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Starter wont turn

3K views 20 replies 5 participants last post by  Blaine 
#1 ·
Sat a month. Started just fine. Stopped for gas and would just click. Push started and went home. Hooked up charger. 2 amp setting and no go, wouldn't spin. Tried 10 amp. Then a quick try with 50 amp jump start. No difference. Cleaned battery connections, and ground and starter cable.

12.65 volts. Hit starter and goes to about 7 volts and takes a few seconds to get back over 12. Turning on aux lights goes to 12.2 volts. Sometimes aux lights are dim sometime bright and sometimes not at all.

Battery?? Weird that it doesn't turn over with a jump.
 
#2 · (Edited)
I have faulty battery. My method is to hook up charger at 10amp for 2-3 minutes, then switch to max charge for 2-3 minutes and after that i switch to jump start. Bike fires instantly :)
BTW, without charging battery I hear clicks like those machine guns on helicopters :D
Let it charge for couple of minutes (you can set at max amp), and then switch to jump start.
Jump start itself usually cannot help, because bike wants more than charger can provide. Maybe it can start with some more quality chargers with higher amp output.
This is my first bike so don't take my words for it!
You should have put battery on charge for that period (don't know the term in english, some chargers have capabilities to charge battery at low current to prevent battery drain) You can buy those wall tenders to keep battery at constant voltage and long life, or maybe your charger has this feature.
 
#3 ·
I have had dozens of batteries die over the years. They crank slow when cold or click and sometimes have enough to start a warm engine. This one started cold after setting a month and then went weird. The spotlights are connected direct to the aux circuit in the headlight bucket. They go from off to dim to full brightness. Hit the starter and they go off. Also I thought the voltage should jump right back to over 12 volts when the starter was released. This one takes 3 or 4 seconds to come back up.

Going to check voltage after sitting all night and check connections around the main fuse. Then see if the auto parts store is open and can load test a motorcycle battery.
 
#5 ·
Autozone tried to load test then tried to charge it up. Both time showed "no connection". I guess some type of funky open/intermittent connection inside the battery.

Auto zone special order and takes almost a week. Walmart has the same but + and - are backwards. Harley Davidson the only shop open and they couldn't match up with the Yusa number yb12al-a2 over the phone.

Most metric shops have one in stock tomorrow???
 
#8 ·
Looks like the reversed post will work fine if flipped around backwards. Funny thing is I seem to remember the battery being flipped around when I bought the motorcycle. First new battery I wondered if they sent me the right one.

Good to know because that one is well stocked. Only problem is that they are shipped dry (both Wally World and the auto parts store. Put in acid then wait an hour then charge.

Charger only goes down to 2 amps. Wonder how long to charge?? Looks like this days ride over before it begins.....
 
#10 ·
Well crap. Now another problem.

Yesterday got the new battery in, washed and waxed, and took it for a quick spin.

Now... It cranks and won't start. Smell gas. It kinda hit a few times and ran for a few seconds once while backfiring through the right carb (maybe both). Safety switches seem ok. Maybe washing was an issue?? It sits outside in the rain.
 
#11 ·
Water could have collected in the spark plug holes. Pull the boots and dry it out with compressed air. There is a drain hole on the side of the cylinder head to assist with clearing it out.

It is also entirely possible that one or both spark plugs may be trying to foul. NGK DR9EA is the recommended plug with DR8EA listed as a slightly hotter alternative plug.
 
#12 ·
I blew off the spark plug holes but didn't pull the boots. No water just trash. Got it to idle several times for several minutes. Touching the throttle kills it. A shot of starting fluid didn't make any difference. Don't know if it is a firing problem or fuel.
 
#13 ·
Ok ..... Drained the carbs and now it runs. Took it for a spin in the rain to hopefully blow out more water/gunk. Maybe the condensation from sitting for a month just now made its way to the bottom of the carbs??

It has always had a stumble/dead spot on the right side just off idle. Had the carbs cleaned last year and it's still there. Maybe a bad pilot jet? Maybe over tightened at one time??
 
#17 ·
Yeah that's the game plan. And probably some real gas. It's running now about as good as it has since I have owned it .

Always has an off idle dead spot on the right side. Paid an Indie shop $150 last year to clean the carbs. Still there. And the plastic caps on the idle mixture settings are still there. Can you take the carbs apart to clean without removing the plastic caps??
 
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