'89 won't turn over.

[sheiserman]

This is an all new to me problem. Anyways, at random times throughout this summer the start button seemed to be failing. Sometimes I'd have to wiggle the button around to get it to fire. Very random and not very frequent.

Fired right off this morning three different times, and now there is nothing. Stick a screwdriver down in there and jump the starter motor relay and it's up and running, everything else is working just fine. Runs great.

Good news is it made the Colorado trip last week w/o incident, and that is good. Bad news is as mentioned above.

What I've done so far....(I'm not a mechanic....I'm a parts swapping monkey throwing excrement at the walls hoping for a positive outcome)...

I've connected a set of handlebar controls that I know work- no change

I've swapped starter motor relay-no change

I've swapped out all three relays on the left side by the battery- no change. I believe the middle one is for the starter but did all 3.


I've tried starting it in gear/neutral with the clutch pulled in or released. I've tapped on the switch at the bottom of the clutch while hitting the starter button, no joy.

All the fuses are good. I've taken the start button switch completely apart and do have power at the red wire. There is no chance of getting that all put back together, but it's clean now.

My next step is changing the starter, but that doesn't seem right to me for whatever reason. I'm babysitting for a while, so I will leave this here and see if anybody has any ideas.

Didn't miss a beat for 3000 miles, now it just sits there.

[sheiserman]

As I was looking for a screw to remove the starter lockout switch and work my magic there, it became apparent said switch was unhooked.

Just damn.

Now I'm wondering if the starter button thing and the sudden no start are two different things. I carry a screw driver either way. I did get the old starter switch all put back together too.......

[triton28]

I wonder if your side stand switch is intermittently malfunctioning. The next time the bike doesn't want to start try bypassing the side stand switch by disconnecting and then joining the 2 brass flag connectors of the switch together. That would be the Bk/Y and the Bk/R wires where they connect to the switch. This direct connection will duplicate a closed circuit which is the condition when the side stand is up and NOT in use.
It may not be this but at least you can then determine if the side stand switch is having any bearing on the non start issue,
Dave

[sheiserman]

Hey Triton,

I bypassed that years ago, so I assumed that wasn't it. Wouldn't hurt to make up a new jumper just to help rule that out. I did do a recent drive off with the kickstand down, so the bypass was working then.

I bought a HD phone mount for the trip and mounted it on the left handlebar, so I must have aggravated that switch connector trying to find a way to make that mount work. I don't recall ever taking it apart in the past.

Time will tell.

But while you're here... I bought a 95 this last winter for parts. The engine wouldn't turn over he said. Odometer says 20k and change for miles, and I believe it as the plastic and seats were in very good shape. I stripped it completely down and went ahead and took the valve cover/s off just to look. On the side of the engine the carbs attach to, 3 of the rocker arms were just laying there in the head by their respective valves. One of the spring keepers was missing so I shined the flashlight down the hole the chain lives in and found the keeper by turning the engine the wrong way after discovering I could turn it that way. Got that out with a magnet, and now the engine turns over just fine.

Why would an engine with only 20k miles or even 120k miles have rocker arms laying about and a little round keeper not keeping? I'm guessing it's not worth fixing, but I believe it's only got 20k miles on it. Seems a shame.

[VoyKimmer]

Also check the red engine stop switch. It not only kills the engine but also prevents it from cranking .

[triton28]

Scott;
regarding those rocker arms lying around, I would bet that the corresponding hydraulic lash adjuster/s collapsed at some time or another thereby allowing too much clearance under the camshaft for the rocker arm/s so they fell out of position.
That is just a guess as I have never seen that condition. Perhaps someone else may have seen this before and can chime in here.
Dave

[sheiserman]

Scott;
regarding those rocker arms lying around, I would bet that the corresponding hydraulic lash adjuster/s collapsed at some time or another thereby allowing too much clearance under the camshaft for the rocker arm/s so they fell out of position.
That is just a guess as I have never seen that condition. Perhaps someone else may have seen this before and can chime in here.
Dave

Interesting. Never really had a problem with an engine before. I have never so much as touched the adjuster either.

Also check the red engine stop switch. It not only kills the engine but also prevents it from cranking .

The only thing I have ever noticed with the big red kill switch is how the tach needle bounces a little when I flip it to the run position, and it was doing that.

[VoyKimmer]

Both my 96 and my 02 tach jumps a little when I switch the kill switch on. I think that’s normal.

[GrandpaDenny]

It does that because it's an electric tach. When you turn the kill switch on, the ignition is energized, and so is the tach.

[ted1r]

Just a thought buddy ,check the earth /ground connection between the starter and crankcase I had the same issue on my 91 and after some cleaning of the jointing faces it all went away

good luck Ted

[StreetSavant]

Hey sheiserman! It sounds like you've been on quite the troubleshooting journey with your '89. It's frustrating when an issue like this crops up out of the blue. It's great that you've tried various fixes like swapping relays and checking the start button switch. Since jumping the starter motor relay gets it running, it might indeed be a starter issue. But before diving into that, have you checked the battery connections and the ground cables? Sometimes a loose connection can cause similar problems. Also, inspecting the ignition switch and the wiring harness around that area could be worth a shot. Hopefully, one of these leads you to the root of the problem without having to replace the starter. Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

[cushman eagle]

Hey sheiserman! It sounds like you've been on quite the troubleshooting journey with your '89. It's frustrating when an issue like this crops up out of the blue. It's great that you've tried various fixes like swapping relays and checking the start button switch. Since jumping the starter motor relay gets it running, it might indeed be a starter issue. But before diving into that, have you checked the battery connections and the ground cables? Sometimes a loose connection can cause similar problems. Also, inspecting the ignition switch and the wiring harness around that area could be worth a shot. Hopefully, one of these leads you to the root of the problem without having to replace the starter. Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

Thinking about your issues,if the starter motor runs by jumping the relay,I do not see how the motor is at fault
I would like to see you follow the wiring schematic from the starter button to the relay that does run the motor and see where the current does not get through.
If you do not have a service manual,it can be downloaded from this site
Keep us posted.