Help! Bike not starting [Video included]

B

busdriver

Member
Hi everyone,

I've got a 2005 Ninja 636 that I serviced in the summer before putting it away. I have it set on a trickle charger and stored away but today was a warm day so i figured why not try and start the bike and hear it just one more time. to my surprise, when i tried starting it i got a weird buzzing sound. At first i thought the battery is dead however the lights are on, horn works etc.. here's a video if you guys want to hear it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Tth5q04nM

any idea what it could be from that sound?
 
Wow, that's a new one. For the record, being able to work the lights et al doesn't necessarily mean the battery is good, it just means a battery is there. However whatever is going on there sounds very wrong to me, sounds like an arc welder!

I guess the easiest thing to do would be to check the solenoid first.
 
i'd say battery
 
Yeah, start simple first. If you have a multimeter, test the battery voltage - should be around 12V.
Your lights/horn, unlike your starter, don't need a fully working battery to work.

After you try to start it, there's some other noise which I think is fuel pump?
I've had pretty much the exact same thing happen to me with a dying battery.
 
It is your battery.
The lights require very little power to light, only a couple of amps.
The starter circuit requires a couple HUNDRED amps to work.

Don't be starting your bike unless you plan on running it till it gets up to operating temps and holding it there for awhile. Starting the motor for short periods of time promotes condensation in the crankcase.

A BRAND NEW fully charged lead/acid 12volt battery will show 13.2 volts. Anything above 12.7 volts at rest is good.
I bet that either your "trickle charger" or battery (or both) is pooched.
Find a known good charger, no more than 2 amp charge, charge the battery fully and try again.
If you take your battery to a starter/alternator shop (not Crappy Tire or Pep Boys or Parts Source) they can charge it and LOAD TEST it for you and give you a definitive answer.
 
As already said, your battery is almost dead, it has enough amps for lights and horn, but not enough to turn over the engine. That is why your starter solenoid is making that noise. Seen and heard this a million times
 
Is it me, or do "trickle chargers" break more bikes than they fix??

All of mine are sitting in storage with nothing connected, and I'm pretty sure they'll start right up in springtime ...
 
Brian P said:
Is it me, or do "trickle chargers" break more bikes than they fix??

All of mine are sitting in storage with nothing connected, and I'm pretty sure they'll start right up in springtime ...
Click to expand...

I have never used a trickle charger on any of my bikes in my life, I don't even winterize them with fuel stabilizer or anything, I just park them. And I've never had a problem starting my bikes in the spring. Batteries do die out eventually but I have gotten good life out of them just leaving them in the bike without trickle charging them.
 
Brian P said:
Is it me, or do "trickle chargers" break more bikes than they fix??

All of mine are sitting in storage with nothing connected, and I'm pretty sure they'll start right up in springtime ...
Click to expand...

Mine too...
 
I charge mine monthly usually only takes a few minutes until full, but don't leave the charger on.

sent from a device using a program
 
GateKeeper said:
Get booster cables, connect to car, MAKE SURE CAR IS NOT RUNNING, connect to bike battery, try and start bike

probably the easiest test you can perform, assuming you have booster cables

.
Click to expand...



The battery is half under the seat and half under the tank on that bike. It will be tricky to get a set of booster cables in- but it's possible.

Jump start it - should come to life .
 
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