Washed it, now it won't start

[richiekuk]

I washed my bike, and it won't start. I mean I press the sterter, and absolutely nothing. All the lights work, so there is battery. But the starter doesn't even try to start it. Absolutely dead!

Bit gutted to be honest.

Any advice hugely welcome.

Thanks

Richie K

[the_lone_wolf]

bet you a tenner you hit the kill switch or it's in gear...;)

[richiekuk]

Checked kill switch, and neutral light is on

[wyrdness]

Water in the starter motor solenoid? Try spraying it with WD40.

[richiekuk]

Water in the starter motor solenoid? Try spraying it with WD40.

where is this?

ta

Richie k

[Spiderman]

If you have a curvey its under the rhs black plstic vent under riders seat.

[richiekuk]

Right found that, I gave the lot a good spray with electrical contact solvent, with no avail.
Found the starter motor, and the ring tongue was corroded to F!£K so I tried to undo it only to snap it off! Am hoping the corroded contact was the cause of the troubles.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p290/richiekuk/16052009069.jpg

This is what I mean.

Would this corrosion have caused it not to start? Also why only a negative contact on the starter motor?

Richie K

[gettin2dizzy]

If you clean it up, does it start? That'd answer your question! :lol:

[Stu]

Never washing my bike again

Great :D

And the Lone Wolf owes you a tenner...result ;)

[richiekuk]

If you clean it up, does it start? That'd answer your question! :lol:

Can't now as the ring tongue snapped, and cant undo the nut on the starter, as its corroded together. So I need a new starter and neautral lead. Excellent!

Richie K

[riff raff]

Hope what you found is the cause of your problem but if the cable was connected but corroded it may have been okay-unless it fell off in your hands! Someone on the SVRider US site had a similar problem after washing and thought it was his battery. My theory is that you have the same problem I did on both my bandits.
Bike's on side stand and after washing it wont start. On my K3 bandit it took me a couple of hours to find that water had got into a connector near the battery behind the plastic panel that is fitted (either side) at the point where the tank meets the seat. On my K5 bandit, exactly the same thing happened and I went straight to the connector and yep, it was full of water.

On the SV behind the left hand plastic panel there are similar connectors and my theory is that water may be getting behind there and getting into one of the connectors.
I hope your new cable etc fixes your problem but if you still have troubles perhaps the above might help!

[gettin2dizzy]

Tbh, if it stops working after a wash, just leave it until the next day and it'll usually fix itself.

[richiekuk]

Cheers riff raff. I probably shouldn't have gone messing with things. But its well frustrating. The build quality of bikes is terrible, if a wash can stop it working. Surely people who ride in the rain don't have troubles all the time.
Looks like anothe rebay flutter.

Richie K

[steveg]

Tis a dangerous thing bike cleaning , the dirt holds thing together , that's my excuse :grin::grin:

Cheers Steveg

[yorkie_chris]

Cheers riff raff. I probably shouldn't have gone messing with things. But its well frustrating. The build quality of bikes is terrible, if a wash can stop it working. Surely people who ride in the rain don't have troubles all the time.
Looks like anothe rebay flutter.

Richie K

Build quality is fine if you take some effort with things. Get some silicon grease and insulate any connectors you can find after giving them a burst of ACF50. They will be fine for years.

There is a lesson to be learned here. Washing bikes is a waste of time.

[xXBADGERXx]

Cheers riff raff. I probably shouldn't have gone messing with things. But its well frustrating. The build quality of bikes is terrible, if a wash can stop it working. Surely people who ride in the rain don't have troubles all the time.
Looks like anothe rebay flutter.

Richie K

Well , is it better to have had this happen on the driveway rather than miles from home ? At least you have eradicated another potential problem that was waiting to happen , keep us posted on the progress though :cool:

[sinbad]

Disturbed your clutch safety deal wires? Easily done if you're a bit heavy handed.

[richiekuk]

Disturbed your clutch safety deal wires? Easily done if you're a bit heavy handed.

What are these?

[yorkie_chris]

Little connector under the clutch perch.

[richiekuk]

Little connector under the clutch perch.

I am sorry but new to this biking lark. What is a clutch perch?

[yorkie_chris]

That thing the clutch lever is bolted to. There is a switch on the underside.

[forklift]

look under left hand clutch lever, there is a small plastic connector, if loose the bike will not start.