Starter issue

[sirkitchalott]

 
Hopefully you blokes/ladies can point me in the right direction.  I couldn't find a similar fault using the search here.
Bike started as usual for my return  journey tonight. Put it it 1st to pull off and it stopped.... Yep... Side stand!!    Put it up, damn thing wouldn't start.... Starter motor buzzing.....
Fuel pump is good, clocks do their full deflection thingy.... but the stater just buzzes.  Got a mate to bump start me (that was a laugh), ran fine, 1/2 hour trip home.... Still the same.

Tomorrow I will try a jump start with a car battery.
Could it be as simple as a sticky motor?

Any pointers appreciated.

[ProfG]

One of the idiosynchrasies I found about the v-strom is to use the red cutout switch. Just turn it on and off and the bike will start. No harm in trying it.

Also check your battery leads and make sure they are tight. Loose cables can also cause this issue

[greywolf]

A low battery or marginal battery connections are indicated. If the battery is low, it could be the battery is going bad or the charging system isn't keeping it up. Charge the battery and check the connections. Get it started even if you have to jump it from a car battery and put a voltmeter on the battery. With the engine running at 3000rpm, the voltmeter should read at least 13.5V.

[sirkitchalott]

Will put it on charge now... Thanks

And check charging tomorrow...

[sirkitchalott]

Couldn't wait.... Car battery... Jumped... She fired right up!

So it remains to check charging voltage tomorrow and hope it's up to speed.
Thanks for the prompt replies, I had my suspicions that jumping it may do the trick, but didn't want to make any known issue worse..

 

[Parademic]

U might find your battery is on its last legs. If it occurs again even after charging, it's time for a new one.

A good indicator is if your clock has reset it's telling u that the battery is that low it can't even power an lcd clock... I did post a thread on here a while back with a similar problem.

Gareth

[greywolf]

The buzzing isn't the starter motor. It's the starter relay. Buzzing or clicking but no starter motor motor running is a likely sign the battery isn't delivering the needed power. It may be bad, have a bad connection or just be discharged. The last possibility could be from leaving the ignition in P or from a failed charging system.

A bad starter motor is rare and having it work with a jump means it isn't the problem.

[sirkitchalott]

Turns out the battery was buggerd.... By me! I had been using a low ampage car battery charger.... I thought this would be OK.  I'd been topping it up with charge every couple of weeks or so having not ridden it for quite some time (accident at work).... Live and learn eh!

How I determined battery was failing.
Using info here from you blokes I

Checked standing voltage-just below 12v
Jump started with car battery.
Idol was 14.5-14.4 v.
Revving voltage caused a massive drop to 9v.
Switched off.
Connected car battery and left connected whilst running tick over 14.4 v.
Revving voltage increased.
Left battery connected for 5 kins and checked - same.
Disconnected jump battery.
Voltage 14.4 Increased with revs.
Switched  off tried to restart - fail.
Jump started and disconnected 14.4 volts.
Revving voltage-9v.

So alternator working phew!

New battery fitted, new optimiser thingy fitted.... She fires up proper job!

Thank you so much for your quick responses.,,, hope this helps others too!

Rich