Engine won’t start - V-Strom 650 L6 (Maybe other years as well)

[Chimpy]

I am hoping this thread starter will help other owners.
My bike had approximately 7700 miles on the clock when it failed to start on March 8th 2019.

Fault
1. Engine shut down and wouldn’t start.
2. Instrument display started to fade in and out and then disappeared altogether.
3. No fuel pump

Fault Finding
1. Fuel pump relay appeared to be operating when ignition and engine ‘On’ switches are cycled.
2. All lights, including indicators/hazard, clutch/side-stand/brake/engine ‘On’ switches functioning normally. Engine ‘On’ switch appears to be functioning normally.
3. Under-seat connectors disconnected and checked thoroughly for connection and corrosion; none found. All fuses checked out OK with multimeter.
4. Removed panels, fairing and fuel tank to check all connectors, primarily for the instrument display and fuel pump. All fairing and the fuel pump connectors secure and corrosion free as were all engine connectors.
5. Rear lights connectors were found to NOT be weatherproof and corrosion/dirt was found. Connectors cleaned and coated with ACF50 anti-corrosion fluid.
6. Loom generally checked for chafing. None found.
7. Reassembled. Instrument display showed intermittent flashing which failed completely on attempted engine start. All connectors checked for poorly crimped connection.
8. Checked fuel pump relay. Relay functions normally when tested off bike. When refitted, the black/red feed from the Ignition Switch to Fuse 8 (Fuel Pump) was stable at 12 volts. The red/white wire from Fuse 8 was also stable at 12 volts. However, the red/white wire to the fuel pump relay was fluctuating around 3.5 volts. The red/white cable to the instrument display was also reading around 3.5 volts as was the red/white wire to the ECM.
9. We surmised that a wire splice had failed, or was failing, in the loom causing a voltage drop. I decided to start with the major junction portion of the loom below the left-rear corner of the fuel tank. After very carefully splitting the loom covering, I found significant evidence of corrosion. Upon further inspection I found the red/white splice. It was wrapped in ordinary loom tape and clearly not waterproof. After removing the tape, which just slid off the splice, it became clear that the wires had been crimped to some sort of crimp connector, the connector part possibly cut off. There were three red/white wires and a black wire which should have been crimped to one side and a single red/white to the other. This crimp was wholly unsuitable for this purpose. The crimp was not of a size to accept five wires and it was inevitable that the wire strands would be damaged and eventually create a high resistance, or even break, as had happened in my case. Corrosion hastened the eventual failure of the splice.

I have attached some images.

It seems to me that if all of us who have had loom faults got together with our experiences, catalogued them as best we can and then contact Suzuki GB for comment, apologies/promises, affirmative action, etc, we may stand a chance of getting something done.

Of course, if they are not forthcoming, send our ‘investigation’ to the world-wide motorcycling press and see what happens!

Maybe the mere threat of doing this may jolt Suzuki into doing something about this appalling design/manufacturing issue.

At the end of the day, waterproof connectors and properly designed waterproof wire splices should be the minimum expected from designers for motorcycles.

My Harley has been more reliable than the Suzuki so far...!

Comments below?

[Gassoon]

Nasty photos, I feel your pain, Chimpy.

Have you had the bike from new?
Any sign of previous 'tampering' (probably the wrong word) on the loom?
Any special factors with your bike (eg, jetwashing 5x a week ) Sorry, just q's that others will ask anyway

[MartinW]

Nice detailed report and photos Chimpy

Unfortunately, after 11 years of this forum reporting poor electrical connections with corrosion and no waterproofing, Suzuki have not yet upped their game.

We know that the Japanese keep an eye on this forum, so keep reporting this sort of problem and hopefully someone in Hamamatsu will take notice.

[mr_diver]

I had exactly the same type of crimp fail on the positive feed for the injectors on my K6 wee.
Crimps all through the loom. I went through and either soldered or wrapped  them correctly.

[UK_Vstrom650]

I had that too... Suzuki weren't interested when my dealer contacted them. (As such I won't be interested in Suzuki cars or bikes when I'm next buying)

(I wonder if Fatbelly's post on chaffing of the loom in this area is actually failure of this crimp within the loom)

[Gassoon]

Agreed, excellent write-up of the issues and sharp photos from Chimpy. This should be useful for future problem-bikes.
Fatbelly's post from 2013 is HERE

Very similar. It would at least be interesting for more owners who have experienced similar issues to add here, so Chimpy can gauge how widespread this is.

[vstroman]

Very useful post, looks like a rats nest of wiring, I hate wiring!! you'd think with all the new gizmos on bikes these days,cornering abs,traction control etc etc they'd have figured out after all these years how to design a wiring loom that's fit for purpose and connectors that are waterproof.the clutch basket is still giving problems on  the 'new' DL1000 engine too from what I've read, Suzuki need to do better.

[Chimpy]

I bought the bike new with 4 miles on the clock.

I’m contacting Suzuki GB this week and will probably tell them that I intend, hopefully with help from a couple of others, to see how widespread this problem is with Suzuki wiring. If they show no interest, I will tell them I intend contacting all the main Internet-based reviewers and magazines asking them to run an article and/or help investigate.

[UK_Vstrom650]

Good luck Chimpy. I bought mine new July 12. Just after the warranty ran out I had issues with corrosion in the connectors above the radiator, then Jan 17 the loom went (4.5yrs). (The dealer had the date on the picture set to US calendar).

I actually looked to change my bike after that loom  incident as I thought the electrics on Suzuki were that bad but the only bike I liked at the time was the 1000cc V-Strom, but I refuse to buy another Suzuki given my experience of this. Fortunately the bike has been fine since then, albeit I've sorted out the lack of waterproofing on all the connectors myself, and followed the advice on here and from Greywolf about all the other prevention you need to take to protect the electrics.
Will be interested to hear how you get on.