I rode home yesterday in 90+ degree temps. The temp gauge showed all bars 'lit', but no flashing lights. So - when I got home, I parked it in the shade to cool down instead of in the hot garage. This AM, I turned the key and instead of the usual whirring noise (fuel pump???) I heard only a couple of very faint clicks and when I hit the start button I got nothing. Didn't even try to turn the starter motor, no errors on the display, nuttin'...

I'm hoping it's something as simple as a fried battery (original) due to the heat. Thoughts???

BTW - I"m at work now (had to drive the car (boring)), but looking for things I can try tonight when I get home.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

jT

Follow-up info: The dash/gauges still lit up like normal, so the battery isn't completely 'gone johnson', still hoping it just doesn't have the juice to get the starter (or even the starter solenoid???) to engage...

* Last updated by: jTfromCO on 6/17/2016 @ 4:01 PM *

I think you are correct about the battery.. I would change it regardless..

I think battery. I heard clicks when mine gave out but also saw alternating flashing of temp gauge.

Might just be terminal corrosion. Battery's something you should inspect a couple times a year just to make sure it's not leaking and that sort of thing. Hopefully it just ends up needing a new battery, not shorting or something.

I'm with Vic. I prepped the battery but forgot about, never thought about, vaseline or dielectric grease. Then if you think magnetism/heat/chemRe cannot be separated; think of the white powder on the ground side of the cable and post of the battery. I'd first look there. That's how I found mine with lights, no start. Cleaned the terminals, used die-grease on the terminals. No more chemical-Reaction.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I put the bike on the battery tender to make sure the battery had a full charge and tried it again, same thing - I get a couple of faint clicks when I turn the key, but not the usual whirring sound, the dash lights up as normal, lights are on, everything looks good, but when I hit the 'Start' but nothing happens - it's like the start button is a placebo...

Five yrs is sometimes the lifetime of a stock battery..I know you charged it but quite possible it has no real storage capability left.

* Last updated by: chrly on 6/19/2016 @ 8:11 AM *

I'm with chrly on this too. That battery... if OE... is about played out.
The OE is a pretty good quality battery. Yuasa is maybe second best? A yuasa tech schooled me over the phone. Batt was in a leftover bike since 2008-1/2 say. In 2010 I prepped the battery per techline:

1. BS means Battery [acid] Supplied. Install the acid and let sit for an hour or more so the pleats soak fully.
2. Charge the battery fully with a 1.5a rated charger for a 12n14a type battery. Read the charger. A 1.2a is for a 12n12a type battery. So if the rating is 1.2a for 12 hours or 1.4a rated for 14 hours, that's literally over 10 hours of charging so that chemical reaction can cook that chemistry into the plates and such.
3. The wires become hot with a battery drain, so with a car battery jumper type cables, clamp a few high beam bulbs together and drain the battery down to 2v. Charge the battery back up to its full peak and then drain it and charge it back up 2 more rounds, then that 3rd fully charged battery is now ready for service.

A note: Before I got the battery wet I called first. My concern was a broken seal to how long is the shelf life kind of questions. The original battery lasted 6 years. It was hardly charged while sitting for 4 years, but say occasionally about 5 times during that span. Buyer came to hear the bike first, I had to get it running before that, then he wanted to take it for a ride. Each time; that battery never struggled during those startups.

Signed,
(read the fine print and somewhere it says to prep the battery the same way is 3 times the charm)

UPDATE: OK, so this a rather EMBARRASSING... I ended up taking the battery out of the bike and took it in to be tested. The guy behind the counter hooked it up, said it was fully charged, and then did a load test on it which it passed easily. He said it looked like and performed like a brand new battery. So - I took it home and re-connected everything and tried to start it again, thinking that perhaps disconnecting the battery would reset some 'black box' that had gotten upset by the heat - still no luck, just three faint clicks when I turned the key, nothing when I hit the start button. I called my local MC shop and made an appointment to get the bike in (for late this week).

Last night, while loading up the Jeep to head out to dinner at a friends house my 20-year-old daughter (who rides a Honda CBR 250R) said to me "Dad, did you know that your kill switch is in the 'OFF' position??? No, I did not, as I don't use the kill switch, I use the key to turn it off... So guess what - kill switch to 'ON', fired right up.... My trouble-shooting skills took a serious hit on this one (and I'm a computer guy...). My daughter did save me about $100 for the MC shop to pick it up, take it in and tell me that it was the flipping kill switch though, so kudos, props and dinner coming up for her!!!

jT

Glad you got it figured out.... better to look like a fool in front of your daughter than the MC..... lol

That really sucks. I hate those things cause you never think about it if you don't regularly use them. I've bumped mine washing and wiping down my bike then get that moment of panic when it doesn't start.

Bout the only thing I like about them is riding up beside your buddy and reaching over and turning it off on them.

Look at it this way.. Several of us did not mention the obvious...Sometimes the obvious is NOT so obvious !! Good job by the daughter :)

"Bout the only thing I like about them is riding up beside your buddy and reaching over and turning it off on them."
Preferably right at the moment the traffic light turns from red to green!!!

* Last updated by: danfzx14 on 6/30/2016 @ 8:07 AM *

LOL JT... One of those "kind of problems I like" although it did get a little serious.

I'll stick up for us here. On other forums I might start with those very basic things. Here maybe due to the nature of this forum and 14 owners in general it's rare it ends up being something this simple. It happens though.