electric start clicks then nothing...

[pinkylee]

Hey everyone,
I'm new here. Bought my first bike back in April an 81 xs400. She was running fine up until 2 days ago. Went to ride electric start just clicked then nothing. Pulled the choke tried a couple more times and finally got her going. She stalled at a red light tried to restart nothing but clicks. Kick started her and got her going again. Came home again nothing but clicks. Changed the battery, changed the spark plugs still nothing but clicks. Any suggestions as to what to try
Next?
Thanks,
Tissha

 

[XSLeo]

Is the battery fully charged? If not then the electric start won't work well. The way your charging system works you need a well charged battery to get the alternator to produce enough electricity to keep the battery charged. Charge your battery with a proper motorcycle battery charger, one for a car has to much output in amps as well as volts and can hurt a bike battery.
Once charged check the battery voltage with the bike at idle and at 2500 rpms.
At idle the voltage should be between 12 and 13.5 volts. At 2500 rpms 14.5 volts. If not you need to get the charging system working right.
Check the battery connections at the battery end of the cables as well as the other ends. Grounds and at the starter relay.
Leo

 

[sir_h_c]

yep, it's electrical or mechanical. My electric was fine and i ended up replacing the mechanical bits. Not the starter motor but the flywheel. Turns out it was cracked.

 

[pinkylee]

Changed the battery terminals and put the battery back on the charger still Nada. Trying to take off the side plate that covers the starter but its sealed...I swear this bike is going to be the death of me

 

[Rumbaldi]

My bike did that when I bought it. The starter solenoid just clicked when the button was pushed. A new starter solved the problem.

 

[kindest]

If kicking works every time and electric doesn't then it has to be something electrical or your starter. I had a similar problem and it turned out for me my positive terminal on the battery wasn't tightened and all corroded. Cleaned and tightened and haven't had a problem since. All tho Im more of a kick start kinda guy

 

[lhaolpa]

I'd start by checking the starter relay,then trace the wiring all the way through the wiring,making sure that the grounds are clean and maybe put a little dielectric grease on the connectors to protect from corrosion. On my '82 seca,the starter stopped working,and I found several things wrong. One was the relay to the starter,the other was the kickstand relay,and found dirty connections,cleaned them,got a good relay,checked the stand relay,worked fine. All switches can be old and weak,not allowing the current to pass strongly enough to starter. I used to like kicking a bike to start it,but now I have bad knees,arthritis,and an electric starter is nice. lha

 

[Lou Ranger]

...I swear this bike is going to be the death of me

It's a long shot, but my Yam.sr250 would periodically simply not engage the starter. It turned out to be a bad connection inside the starter button enclosure on the handlebar - would seemingly decide not to connect based on temperature and/or humidity. Worth a check before you set fire to your bike too.

 

[drewpy]

bridge the two main terminals on the solenoid with a screw driver, it should activate the starter.

If not an earth problem then, fuse, then starter issue.

 

[xs400cafe]

I can post my terminals and it will work, but other than that my electric start wont work, ive checked connections and found some corroded plugs, cleaned them and reconnected, replaced starter solenoid, relay is still good, and I still get nothing...any ideas? I also should mention that the clutch safety switch got removed, and just tied the two leads together to complete the circuit.

 

[drewpy]

stop switch set to off?

 

[lhaolpa]

Also,make sure your battery is fully charged,and putting out enough juice to run the starter. Electrical problems can be frustrating,but with a methodical cleanup of connections and grounds,you'll run it down. If it'll work by bridging the switch,but not with the button,it'll be a problem with the switch,button,or another component. lha

 

[xs400cafe]

stop switch was set to on and I know that because you can hear an audible click from the relay....my battery is practically dead right now from trying to get things sorted out, but I did pull the throttle control apart and found a ground that wasnt connected to anything, so I connected it to a good grounding point and the solenoid worked, however, all it did was click at a fast rate, never turned the electric start over. Now I have to wait for my buddy to get back so I can get a jump and see if I can at least get the bike running again since my battery charger is at home.