Electrical gremlins - any advice

[Richiek65]

2007 owner here

So about 6 months ago, I lost all my dash instruments, they returned intermittently/sporadically, then I had a major loss of electrics so that despite the ignition being apparently on (lights and dash), the fuel pump wouldn't kick in to prime, and the starter wouldn't operate at all. Again, this problem briefly ceased so that I could ride it to my local guy to investigate, on this short journey the engine warning light illuminated. Mechanic could find no codes showing with his scan tool so he cleaned out every connector he could find, checked for anything obvious and returned the bike to me with everything returned to 100 percent functional. Rode it recently and on the return leg I again had the disappearing dash problem return, with the engine warning light also showing. After getting home and attempting to ride again, I once again have power to the dash and lights but no fuel pump or starter motor action..

Any clues? Surely not a fuse problem (though I haven't checked)?

Cheers

[ZuluTiger]

Man, you're not messing about with a trvial challenge here, right? 

If you disconnect the dash and power on the ignition, you will get a check engine light. It then needs 3 heat cycles to clear, I seem to remember. I'd start with the cluster connections, clean, reseat. Check the moving parts - clutch, side stand switches, and the kill button. Seems like you'll need to do some real fault finding, piece by piece for this one.

[Richiek65]

Hey thanks for your reply!

Yeah I knew it was gonna be a shot in the dark but maybe someone else had the same issue?

Anyway I'll do my best to investigate but I'm time poor and my history of pulling bikes apart and putting them back together isn't too crash hot..I tend to do more damage than what I'm trying to fix..
I'll probably end up having to get it collected and taken to an auto sparky. Pain in the butt..

Cheers again

[Sidewinder]

If you can get it running check you get 14/14.5v at battery engine running.  Could be a charging problem, reg/rec fault etc they can throw up all sorts of weird stuff.

[Richiek65]

Originally Posted by Sidewinder

If you can get it running check you get 14/14.5v at battery engine running.  Could be a charging problem, reg/rec fault etc they can throw up all sorts of weird stuff.

Thanks, getting it running seems unlikely, but I'll dig out a multimeter

[seangee]

Seem to recall someone had a problem with chafing on a loom that led to a frayed wire affected by turning the bars. May have been incorrect routing, possibly related to changing bar position.
 

[Dustywheels]

Originally Posted by seangee

Seem to recall someone had a problem with chafing on a loom that led to a frayed wire affected by turning the bars. May have been incorrect routing, possibly related to changing bar position.
 

YEP, Id be checking the wiring around the headstem area.

[Richiek65]

Originally Posted by seangee

Seem to recall someone had a problem with chafing on a loom that led to a frayed wire affected by turning the bars. May have been incorrect routing, possibly related to changing bar position.
 

I'll make that my first point of investigation - cheers

[turtle]

Originally Posted by Richiek65

I'll make that my first point of investigation - cheers

I remember that chafing issue around the headstock too.  RichieK, it might be a good idea to do a search to see if you can find those posts.

[Richiek65]

I'll have a look as soon as I've got the time to pull everything - possibly this won't be till late August due to work and life..

A mate suggested i should first try a replacement battery - he said that even though my battery is showing really good volts (it's always on a trickle charger), it could be a dodgy cell that causes all sorts of gremlins when it tries to fire up the fuel pump etc?