Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

Sprint ST 2000 cranking but won't start

14K views 25 replies 9 participants last post by  m.b.leighton 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,

I’m new - both to Triumph and the forum. I got my Sprint ST 2000 about 2 weeks ago, it is my first ‘big bike’. I'm sorry that my first proper post is a cry for help, but I have been lurking for a few days. I’m getting pretty desperate as I ride to work everyday, my yammy 125 is being collected by a buyer tomorrow and I will be looking at a 4 mile walk to the train station every day until the big bike runs :(

So, to my problem. I’ve done around 150 miles or so. Until now it has been running great. But the weather here has been terrible this last few days, it got very wet, and then I had trouble starting. At first it started (2nd time), ran for a while, then stalled, and wouldn’t start again. I had to push it uphill back home. Back on my driveway it still wouldn’t start: I could hear the fuel pump primed, headlights worked, starter motor would crank, but no fire.

Yesterday I changed out the spark plugs, squirted what I could with contact cleaner, and swapped the battery with a fully charged (Oxford oximiser) Yuasa, and it started first crank! But later when I came back to the bike again, it had the same problem that it had previously: I turn the key and hear the fuel pump prime, I press the starter switch and the starter motor cranks, but the engine doesn’t fire.

I’ve checked the fuses (all good), and the Yuasa battery is giving me 12.6v on my meter. I’ve sprayed the main relay with contact cleaner. I’m in neutral, pulling on the clutch, and the kill-switch is on ‘run’. I’m not touching the throttle whilst cranking. :)

Thanks for any help. I have really appreciated being able to look at these forums over the last few days to try to find out more about my bike.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
What is the battery voltage reading with ignition on & also during cranking? 12.6 is just 12v, 2.1 per cell. I'd charge it up, it will go up to approx 13.5v on optimate then drop over a few days to approx 12.8v. Mine do that.

I had a '99 ST955 for many years and had similar no start occasionally after giving it a mega wash following a tour & forgetting to dry it off, needs running for 15 mins or taking for a ride. Happened 2 or 3 times 'til I cottoned onto it.

What is the battery model?
 
#5 ·
OK, thank you!

I wanted to get the H- model but Halfords only had this one in stock (literally the last one too!). Should I ditch it and wait until I can get an H-BS? In which case if I have to wait, is there a better choice than either, or is the Yuasa the right thing to go for do you reckon?

(When I got it started yesterday morning it had come straight off the charger over-night, the 12.6v reading I gave was this morning after a couple of cranks).
 
#8 · (Edited)
I've got to wonder if you've got spark plug wells full of water, or water in your tank. You mention the weather was terrible, and the bike ran great before.

If you can, pull the tank. It is usually helpful to siphon off as much fuel as you can before you take the tank off, to make it easier to lift. Drain the remaining contents into a clean bucket (or two). You'll see if there is water. You might even want to pull the pump plate and wipe out the bottom of the tank. Do not overtorque the mounting bolts when you re-install the pump plate. The big gasket is reusable

Look at the nipples on the bottom of the tank above the pump plate. The rearmost (IIRC) one is the scupper drain. This drains water from the fill cap area. It is bad about clogging. Take a small drill bit in your fingers and 'ream out' the nipple until the drill bit spins freely as far in as you can hold it. If it was clogged, a good bit of water will drain out when you clear it.

Pull the spark plug caps, and using a flashlight, look into the wells to see if there is water at the bottom.

Hope this helps!
pr
 
#11 ·
Pushr0d covered most of what I was thinking. One other thing is to be sure the plunger is actually moving in the clutch switch, but my money is on a blocked tank drain and water in the fuel.

Cheers,
-Kit
 
  • Like
Reactions: duncanwilliams
#12 ·
... One other thing is to be sure the plunger is actually moving in the clutch switch ...
It would not have anything to do with clutch switch, since it is successfully cranking, just not starting
Clutch switch only interlocks the starter so if starter running, nothing to do with that.

I would also have suspected it to be related to water in the fuel - however it appears to have started with fresh battery charge which somewhat suggests an insufficient voltage situation.
So the question would be how strongly was it cranking over? Was it slow or at a good speed?

Check the voltage with the key-switch on and thus the headlights on and see how quickly it drops over 30 secs to a minute
(don't attempt to start - just leave it with the ignition & lights on and report what the voltage is doing like that.

If it IS water, then it would be somewhat just luck/coincidence that it started with fresh charge.
But if indeed, the Pushr0d covered pretty much everything that could be potentially be the issue.
 
#13 ·
Yes, the std battery don't exactly whizz it over like the H does.

I never got water down plug holes or in fuel tank when I changed the filter, must have been lucky there, quite a good seal on those coils & if the draiin is blocked you'd notice water when opening filler.
Reminded of doing a service at 50k miles & finding the Denso stick coil heads all 3 cracked, still working fine, replaced them with a good set from breakers for £20. Worth a check if you have tank off.

Any progress?
 
#14 ·
Thanks very much everyone -- Sunny day today so I got to work on it this morning.

Battery readings 13.07v (no key in), 12.48v (key turned, fuel primed), 11.32v cranking. I'm not sure how to interpret these numbers, do they seem OK? It seems to crank healithly.

Someone else suggested checking for swirling whilst the fuel pump was running - I couldn't see any. So I then drained the tank before pulling it off. I pulled the plugs, checked for spark and wet. they smell of gas and spark was blue (ish). I rodded out the drainaway with a guitar string (!) -- the area around the filler on the tank was not just damp, it was outright wet (a little puddle there).

I then put a little seafoam in the tank and... the engine started first crank. Confusing. Can I put this down to water in the tank? I'm seriously worried about a repeat offence. I'm hoping it will stay that way after the next rainy day (tomorrow). Is there anything I can do in the meantime to help safeguard it? I'm going to order up some replacement coils for the next sunny day to do a switch out as you suggest.

Also I was wondering, if one of the nipples is the scupper drain, what is the other one for? The Haynes manual doesn't offer much help it just calls it a breather hose.

Thanks again everyone. You are true heros!
 
#15 ·
Battery is fine with those readings.

There is often water in the filler neck if it's been out in heavy rain, if it's above the drain hole, it's blocked. The other drain tube is from the airbox & should have a plug in it, remove plug & drain off. Did you check the airbox & filter while the tank was off. Any water or oil in it? Filter clean?

Was there any water in the fuel you drained off from the tank? Did you totally empty it. When did it last have a new fuel filter? It is in the service schedule for that model.

I'm guessing it will be fine now if it's been thoroughly warmed up. Likely got damp in somewhere if there's no water in fuel.

Let the boys know how you get on. Good luck with it.
 
#16 ·
Thanks again.

I poured out as much as I could get from the tank without pulling off the plate that holds the filter. I couldn't see any obvious separation of water in the bucket. I did actually check the air filter when I had the tank off, and it was clean and dry. But looking through the service records, I can't see any evidence of it ever having a fuel filter change. I see online complete pump units with gasket, filter and pump, do you think I'd be better to swap it all out at once? It is at 27k miles now.

Cheers!
 
#18 ·
Look at this post: http://www.triumphrat.net/blogs/triumph-technical-data-2/sprint-st-aftermarket-part-numbers-31/

Among a raft of other information, it contains a list of the various fuel filters that you can use. The Triumph filters are frightfully expensive, for no apparent reason. Just don't buy a plastic one!

And, while we're talking about tanks, you should have four metal quick-connect fuel fittings. If any are plastic, you have a leak waiting to happen. Several threads on the topic.

If you must park the bike in the rain, try to put a rain cover over the tank, or at least over the fill cap. Cheap insurance.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Paul49,

No, the list (forgive the outline format - it was messed up in an earlier site convulsion) is for all ST and RS models.

You need to look carefully at the 'headers' for the proper part of the list for your particular bike.

There's probably applicability to GTs as well, but only the GT owners can determine that. I think Panther's Den has left the building.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top