Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

2012 Bonneville Clicks, Won't Start

22K views 33 replies 17 participants last post by  Ripper 
#1 ·
Ran when parked...

When I turn the key, the dash lights come on and the fuel pump primes. With the kickstand down and the clutch lever pulled in all I get is a click from the solenoid when I push the start button.

The battery was showing 11.8v under load. I charged the battery overnight and it's now showing 12.33v when I try to start it. Is this below the low voltage threshold? Any idea what else to look at?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
#14 ·
Had the same problem, it's the battery. Mine had 12.7 volts but click only. Used a bigger charger and got 13.7 V, dropped down to 12.7 overnight, then 12.2 under load.
Fitted a new battery, charged to 13.7, starts no problem.
 
#3 ·
Is the shutoff switch in the right position????
 
#5 ·
Yes

Headlight fuse okay? I fthats blown they juts click instead of truning over.
The headlight, a long with dash lights, come on with the key. The headlight cuts out when the starter button is pushed. I did pull and inspect every fuse. They are all good .

I'm going into town shortly and thinking about buying a new battery just to be sure that's not the problem. I hate to spend the money on something that may not need replacing.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
#7 ·
You are correct. If it's the battery and you have good jumper cables with good connections to your car battery it should start. If not check the voltage on the battery side of the solenoid when cranking and then on the starter side when starting. They should be roughly the same, if not you have a bad connection between the battery and solenoid, bad ground or bad solenoid.
 
#8 ·
Today I jumped the connection across the solenoid with a pair of pliers and the bike turned over. So, I have power from the battery. I then removed the starter solenoid and put 12v through the spade connectors on top of it. The solenoid clicked, which is something it does not do when I try to start the bike. Lastly I hooked my multimeter to the two wire connectors that plug into the top of the solonoid. When I push the start button I am not getting any voltage from the two wires that energize the solenoid.

Any idea where to go from here?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
#9 ·
I was going to start a thread about this last weekend because I was having literally the same issue with my 2012 T100.

Apparently when I switched all my signal/brake bulbs to LEDs my bike started acting like you're describing (I also could start it by connecting the solenoid prongs with a wrench). The brake bulb was the issue. I changed that back to the stock bulb and now it's fine.

I know you didn't say anything about changing bulbs, but maybe something is up with your brake light or the connection to it.
 
#10 ·
I did change my turn signals over to dual filiment (running lights and turn signal) and have changed my tail light to a Lucas style light. However, they are all standard bulbs.
I've had it this way since last year without a problem.

I suppose I could change it all back to eliminate that as a problem.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
#11 ·
Try jumping from the battery terminal on the left side of the solenoid to the small spade terminal at the top left of the solenoid. The starter should turn if the solenoid is good. The small terminal on the right goes to ground. With the ignition on,headlight on, push the start button the headlight should go out. Dose it?
 
#13 · (Edited)
I jumped the solenoid as you suggested. With the key on the bike fired right up.

EDIT:
SUCCESS!!!!

I noticed that the left spade connector wire was white with a red trace, as were two of the wires coming out of the relay. I assumed power comes off the relay so I thought I'd check for continuity. When I pulled the relay, the ground wire came in two. It seem someone cut the ground wire and re-connected it by twisting the wires together and applying a bit of tape. Such hackery... I de-pinned the connector, stripped back the wire, and solder the wires back together. All should be good now.

Nope. Still wouldn't start.

I then remembered that I had an extra relay sitting around from a nitrous install. I didn't think anything was wrong with the relay since it was clicking when I hit the start button. I swapped in the new relay and it fires right up.

I took the old relay apart to see what the problem was. While the click was quite strong, the contacts are corroded. The inside of the relay also has some water in it. Did I mention that the relay was mounted upside down? The wires were at the top. I imagine that every time the bike got wet, some water found it's way past the wires and into the relay.

I've attached some pictures for your amusement. Thanks to all who helped!

Sent from my VIC 20 at 300bps
 
#16 ·
I jumped the solenoid as you suggested. With the key on the bike fired right up.

EDIT:
SUCCESS!!!!

I noticed that the left spade connector wire was white with a red trace, as were two of the wires coming out of the relay. I assumed power comes off the relay so I thought I'd check for continuity. When I pulled the relay, the ground wire came in two. It seem someone cut the ground wire and re-connected it by twisting the wires together and applying a bit of tape. Such hackery... I de-pinned the connector, stripped back the wire, and solder the wires back together. All should be good now.

Nope. Still wouldn't start.

I then remembered that I had an extra relay sitting around from a nitrous install. I didn't think anything was wrong with the relay since it was clicking when I hit the start button. I swapped in the new relay and it fires right up.

I took the old relay apart to see what the problem was. While the click was quite strong, the contacts are corroded. The inside of the relay also has some water in it. Did I mention that the relay was mounted upside down? The wires were at the top. I imagine that every time the bike got wet, some water found it's way past the wires and into the relay.

I've attached some pictures for your amusement. Thanks to all who helped!

Sent from my VIC 20 at 300bps
can i have a part number / link to this relay. mine was installed upside down and always has trouble starting in the rain too!
 
#18 ·
Having same issue with my 04 America atm... Will check all the grounds...
If the relay checks out okay and the battery voltage is not low, check out the clutch switch.
 
#20 ·
Snowblower for my John Deere tractor uses a couple of the same common 5 pin relays and had problems over the years.

Sometimes the wire corrodes through at the crimp-on connector in the relay socket.
Good check is to pull a LITTLE on each wire where it enters the relay socket and see if it comes out of the socket.
Will save you time and from pulling your hair out.
 
#21 ·
Sometimes the wire corrodes through at the crimp-on connector in the relay socket.
Try covering the base of the socket (where the wires enter it) with a generous layer of bathroom sealant. It won't corrode again I assure you.
 
#23 ·
Test (load test) the brand new battery. Sounds like a dud.
 
#27 ·
When suspecting a battery try jumper cables from a car or other known good battery. If you know the battery is good remove the left side panel, make sure the bike is in neutral, use a jumper wire to momentarily jump from the battery cable stud on the left side of the starter solenoid to the spade terminal above it, on my bike that wire is black with silver dots. If the battery, starter and solenoid are good and all connections from the battery to the starter are good the engine will turn over.
 
#31 ·
Lithium motorcycle batteries ... a solution in search of a problem.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ripper
#32 ·
Lithium batteries are working out quite well for me, but then again I live in the heat of Phoenix where "Lead ends up Dead" PDQ
For most Canadians, their vehicles won't see a lot of heat unless they trailer them here, so lead works well up north.
Ben, check out this video - it's about car batteries, but the theory is mostly the same. I also show links in the text below that may help out - specially the one about the bad regulator
 
#33 ·
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I'm having a similar issue. When I check the voltage on the battery, it's reading at 13V, but as soon as I turn the key and the lights come on it drops to 10.5V. This is while still being attached to the trickle charger. I'm thinking that means I just have a bad battery, but could it be anything else? Just wanna be sure before I go down the wrong path entirely
 
#34 ·
Take the battery and get it load tested. This is free, and if it turns out that the battery fails the test, you can buy a new one on the spot. BTW, never crank an engine with a charger attached, you risk destroying the charger.
 
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