.

A standard 12V battery that is healthy will have a static charge of 12.6VDV. Unless it has just come off a charger (within let’s say 30-45 minutes) it can’t hold a charge of 13.6VDC. So either you are measuring your battery right off the charge (which isn’t helpful) or your multimeter is off by 1V. We will come back to that.

By reading your data I can’t tell if your battery is dropping 1V, or dropping to 1V. Also, I can’t tell if the voltage drop happens when you just turn on the key, or when attempting to engage the starter.

Back to your multimeter. If it is in fact off by 1V, then your static charge is 12.6VDC, and when you turn on the key it’s actually 11.6VDC. And then when you go to start the bike, the voltage crashes.

This is a long winded way of saying “your battery is toast”. Get the battery load tested at an auto parts store to confirm it.

 

[Bmn]

Sorry, yes I had just pulled it off a charger with in the last 10 minutes and attempt to start it, it drops to down to 12.6 v. We took it to a shop to get load tested and was told it was good still before we started testing everything the day before.

 

[Gary in NJ]

The problem sounds battery related, or at least is in that path. Check your ground connection from the battery to the engine and frame. Also, check the lug at the start solenoid.

Secondly, your ignition switch itself may be at fault. I hate throwing parts at a problem, but ignition switches are inexpensive and in this case it may solve the problem. Have your tried slightly moving the key from side to side while attempting to start the bike?

Worth inspecting is the connector at the ignition switch. Check it for corrosion and if it looks dodgy clean it up with contact cleaner and reconnect with dielectric grease.