no start.... please help if you can

[luvtoride]

So, here's what's going on. 'o4 gen 1 with something like 115,000 miles. Bike has been sitting in my driveway covered & not started for several months. Since no start for awhile I went ahead & jumped it. I know for sure it's not going to have the juice in the battery for a start. I hook up heavy jumper cables to my car & bike's battery, let it sit for a minute, turn on the key... normal gauge sweep & whirring of the fuel rail being charged. I flip start toggle button to the "on" position, hit starter button & all I get is the same whirring noise made when I originally keyed up. No starting love like I usually get. I cycled the key on and off a few times, tried putting the bike in neutral & in gear with clutch pulled & sidestand up. No starting love. Just the whirring sound when I press the starter button. What the hell is that!

I then tried totally disconnected the battery completely & hooked the jumper cables directly to the leads on the bike... totally taking the battery out of the equation. Same thing... whirring heard when starter button hit.

I did attempt to pull stored codes & think that I did it correctly but not so sure that it actually threw any codes in the first place.

 

[Canadian FJR]

Sounds like your ignition switch is acting up.

Just for the heck of it, try wiggling the wires going into the bottom of the ignition switch as you are pressing the starter button.

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/174462-ignition-switch-issue-revisited/?hl=%2Bignition+%2Bswitch

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/173407-blip-in-ignition-connection/?hl=%2Bignition+%2Bswitch

 

[luvtoride]

The ignition is also the guess by Intel, who I spoke to on the phone last night. I will try that this evening. I hope that it's something fairly easy. This could possibly foil my trip to eom in a couple of weeks provided I don't get totally screwed by this hurricane. Tjat could easily screw the ridING area, too. The storm is forecast to go over/close to that area.

 

[C&C]

Is your green neutral light on?

 

[BigOgre]

Whirring like the fuel rail or as in a fast starter?

 

[luvtoride]

Yes, green neutral light is lit because its in neutral. & yes whirring like the same identical sound as when the fuel rail is being charged.

 

[BigOgre]

If I'm not misremembering, the fuel rail whirring should be heard only when the key is cycled ON while the toggle is in the RUN position. You shouldn't hear it if the red kill switch is in the OFF position. If I read right you're saying that you heard the fuel rail even with the kill switch off? Also that you can make the fuel rail whir just by hitting the START button? If this is correct I'd be thinking of something electrical running amok. Maybe a bad switch or connector causing a short of some kind.

 

[Fred W]

This symptom came up once in the past. The whirring noise is the fuel pump, which normally runs for a second or two at key-on if the kill switch is in the run position. Apparently the fuel pump also runs during engine cranking, but we usually dont notice it because the starter motor makes much more noise. So, the fact that the fuel pump is turning on when you thumb the start button says that the ECU sees you hitting the button.

My guess would be the starter motor relay is not operating. Its a big high current relay and may be stuck. When it does operate, if you dont have the starter motor turning over and making noise, you should hear a fairly loud click come from it as the solenoid energizes. If there is no click it could be something interrupting the path to the solenoid coil.

 

[Geezer]

If the starter is not turning at all, then Fred would be on the right track. The starter relay or wiring to the relay or starter, or the starter itself has failed.

I have push started my '05 successfully. If everything else is OK other than the starter circuit then you may be able to do this. Get someone to push you or roll downhill, with the key on, hold the clutch in and put the transmission in gear ( I like to use second gear), once you get enough momentum going release the clutch and let the momentum spin the engine.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Seems odd it ran when parked and then nothing now...

Did mice (critters) take up residence and chew through some wiring? For a start, pull a couple panels for inspection and see if anythings obvious.

~G

 

[luvtoride]

Big Ogre, the whiring noise is with kill switch in the on position, not off position. Fred no clicky. No clicky at all. Whatever I do will need to be done next week & possibly my EOM trip will be defunct if I can't get it sorted out. Right now I'm more worried about this approaching hurricane. Its totally possible that a critter got into the engine compartment & did some chew damage. I friggin HATE not having a garage. A lot of my bike has so much corrosion going on. It was just a matter of time.

Oh about any EOM people.... depending on what this hurricane does, it may dump a shitload of rain in the area of the meet. Think lotso closures/washed out roads.

 

[kmanflyer]

These are all great suggestions. This is probably a long shot but try putting it in gear on the ground with the clutch out and rock it back and forth, 2nd gear might be better than 1st. It might jar something out of hibernation. Something easy to try anyway. Hopefully it's not a PITA. Good Luck!

 

[Fred W]

Nice idea, but if the problem were a jammed up starter assembly the relay would click when the button was pushed. It’s not, so we have to assume it is an electrical problem between the starter button and the starter relay or the starter relay itself. That’s actually good for Heidi. She didn’t want to be messing with bad or stuck starter motors, etc. I haven’t dug into the wiring diagram yet to see what’s between the button and the relay, but Id expect there to be at least one multipin connector if some type, and I’d expect a corroded contact from sitting outside to be the likeliest cause of this.

 

[kmanflyer]

You're right Fred W, an electrical problem between the starter button and the starter relay or the starter relay itself is on the right track.

Isn't there some electrical plugs under the front of the fuel tank that can get corroded and cause strange electrical mysteries?

Hopefully it's the solenoid or corroded terminals. I've been burned by simple stuff after digging in before.

 

[Constant Mesh]

Another verification:

You can verify if the starter pushbutton circuit is working OK by monitoring the "engine trouble warning light".

The warning light illuminates whenever you press the starter pushbutton if the clutch lever is pulled or the neutral light is lit.

If the warning light is lit the starter relay coil should be energized.

As was mentioned earlier if the fuel pump runs when you press the start pushbutton you know the pushbutton circuit is functional and is being monitored by the computer. The computer controls the pump.

The fuel pump and injectors are powered from the same relay. So anytime the injectors are needed the pump will be running -- while starting and running.

 

[fjrob1300]

Ok Heidi . Mine has been acting up since Ohio!!! I sprayed some liquid wrench down the key hole. cycled the key a few times and then it fired up. I've replaced my ignition once already and I have the Brody ignition jumper installed. mine is finicky after sitting for a few days too.

 

[wfooshee]

Ignition switch is a very likely possibility, because it's a two-pole circuit. Two big wires are connected when the switch is on to power the bike, and two smaller wires are connected when the switch is on to complete the kickstand sensor circuit. If those don't connect, the bike thinks the stand is down and you have starter (and run) inhibit. That connection is "downstream" of all the systems that detect kickstand-down or clutched-in-gear, situations that normally allow a start, so that connection not making will inhibit starting, running, everything.

Mine finally got so bad that I completely bypassed it with a plain old DPST rocker switch hidden down in the front spaces, and I lock the steering lock when parking the bike. Don't need the key to run my bike, just to unlock the steering.

 

[luvtoride]

I just wrote a long response to this thread & poof, it's gone. I do want to thank everyone. I really do not have the time to respond presently. Ya'll be good & safe. Again, thank you.

 

[Fred W]

Ignition switch is a very likely possibility, because it's a two-pole circuit. Two big wires are connected when the switch is on to power the bike, and two smaller wires are connected when the switch is on to complete the kickstand sensor circuit. If those don't connect, the bike thinks the stand is down and you have starter (and run) inhibit. That connection is "downstream" of all the systems that detect kickstand-down or clutched-in-gear, situations that normally allow a start, so that connection not making will inhibit starting, running, everything.Mine finally got so bad that I completely bypassed it with a plain old DPST rocker switch hidden down in the front spaces, and I lock the steering lock when parking the bike. Don't need the key to run my bike, just to unlock the steering.

I think the fact that the fuel pump runs when the starter button is pressed precludes it from being the 2nd set of contacts in the ignition switch, but I’m not positive. If I can think of a way to test that condition (non-invasively) I’ll do that and report back.