Problems starting my Kawasaki ER-5

mikeee · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Karma :

For some time now, I've been having issues getting the bike to start. Lately is's been getting even worse. When I push the starting button, nothing happens. If I push it a hundred times, it will at last actually start. If I press and hold it, it sometimes starts as well. The only sign of life at all is a faint clicking sound in one of the, for me, unidentified widgets on the right side next to the the tank (the round one with rubber coating). I've made sure the battery is charged, and can't see anything else obviously wrong. Any ideas, or is it time to find myself

a) a service manual, or
b) a workshop?

Thanks,
Mikael

iCraig · World Chat Champion Joined: 04 Jun 2004 Karma :

Sounds to me like your batteries had it.

But before you replace the battery make sure you Regulator/Rectifier is working. As these can go frequently on ER-5's.
When they go they then fry the battery, and it eventually doesn't charge and its buggered.

mikeee · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Karma :

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that, being pretty confident the old one had already seen its best of days, I have already bought a new battery and tried it out - same problem Crying or Very sad

iCraig · World Chat Champion Joined: 04 Jun 2004 Karma :

Hmmmm, so it doesn't start with a new battery in it?

Right time to check other things then, if its clicking then it means the solenoid is working.

Can you hear the starter motor spinning or not?
If not then, then get a spanner or something hard and give the starter motor a whack on the top. See if that free's it up abit.
If not I am sure I have a spare starter motor here for a GPZ500S Engine, which is exactly the same as the ER-5 I think, though I'll have to check my spares box to be sure.

stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

The 'widget' is your starter solenoid. I presume it clicks once (and only once) for every press of the starter button?

If you look at the solenoid you will see two big fat wires with rubber boots on them bolted to the top of the solenoid. The solenoid is a heavy duty relay that makes contact between these two wires when you want to send power to the starter motor.

You can easily test the starter motor is functioning by directly shorting out the two fat wires on the top of the solenoid. This makes a direct path for power to go from the battery to the starter motor. So, get a bit of metal (such as an old screwdriver) and press it against the two bolts on top of the solenoid. You will see some sparks as you make contact and the starter motor should immediately turn over. You may need to pull the screwdriver away quite firmly to break the circuit as it tends to stick to the terminals.

If it doesn't then either the battery is discharged or the motor is broken.

If it does turn over, the problem is in the circuit that activates the solenoid or the solenoid iself.

It is also worth looking at the terminal block that attaches to the solenoid (with a load of thinner wires on it). This is prone to corrosion, it also houses the main fuse. Pull the terminal block apart and have a look at it, likewise the main fuse. Any corrosion should be obvious.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

mikeee · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Karma :

So, after the cold winter, the season has finally returned here again. I also finally took the time to actually try your advice out. What I did notice this time was actually both interesting and depressing at the same time.

Fast-fowarding my whole workshop experience gets us to the point where I ended up disconnecting the flat, black, mystic device right besides the fuse box (it has two connections, one slightly larger and with more wires than the other). My plan was to actually open it up and check what was inside, but since opening it would cause non-reversable damage, I gave up that part of the plan. However, what I just happen to do was to hit the starter button while the device was disconnected. Lo and behold, the starter motor turns. Repeatably. The second I re-connect the device, everything (but the solenoid) is as dead as Elvis.

On the down-side though, even though the starter motor is spinning like a cat, nothing else is happening. No ignition. Crying or Very sad

The question now is:
What is my flat, black, mystic device?

and, on a more personal level:

How much does it cost?

iCraig · World Chat Champion Joined: 04 Jun 2004 Karma :

Sounds like either the CDI or Fuse box to me really. Is it on the left side of the bike?

mikeee · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Karma :

I did some research, and it's definitely the CDI. Both it and the fuse box are actually located under the seat.

lee125 · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Dec 2005 Karma :

are the positive and negative wires connected to the battery properly cause they might have come loose as i had a problem on my bike and it sounds simlar to yours and the wires were causing my problem and it fixed it straight away Thumbs Up

mikeee · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Karma :

When I first started having these problems I bought a new battery to replace the old one, and I have checked that nothing is obviously wrong/loose with the wiring.

mikeee · L Plate Warrior Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Karma :

Just to wrap this thread up:

It turned out the starter relay had given up, now the bike works like a charm again! Thumbs Up

kawakid · World Chat Champion Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Karma :

This happend to me this morning for the first time, same thing exactly.

It felt like a switch issue to be honest.

Other thing I thought of, if the neutral and side stand detector thing had got confused.

It sorted it self out, but I was at a petrol station at the time.
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