bike just dies for no reason

ifiddles

ifiddles

Well-known member
hello...start of my second season went out pretty much all last week and then went to go for a ride yesterday (sunday)...was a little cooler but still nice...

anyways, bike warmed up and started riding down the street...got to a stop sign and bike dies...thinking, hmmmm...wt?...make sure it's in neutral and try to start her up again, and nada...no lights, no turning over, nothing...let it sit for a bit, put full choke on again, tried starting, nothing...not even the instrument panel lights come on (the neutral green light nor the oil temp/water temp light)...

so i duck waddle it back to the house and put her in the garage...pull out the manual and think, maybe it's a loose battery connection...take the seat off, check the battery connections, and they look fine, but give them a little tightening just the same...want to check fuses next, but man are they hard to take out...no room at all for fingers, and i have really skinny ones...guess i need to put tweezers in my tool kit...realize that main fuse is on left side of bike anyways and go to check that, but can't get the cover off because it's on too tight (i'm a very petite female btw) and i'm not strong enough...

this probably takes 10-15 minutes as i struggled with getting the seat off and then i think, let me try again...guess what, lights come on and she fires right up...

later on last night, a friend of mine thinks maybe it wasn't in neutral, so i go back into the garage and put the bike in gear and all the lights come on no problem...so that's not it...

bike was properly stored (stabil in full tank of gas, battery on a tender, in a garage)...could it be it just needs fresh fuel?...could it be the fuel lines and/or carburetors and/or plugs (i don't think i could check this on my own)...it ran fine all last week so i'm a little stumped and before i go to the dealer and pay an arm and a leg to find out it's nothing or something minor like just needing fresh gas, i thought i'd ask what you guys think...

it's an '09 vulcan 500 btw...

thanks,
ivana
 
If you had no lights, no indicators - that's nothing about fuel. Something was with electric.
If battery charged OK (did you check it?) then more likely wiring (or main fuse or whatever).
If it starts after you tighten all connections: either you found/fixed the problem, or it is something in wiring and you moved it (and it might come up again).
 
Yeah for sure its electrical

My first guess is your battery is done and you need a new one

Check the output of your battery to see what it reads.. Or Try and hook up another battery like a car battery just dint start the car! And see if the lights come on. If they do then thats the problem

If not check all fuses. There should be a main fuse on the starter coil if i am not mistaken?

My guess is that its the battery if not you main fuse
 
could it really be the battery so soon?...i should've clarified that while it's an '09, i only bought it last may '11 as an overstock from kahuna...it was still in the crate so they said and had to be put together for me...is there a tool or something i can buy to check the battery output?...is it ok to use tweezers on the fuses or how do i get them out?
 
ifiddles said:
could it really be the battery so soon?...i should've clarified that while it's an '09, i only bought it last may '11 as an overstock from kahuna...it was still in the crate so they said and had to be put together for me...is there a tool or something i can buy to check the battery output?...is it ok to use tweezers on the fuses or how do i get them out?
Click to expand...


Is it still under warranty? Best to call Kahuna ASAP to figure that out.

Needlenose pliers work well for fuses, just be gentle. A multimeter is what you need to check battery output. Canadian Tire usually has one on sale.
 
Agree, if all lights when out then the problem was not fuel related. Get yourself a Can tire multimeter, if you don't need it now, you will. If it was fuse related the bike would not start until that was fixed, but it did. Charge the battery fully then leave it overnight and check the voltage in the morning. It should read 12.6 to 12.7 volts. If the bike is not going back to the dealer for a look, I'd take the battery connections off and check for corrosion (darkish colour), clean connections up with some sandpaper and put if back together. I use dilectric grease on all connections of my bike (Can Tire), stops little gremlins from happening. Whatever it is, you don't want it happening in the middle of nowhere. Happpy & safe riding.
 
ifiddles said:
could it really be the battery so soon?...i should've clarified that while it's an '09, i only bought it last may '11 as an overstock from kahuna...it was still in the crate so they said and had to be put together for me...is there a tool or something i can buy to check the battery output?...is it ok to use tweezers on the fuses or how do i get them out?
Click to expand...

It may be an '09 you got in '11, but that battery may have been around a while. And they do just go bad sometimes.
 
Loose or disconnected wire from the battery into the main fuse area. You corrected it with your fiddling around with the wiring. Now check the connections again for being tight. it is probably not a bad battery as they would have only added the acid when they prepped the bike and charged it accordingly before install. We hope. You maintain the battery over our mild winter on a tender?
 
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