Curvy not starting

[Skybaba]

I got all geared up this morning and jumped on my Curvy (2000); cranked her up and she refused to start.

From what I could hear, it didn't sound like a battery issue cos the engine was rolling but just didn't fire up. The battery is just under 4 months old. I don't have a meter.

I rode the bike last on Saturday (3 days ago) and pushed the range to 178 miles before I put some petrol in, the tank was "bone-dry" by then..........could that have had anything to do with it?

It was one degree this morning, but she's started in the minus range before so I don't think it's a cold start issue.

So after a few tries, I went back in, changed my clothes, jumped in the car, drove to the station, bought a train ticket, then finally jumped on the train!!!

Life is much easier on the bike :-D

Any ideas please?

[otaylor38]

Clutching at straws here, I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along soon lol

Have you tried keeping starting it? Obviously give the starter motor time to rest before tries. Maybe it just needs to pull the fuel through?

Either that or it could have pulled in some rust and crap from the bottom of your tank?

[Biker Biggles]

Need more information.That means you need to get a metre(£3 on ebay)and maybe say why it needed a new battery 4 months ago.Did it have trouble starting then,and if so why?Will it bump start?Will it jump start off another vehicle?Is the battery now flat?Did it spin the engine over fast or was it sluggish?Has it got an alarm?

[Skybaba]

Need more information.That means you need to get a metre(£3 on ebay)and maybe say why it needed a new battery 4 months ago.Did it have trouble starting then,and if so why?Will it bump start?Will it jump start off another vehicle?Is the battery now flat?Did it spin the engine over fast or was it sluggish?Has it got an alarm?

O.K I'll get a meter; I've seen a few folks recommend it for other stuff too so should be a useful tool to own.

The bike was sold with a new battery because the lady I bought the bike from hadn't got round to riding it much in the last year, so the original battery was flat.

The bike has always started first time since I got it last October.
The engine spun well and there was no noticeable sluggishness when I cranked her up this morning.

Yes it has an alarm.

I didn't have time to jump start it as I had to head to work, so would give that a try.

Thanks for looking.

[Skybaba]

Have you tried keeping starting it? Obviously give the starter motor time to rest before tries. Maybe it just needs to pull the fuel through?

Yes I gave that a shot this morning.


Either that or it could have pulled in some rust and crap from the bottom of your tank?

Possibly.......I remember having to clean the fuel filter in my mum's jalopy car back in the day cos some dirt got in the filter.

Clutching at straws here, I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along soon lol

Thanks for the hints, who knows you may be correct. Much appreciated for sharing your ideas.

[dazzaboy]

Would checking to see if you have fuel getting to the carb and see if you've got a spark just to narrow it down abit to see if its fuel or spark related?

[ChrisCurvyS]

If it's any help, when I recently ran out of petrol it took a long time to get it started again after pushing it to the garage. It probably only caught on the fifth or sixth attempt, and took a couple more to get going going properly after that.

I know you only ran a bit low but could be down to gunk in the bottom of the tank.

[Skybaba]

Thanks for all the advise.
I've been working very late this week (got home at 1:30am last night) so I couldn't check all the things pointed out so far.

I got my local garage guy to check it out and he called me this afternoon to say my bike started when he jump started it. The battery has been charged so I'll be riding tomorrow (yippee).

I'm still not 100% convinced this was a battery issue but since I didn't have a meter to test it I've got nothing else to go with.

I'll be buying on Optimate or similar over the weekend which should hopefully keep the charge tip-top.

Thanks to everyone who offered some advise, truly appreciated.

[Skybaba]

So the bike didn't start again yesterday morning. I could crank the engine continuously just like the last time however it wasn't starting.

I was able to start the bike with a battery pack I'd purchased for my car (I haven't been driving my car much since I got the bike so the car battery had been flat for some time).

So I'm wondering if this means I've got an issue with the bike's charging system, like an alternator or something.
The only thing I've connected to the bike is a cig lighter which is connected through Bibio's Gizmo.

The only other thing I've got is a data tool alarm which I've been told has its own battery.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

[drewby89]

Just to give you some confidence with the alarm situation, I have a datatool evo alarm who's internal battery has gone completely flat meaning its running off my bike battery. My bike battery is old and not particularly good health, but it will easily go 2 weeks without using my bike before I notice the cranking getting sluggish. Therefore, from my experience I don't think alarms are much of a drain on the main battery, particularly if the alarms standalone battery is charged.

However if you have a faulty stator or regulator/rectifier then you could be permanently running on low charge. there's usually a minimum battery voltage below which the plugs won't spark too.

You really need to get a meter to check the battery voltage at idle and do the electrical checks on the stator and regulator rectifier to discount the charging system. There's info in the manual on how to check whether the stator and reg/rec are performing correctly. Let me know if you need this info, I'll put up some images from the manual on what to test if you need it.

[Skybaba]

Thank you Drew!!!

[Biker Biggles]

I think we have come round to that £3 multimeter again.Far cheaper in the end to diagnose the problem and fix it.

[Geodude]

If you've got a meter use this fault finder guide to help http://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf HTH :)

[Skybaba]

I think we have come round to that £3 multimeter again.Far cheaper in the end to diagnose the problem and fix it.

Lol.....we very well have. I've just ordered one on Fleabay.......I don't know how to use it though :-)

[Skybaba]

If you've got a meter use this fault finder guide to help http://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf HTH :)

Hey, looks like that would help! Thanks.

[Geodude]

Its a very well flowing guide and not to hard to follow, helped me when i had charging system gremlins and im a mechtard ;)

[aesmith]

Hang on though, twice he's had the bike crank over OK but fail to start. That sounds like the battery had enough oomph and the bike should start. Skybaba - It did turn over reasonably briskly? I'm assuming that's why you were dubious about it being a battery issue.

But then, also twice, it started with a jump start, which DOES sound like the battery is an issue. I wonder whether there's something else wrong, fuel or ignition, and a really really good battery masks the issue. Or the starter motor's drawing more current than it should and dropping the voltage too much for the ignition.

One thing you could try would be a bump start, so there's no starter motor load on the electrics.

[drewby89]

If the battery is nackered the voltage may still drop too low under cranking if its not strong enough to hold its charge. A good battery should drop down to around 10v while cranking, but a shot battery may drop down to 5v, at which point the plugs wouldn't spark. So even if the starter motor is fine, it could seem like it's drawing too much current if the battery is in bad condition.

Another thing worth checking is battery drain, meaning how much current is drawn from the battery with the ignition off. Shouldn't be more than a few mA, but a faulty sensor can drain more.

Bump start would indicate if there is a fuel or spark problem, regardless of battery charge. I've bump started my bike with a dead battery, to the point the starter motor won't even turn over, the relay just clicks instead. So if your fuelling and ignition system is ok, it should always bump start.

[maviczap]

My battery is on the way out, after a good charge it''ll fire up no problem.

But after a couple of starts, it'll turn over, but struggle to start

[Fallout]

As has been said, a shot battery can turn the engine over, but not be enough to get it started. SVs need a lot to fire up that v-twin. It can often sound like its turning over fine, but really it isn't quite enough and cranking that starter motor too much won't be good in the long run.

My SV had issues starting if left for a while due to the alarm. Also my gixxer battery is pretty old now and if left too long will turn over at a rate that seems ok but struggle to start. The best thing you can do is keep that new optimate plugged in and it'll start on the button every morning, old battery or not. :)