Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

My 2000 SV650S died last week. I cant work out what caused it! Any help would be much appreciated.
Battery has past its best but was fully charged and ok. Rode about 8 miles to meet everyone then went about 20 miles and stopped to regroup, all seemed fine.
When I fired the bike back up (10 minutes later) everything still seemed fine but when I pulled off I my indicator light was flashing, fuel light flashing and I think oil light on. Also rev and speedo needles were bouncing back on forth randomly.
I pulled over and stopped but it wouldn't start again! No ignition lights at all! It seemed like there was no power anywhere? No lights, horn or anything
A few roadside checks showed...
No power with different battery or jump leads
Ignition fuse ok (swapped with spare just incase)
starter fuse (30a) ok (swapped with spare)
Sparking from starter terminals, engine turned over and started twice but cut out shortly after. Engine turning but no start since.

After getting the bike home i found that there is power to the fuse box above the battery but I've not checked any other components as i'm not sure where to start. I did notice when stripping the bike though that the clutch switch has been bypassed. Maybe this has caused something?

Also, the only thing that I did different to normal is when I stopped I just cut the engine cut off switch and left it in gear. And when I started it left it in gear, clutch in and pressed the button. I'm not sure if the would have caused something to go wrong?

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

my first check would be the ignition connector.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Also check for corrosion in the Big Block connector under the tank at the front near the headstock.

Also pull and check all fuses and their slots for corrosion.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

I'll have a look this week, thanks :)

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

OK, so ive done a bit of probing with my multi-meter. As far as I can tell (and i'm no expert) there is power going to the fuse box, r+r and ignition switch but nothing going to the instrument cluster. No parking lights or horn, nothing. I tried this with a spare instrument cluster too and same result and so i'm pointing the blame at the ignition switch and on the look out for a new one.
Fingers crossed this gets me back on the road, ive just paid for new chain and sprockets last month!

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

you need to physically check the terminals inside the connector for the ignition switch for corrosion.

after that its the kill switch.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

UPDATE!
OK, ive changed the ignition switch and still have the same problem.
How can I have zero power? No mileage, horn, nothing!
There does not appear to be any power at the ignition fuse.
Red wire on ignition switch connector shows either 6v or 1v
If the kill switch was faulty surely there would still be ignition lights at least?
I really don't know what to test first now or in what order

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Ok thank you I’ll check that tomorrow [emoji1303]


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

The wiring loom can chaff and fail, where it passes next to the tank hinge, worth a quick look.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Thanks, I’ll check that too.
I don’t think there is any power going to the fuse box at all? The starter terminals spark so I have power there.

The original symptoms ie. erratic ignition were what happened just before having zero power.


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

3 other places where curvy wiring harnesses chafe. Probably not your issue from the description, but worth knowing and checking.
The wiring loops round a frame bracket inside the pillion seat cubby area, left side of the bike towards the rear. Check for chafing.
Both rider's seat bolts can be too long and hit the harness conveniently running just behind them. Check both sides. These are the ones holding the seat on, remove the triangle black panels to reveal them.

I suspect more likely Bibs is on track.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

have you checked the battery voltage when off then on? you need a "perfect" battery to test the electrical system, if your battery is dodgy then you will get dodgy reading. if you know the battery is old then best get a new one.

one of the problems with the curvy clocks is that they draw power directly from the battery/charging system. if someone has replaced the fuse for a higher rated then if jump starting the bike can cause a surge to the clocks, its rare though.

i suspect that you never checked the ignition switch to see if it was the problem first so you might have just wasted money there.

to test the electrical system you need a DMM with thin "needle" probes. using the wiring diagram you start with the main power from battery to the next component to check for power (12-13v) then from that component to the next so on and so on. next up you then systematically check each end of each connector for wire continuity. there is no quick fix.

you can ignore things like indicator and lighting circuits for the time being and concentrate on the power/starting circuits.

the symptoms your describing sound very like what happens when the RR goes open circuit. when this happens you get AC through the electrical system due to the rectifier diodes breaking down. your generator/stator generate AC voltage and your rectifier/regulator turns the AC voltage to DC voltage and then regulates the voltage to a more suitable DC voltage (around 15v).

wires and fuses dont care if the voltage is AC or DC but the electrical components do as they were designed for DC usage. supplying DC components with AC will fry internal circuity.

hope this helps.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Thanks for all your advice

I have checked all the connectors on the loom that I can see and they’re all spotless. I’ve also checked and can’t see any breaks in the harness either.

Battery is reading 13v

I tried a new ignition switch which made no difference at all.

I’ve tested the turn signal relay and diodes which appear to be working correctly.
I’ve been following your advice working my way along the harness and checking connectors but getting a little confused along the way.
But I noticed that there is 13v going to the meter fuse (3?) but only when the ignition is off. Once the ignition switch is ON I can’t find any power at the fuses. That can’t be right?

Also, how the hell do I get the ground that’s in behind the swing arm? That’s the only one I haven’t checked due to firstly not being able to find it and secondly not being able to access it!

A local garage told me the dancing needles and flashing lights sounds like an ICU fault. There’s no way of testing that unit but should I still have ignition lights if it were faulty? Same with R/R?


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

What's the voltage across the battery @ idle?

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

13v across the battery terminals, what do you mean by idle?


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

I mean with the engine running at idle speed.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Ah ok, the engine won’t turn over, it’s completely dead.
When it was running it was idling at 13.8v or something.


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Ok.I should have read back.It's the ,"No Power" issue.All you can do is keep looking for continuity breaks like you have said things like that ground wire and main power wires.

Also if not already covered look for engine stop points like the side-stand switch/Engine cut-off switch.I had an engine cut-off switch short and cause intermittent none starting on one of my old Hondas.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Checked side-stand switch and neutral indicator switch also. Both appear to be working correctly according to the manual. I did check the cut off switch but maybe worth double checking. I thought it would still have power though if it were that switch?


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Yeh it should.It's more likely a main power wire/ground.

What state are the actual fuse holder sockets in?

I had a none-starter where the fuse holder looked ok but was open-circuit.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Fuse holder is clean. Bike is always stored in my garage.


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

I do seem to find thing not right [emoji23]

Ignition off - no power to red wire
Ignition off - 13v at orange wire
Ignition on - power drops to 1v at orange wire
Tested with black probe on batt - and red at the fuse box or connector? Should I try black probe elsewhere?

No smoke or smell when I’ve been testing


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

not trying to be rude but do you understand wiring schematics?

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

To an extent yes but knowledge is very basic to honest.


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

iirc (it's been a while since I had a curvy). We had similar issues with the green connector/starter relay I think on the RHS under the black infill.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

then i would suggest that you take some time to understand the schematic a bit more.

it looks complicated but in reality its very easy. follow the coloured lines till you come to a connector/component then look at the connector/component for the route it takes through and out the other side. sometimes the colour of the wire changes so you need to follow that.

if you have a coloured printer then print the diagram out. get a highlight pen and highlight the wiring you have done, also mark down voltages as you go with power on/off. start from the battery and work your way out.

with fuses the power goes in one end (usually marked with the long line or no fuse at the junction)

with things like switches there are dots/circles with a "bar" connecting them. this is to tell you when things are on/off and what way the voltage flows.

as an example lets look at the ignition switch red wire. when the ignition switch is in the on position the red wire connects to the orange wire. when the ignition is off/lock then there is no power to anything, when the ignition is at park then the red connects to the brown.

so if you put the red probe of your DMM in the orange wire exiting the ignition switch and the black probe on the battery negative terminal there should be no power on the orange wire when the switch is off, when you turn the switch to on then you should get 12-13vdc on the orange wire.

if you get power where there should not be then disconnect the connector and probe the main loom (not the switch) orange wire with the red probe of your DMM. if you still get power then you have to probe deeper into the loom to find out exactly where you are getting the power from. its very very rare that you get reverse voltage and the most common is the battery being connected the wrong way round.. trust me i have seen people do it. or the negative system is shorting to a live.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

yup if the positive terminal is touching the frame then it will send the whole system live.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

ooohhh and remember that everything is "live" yes even negative (ground) will show voltage when a switch is switched on.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Thank you all so much for you time and patience. I finally found the problem!!!
Something I should have checked ages ago going by the symptoms of no power to the fuse box.
Anyone like to guess before I tell?


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Battery connection?

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Nope. That was the first thing I checked


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

blown main fuse or disconnected main battery cable at starter relay.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Gwan and tell us then, gwan, gwan, gwan......

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Close!


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

After taking advice and looking at the wiring diagram I went back to basics.
Power going to the starter but then it always will have power as it’s connected direct to the battery
However, the wire going from there to the fuse box was burnt out and the plug melted.
So I need to source a new plug from somewhere [emoji57]


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...14379e1c60.jpg


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Ouch! That's a bit of a mess. Could easily have been caused by high resistance due to dirty contacts.

Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Or from it being jumped several times from an Audi with engine running [emoji51]


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Re: Erratic ignition now no power, no start
 

Ahh! :smt104