Trying to start the bike kills everything !

[Steve2]

The bike has been stood for a bit and started with the help of jumping it from my van. I ran it for about half an hour no problem ( jump leads disconnected ). Came to it the next day it would turn over but failed to start although it tried. Eventually I flattened that battery which is about 2 years old. So I charged it overnight and in the morning it showed as being  faulty which was a bit wierd. I then tried to jump the bike again from the Van and all that happened was everything went dead when I pressed the start button the lights on the panel just went out like its completely dead. Disconnecting the jump leads and trying later exactly the same. Taking the battery off and jumping directly from the van same. With the van running the voltage is showing 14V at the bike the jump leads are heavy duty. Essentially pressing the start button, assuming Ive got some lights on the panel, just kills everything.

Any Ideas on this would be great as I am at a loss here with what to look at.

K1100LT

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Check and clean the ground connections.  If that doesn't do it, check and clean the starter brushes.

In fact, do the brushes even if the grounds fix the problem.

[Laitch]

The ground connection from battery to transmission would be the first suspect in Gryphon's list.
 

[Steve2]

Thanks for the help.

I re seated some connectors and double checked everything. This seemed to help everything lit up as expected the bike cranked over quite a few times and then nothing absolutely dead no lights or anything. The voltage is good as are the fuses & all the connectors are clean. If feels like its tripped the main circuit breaker so to speak where or what do I start looking at first.

All ideas appreciated.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

So, did you check the ground connections and the starter brushes?

[frankenduck]

Flakey side stand switch?

[Steve2]

All the grounds are good the bike has been put back together with attention to these points.

The side stand switch is bypassed.

Im aiming to look at the key switch next however this just stopped while it was cranking over its like its deceased it just stopped cranking and all the dash lights went out.

Has anyone got a schematic for this bike (K1100LT) and any test points to hit or a link to a flow chart

[frankenduck]

Ignition switch testing:
http://www.kbikeparts.com/classickbikes.com/ckb.tech/0.ckb.tech.files/4vignsw.forklock/4vignsw.forklock.htm

Wiring diagram:
http://www.kbikeparts.com/classickbikes.com/ckb.tech/0.ckb.tech.files/kwiring/K1100LT.94on/1994.K1100LT.Wiring.SLP.V2.0.pdf

And double-check where you shorted the side stand.

[Laitch]

Has anyone got a schematic for this bike (K1100LT) and any test points to hit or a link to a flow chart

On the Home page you'll find the Technical Directory and in the Technical Directory you'll find a schematic for your Brick. Look around; you'll find many useful resources. Like this. Also, linked below. It discusses how the Motronic engine management system works in your Brick and might lead you to the source of the fault.

[Steve2]

Thanks for all the help so far. I'm on it so to speak and working through all the suggestions which I am grateful for.

I've stripped the starter down that was pretty grubby inside and wouldn't have helped much. I've also relocated the grounds to one of the anchor points including the  -ve battery terminal which is where it should be according to the manual.

Motronic looked good but cleaned that anyway.

After cleaning the connectors and earths I'm using something called ACF-50 which is a penetrating corrosion preventer which seems really good. However I get the impression that most of you guys are on it with all that kind of stuff.

When I get a battery on it Ill see whats what and let you know.

Thanks again for the help much appreciated.

[Steve2]

OK so a big thanks to all that have helped me here and to those who have posted wrt similar issues. The five common reasons why things dont start was truly helpful.

So the beast is now piped up and singing which is where I was just over a week ago ! As you can imagine having fully disassembled the bike then rebuilt it with a hiatus of 2 years it was a huge high wen it ran up. Followed by a huge down when it died. Anyway its sorted now thanks to your help.

The resolution was I am fairly sure servicing the starter motor and cleaning it.
Visiting all the earth points and cleaning plus relocating the -ve onto one of the starter securing bolts.

Thanks again.

[Past-my-Prime]

. . .
The resolution was I am fairly sure servicing the starter motor and cleaning it.
Visiting all the earth points and cleaning plus relocating the -ve onto one of the starter securing bolts.

Thanks again.

And thank you for coming back and posting what it took to get things going again. Common problems - common solutions, and someone will quite possibly be in exactly the same situation as you, and seeing that you were able to fix it will encourage them to help.

Cheers!