[Bleushark]

Has anybody had an issue with heavy rains and the motor dying? Im not sure that it is the starter relay switch yet only cuz i poured 6 glasses of water on the 'area' and it kept running. At this point i am still confused. Hopefully somebody here has had the same problem and has fixed it....i ride an 06 vtx 1300R.


Mike

 

[tods58]

I have a 06 R model also and have ridden in some very heavy rains and mine has never died.

 

[Scotrod]

Sorry, gotta ask,,, Intermittent dying or 'dead as a doorknob / coast to a stop' dying?

If intermittent, bat cables tight?

 

[wanderingbear]

Sounds more like a bad connection, check the relay I had this happen when I picked my bike up from BD's Cycle.

 

[Madness_MC]

Has anybody had an issue with heavy rains and the motor dying? Im not sure that it is the starter relay switch yet only cuz i poured 6 glasses of water on the 'area' and it kept running. At this point i am still confused. Hopefully somebody here has had the same problem and has fixed it....i ride an 06 vtx 1300R.


Mike

Bleushark -

Several things to look for to help locate and resolve your problem.
1.) Check that your battery cables are clean, tight and secure ... use a 10mm wrench or ¼-drive ratchet and 10mm socket.
2.) Check that your gas tank vent hose is unobstructed AND has the "splitter-T" in place about mid-way down its length. This prevents water getting sucked up into the bottom end of the vent hose and cutting off the fuel flow.
3.) Check the Green and Black wires at the end of the harness connector that is plugged into your ECM. These wires have been known to break inside the insulation and can cause intermittent die-out and/or no-start problems.
4.) Finally, pull your gas tank and check the front ignition coil. I have seen where the grounding lugs get rusty and can/will cause an X to die out in the rain, or even in very heavy fog conditions.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Donut]

Mine was intermingling for four years. Including the info-minus zeroing of the odometer trip settings. Since I did the below two months ago I have not had any problem's.

I've been threw this over the years and putting a new battery
didn't help.
Three weeks ago I went threw all my wiring and checked
everything. Since I did the below instructions I have not had
any problems since.
There are times when there is corrosion/oxidation and you cant
even see it.
First the charging system on you're bike is most likely OK.
There is rarely any problem's with the system.

I'd go back and clean the end of the cables on top and bottom
of the connector and the battery post on the battery with a
wire brush or better yet a Dremmel (with wire-brush) and also
the threads on the battery bolt. Then add a lock washer (not a
star washer) under the bolt head) to keep it tight. Then coat
everything with Vaseline to prevent corrosion and oxidation.
Also remove the left bottom cover below the Key and tighten the
battery ground that is to the right of the shift pivot point,
Its a 10MM. Mine was a little loose. A poor ground or week
connection will draw a lot more current when under load.
tightening with a screwdriver is not good enough, use a wrench
or socket. Be careful and don't try to be superman, watch
closely because you can brake the terminals off the battery.
*************************************************************

I had gotten to the point I thought the starter was going bad
but I finely figured out it was a loose connection where the
battery ground connects to the frame. It creates some strange
symptoms like a weak starter also zeroing of the trip meter. I
tightened everything down as in my post above and all my
problems went away.

Donut

 

[Bleushark]

Sorry, gotta ask,,, Intermittent dying or 'dead as a doorknob / coast to a stop' dying?

If intermittent, bat cables tight?

It just dies. It has happened twice, both times during a heavy rain. The first time I pulled over and it started back up in about 5-10 minutes. The second time the rain lasted too long for it to dry out but someone I was riding with took the cover off and pressed on somethign red, (I am not sure what he pressed on as I havent talked with him since). We dried what we thought was the problem and it started right up. I was able to ride for a mile or so and it died again (the rains were really heavy that day). After drying it again it started up and hasnt died since.

Since it only occurred when raining I tried to put the water on it to 'simulate' the rain to see if I could figure out what I needed to fix, but it didnt die. So I really dont know what could be the problem. It might be a coincidence that it started after we 'dried' it and there is actually a different problem.

Mike :choppersm

 

[Donut]

The starter switch is not going to cause that problem. Do my post above an your problem will be solved.

Donutatriot:

 

[ItsCruz]

The starter switch is not going to cause that problem. Do my post above an your problem will be solved.

Donutatriot:

Question here....it only happens when it's raining....would not a loose ground cause the problem all the time? Mike has tried to reproduce the problem with water could not but he was not traveling and did not have the highway vibrations. Are you saying that when the connections get wet and loose the extra moister is pulling the current from the connections causing it to die? Kinda makes since but there is no problem when dry.....

 

[Donut]

Moisture can cause strange problems especially with bad connections. Vibration, corrosion, oxidation moisture on a loose connection can cause some strange reactions. A loose connection can actually draw more amps and actually get hot and it can act like a bad battery or even a starter going bad when it isn't. The voltage on a vehicle actually runs from the negative to positive. Most think that it runs the opposite.
As far as the starter switch it only closed the contacts on the solenoid to engage the starter and cancels the lights for starting. With a week ground connection's it can hinder the charging of the battery. This is why I am so concerned about the ground connections on these bikes and not just at the battery but the ground to the engine block because that point is most of the time neglected. If you do preventive maintenance like this it will help eliminate future problems. Also since I did it to my bike I have not once had any problems with the odometer zeroing out like a lot of people have encountered.
Donutatriot:

 

[Bleushark]

FINALLY!!! Figured out the problem.

I was able to reproduce the problem at the car wash by using a high pressure spray in the air cleaner area for 2-3 min. My brother in law suggested checking the spark plug wires and the local bike shop suggested the ignition coil, which the spark plug wires plugged into the coils. One of the spark plug wires was loose on the rear coil. I tightened it up and went to the car wash and sprayed the same area for as long as the spray lasted, about 4 minutes, and the bike did not die. I think I might still have an issue in that the coil might need to be replaced if the wire vibrates loose again, will have to keep checking. Hope this helps anyone else having the same issue later on!!!
:cheers: