[shavian]

My K6 650 (54,000km) will only start spasmodically. When it won't start I get a strong vibrating 'buzz', the lights dim, but no start. How can I check that the starter relay is OK. I read 12.4volts at the battery terminals. The terminals are clean and tight. (hope it's not the starter having retired!).

 

[LeDude]

it's on your battery cover.

the pic below shows the testing step form the service manual:

how old is the battery?

 

[shavian]

To test starter relay

Many thanks, Chris; I'll follow your comments and surely find the answer to the problem. Will contact you by PM. best regards. Shavian, Auckland, New Zealand.

 

[shavian]

Chris; Followed your comments and starter relay checks out OK. Main fuse OK, & still got 12v across battery terminals, Battery leads firm clean & tight, but now there is no power anywhere, except for very dim headlights and under-seat light. Could the Negative connection to the chassis be dopey? - where is it attached so I can clean it up? Don't know age of battery; could be the original? Appears to have held the charge while I've had the bike since Feb this year. The bike's got a chequered history; I bought it (cheapish, with terrible cosmetics) as a 'retirement 'do-up'. Looks great after clean & repaint, has been running well, but won't go just now!

 

[Bill-Bill]

Have you tried jump starting the scoot? If not, try it and see if the scoot starts and runs ok.

Bill

 

[shavian]

Bill; Yes, I started it by jumper lead this morning when my first thought was that I had 'flat' battery. Since then it's not started, and the only suggestion of power was a headlight glimmer and the 'buzzing vibration' mentioned above. In fact after standing for a while, power came on when the key was turned, but only for a few seconds before everything went blank - zilch, neither a glimmer of light nor any sign of the starter moving, which makes me wonder if the negative 'earth' connection to the frame is perhaps corroded and offering too much resistance? But I don't know where the earth connection is! Any helpful clues will be appreciated.

 

[TheReaper]

Just curious , have you taken the battery in to check for a dead cell or two ?

TheReaper!

 

[29534]

I think a new battery will solve your problem.

 

[Buffalo]

The bike does not have a ground to the frame. The ground for all components on the bike is provided by a negative ground wire that goes through the wiring harness. From the negative side of the battery there are two wires. One is a heavy gauge wire that goes down to the starter and provides the ground for it. The other is a lighter gauge wire that goes out about a foot to a connector. The wire coming out of the other side of that connector goes into the wiring harness and it provides the ground for everything else on the bike. Check that connector to ensure that it has not shorted. That has happened to folks before.

On the positive side of the battery the setup is similar. There is a heavy gauge wire that goes through the starter relay then on down to the starter. There is also a lighter gauge wire that goes to a connector about a foot out. From that connector it goes into the wiring harness and provides power to everything else on the bike. Check that connector also.

All that being said, your problem sounds suspiciously like a bad battery. Especially if you can jump start the bike.

 

[LeDude]

here is a picture of the harness ground wire and how it connects to the frame:

 

[MJR]

Sounds exactly like a bad battery (dim lights, starter relay clicks/buzzes). The reason the starter relay does that is when it tries to put power to the starter the voltage drops off so the relay turns of, this goes on/off/on/off/etc. as long as the battery is low and your trying to start it. I'd say put a new one in and then check the charging.

 

[shavian]

Sounds exactly like a bad battery (dim lights, starter relay clicks/buzzes). The reason the starter relay does that is when it tries to put power to the starter the voltage drops off so the relay turns of, this goes on/off/on/off/etc. as long as the battery is low and your trying to start it. I'd say put a new one in and then check the charging.

You Guys were right! What a difference a new battery makes! Fired up first time.....I was fooled into thinking the battery had energy available because it showed over 12volts....but of course I now know there were no Amps available. Although the old battery was completely discharged and not responding to my 'smart' charger (CTEK XS800), the helpful battery seller suggested a boost with my 'straight' old car charger "might coax it into life". A couple of hours on the car charger (nothing fancy about it) has apparently resurrected the duff battery which now appears to be accepting the charge from the CTEK - and indicating it is now fully charged.
Thank you all for your replies; from sunny, but quaking, New Zealand:lol:

 

[MJR]

Glad to hear you got it sorted. Yah those battery chargers usually won't charge if the battery gets too low because they need to see a certain voltage.

 

[Buffalo]

Now that you have it starting I would suggest that you hook the voltmeter to the battery terminals and see how much voltage you are reading with the engine spinning at 5,000 rpm. You should be seeing something north of 14 volts. If not you could have a charging system problem that is not keeping the battery charged.

 

[LeDude]

glad to hear it was just the battery, however, good advice from Buffalo on making sure that your charging system is working properly.

enjoy.....

 

[oldkid]

relay ?

This sounds like the battery. Also you can almost ignore voltage readings unless you make them under starter load. If they drop below 10 volts under starter load, the battery is weak.I used this vender for my Honda and Yamaha before with great results.
http://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/scooter/suzuki

Tom