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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Just shut off - now what?
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Message started by Lojim on 10/15/13 at 16:32:18

Title: Just shut off - now what?
Post by Lojim on 10/15/13 at 16:32:18

So some backstory: 2003 savage, jardine pipe, jetted. New to me but just over 9,000 miles. The past few weeks I have been popping rear turn signal bulbs. Not the marker, just the flasher filament. Was thinking it was a short in the light socket but didn't worry much about it because i was looking to upgrade to some LEDs in the near future.

Driving to work this morning the bike just shut off. Would not restart. I was thinking battery. No lights at all, except my blue lights which run off a switch connected to the battery. They light up strong - so battery is fine.

I was able to clutch start the bike, but it would only stay running if I pegged the throttle and even then it was popping and sputtering. Now the odd part - if I touched the brake, it would run better, but would choke out without some finesse on the brake and clutch and throttle. I was able to limp the 2 mikes back home and parked it. Oh, when running I had no lights at all.

So...any thoughts at all? I called the dealer and they will hose me for $75/hour to diagnose, but they even said they are not sure where to start. I'm thinking electrical, but why would that made it seem like a carb issue as well? I had no issues with the bike as a whole until today and all of this happened.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by verslagen1 on 10/15/13 at 17:54:22

You have an electrical problem. A short can drop the voltage enough to mimic being out of gas. Blowing the rear signal is a clue. Start looking for it there.

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 10/15/13 at 19:06:30

Using an ohm meter on a lamped circuit , checking the hot wire, is gonna show a short. Gotta pull the lamp out,

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by Steve H on 10/15/13 at 20:54:30

sounds like a ground issue. When you engage additional bulbs, you are creating a pathway to ground, although current limited. That would explain running better with the brake light on.

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 10/15/13 at 21:49:39

Would that explain it eatin bulbs.. Using the filament as a path to ground?

Ive heard of U-joints being ruined because of a grounding issue. IDK if thats right, tho,,

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by Lojim on 10/16/13 at 04:20:38

Thanks all for the suggestions - I'm going to chase wires today to see if I find anything.

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 10/16/13 at 08:29:47

Check the main ground on the r/side of the motor,

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by Steve H on 10/16/13 at 15:16:41

It could blow bulbs. You're trying to ground lots more power through the bulb than it was designed to handle.

I'm thinking either loose battery connection or loose ground connection by motor.

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by Lojim on 10/17/13 at 05:50:32

Didn't get too far last night - love it when other things come up. All I found so far was a popped inline fuse it looks like the PO put on some random buried wire. Didn't fix the issue at all, but at least that is corrected and more accessible now.

Hopefully I'll get more into this tonight/this week.

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by Steve H on 10/17/13 at 13:26:29

I hate dealing with electrical issues. At least this bike has a fairly simple wiring scheme. Without all the fancy electronics/fuel injection/onboard computer crap, it's not that hard to follow.

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 10/17/13 at 14:30:09

Need a test lite & an ohm meter & some alley gator clips & some jumpers w/ clips.

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by Lojim on 10/17/13 at 16:31:20

So...found the issues. The rear turn signal wires had stripped where they entered the housing. Repaired those wires and replaced the fuse and we are back to 100% again. I have to say I'm a little surprised that I had all those other issues just from that - but the more I think about the grounding/power faults it seems to make sense.

Thanks to all the suggestions as to where to look - if nothing else the electrical system got a really good once over.

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by terpfan1980 on 10/17/13 at 19:10:51

heh, this issue sounds a bit like the issue that wife 2.0's middle child presented me with. "My computer isn't charging the battery."

Her momma (wife 2.0) lets her take her PC (and A/C adapter) and has her leave her's (the stepdaughter's) at the house for me to check out.

I get home, look over the A/C adapter and see the cord on it (on the adapter side, not the easily replaceable power cord side) nearly sheared at one point and nicked badly in another spot, obviously not so well cared for. >:(

Stepdaughter better not even think of installing software on her momma's laptop (which now must be thoroughly scanned before it gets back on the home network >:( :( ) and she better treat that A/C adapter with more care than the one she dropped off at my house.

Just about anyone that even looked at the A/C adapter she had dropped off would have done the Captain Obvious routine and said, uh, that right there is why it isn't charging. She's lucky she didn't shock the bejeezus outta herself, and just as lucky she didn't start a fire thanks to the frayed wiring.

Glad you were able to find and fix your issue though. Good to know you got it running nicely again :)

Title: Re: Just shut off - now what?
Post by Steve H on 10/17/13 at 19:14:51

Glad to hear you got everything good again.

I am surprised that those wires gave you so much grief. As you have seen, ground faults and shorts do strange things and send you looking all over the place.