1050 Triple (2010) Not Starting, Only Clicking

Bonus:

 

Hi all, thanks for the interest. In my second video I concluded that "dumping 12v straight into the socket for fuse 8 should light up the headlights."

So why not try it? What could possibly go wrong?

I modified a terminal to be the same size and shape as an automotive fuse:


Then crimped it onto some mains wire:


Screwed one end onto the positive terminal of the battery, and shoved the other end into the fuse socket:


Result? Now I have headlights AND tail lights. Am I brave enough to try the starter? Yes I am. Bike turns over, then starts.

Just to be 100% clear, the fuse is not the problem. Power is not even getting as far as this fuse socket. What I have done is bypassed what I think the problem area is (the ignition switch) and demonstrated that everything else on the bike is working.

By process of deduction there are only two things that can possibly be wrong: Either the ignition switch itself (internally), or the connection onto ignition switch pin 4.

Now I need to pull the ignition switch out and examine it

 

Thanks mate. Garage just quoted me 150 for the lock and ~100 for the labour. Not too keen on dropping that much for a faulty connection.

Just took another look at the bike. The plastic sheath over the wires is ripped, but it doesn't look like any of the wires themselves are damaged. Noticed another rip in the cable that goes to the dash.

Need to get in there to test but I have no idea how to remove the ignition switch, looks like they (understandably) made it difficult.

 

Got any instructions for it? I couldn't find anything in the service manual.

 

Thanks Callumity.

In an effort to avoid removing the triple tree and extracting those shear bolts I determined that it might be possible to remove the cover off the bottom of the ignition switch and examine the contacts. Had to remove the headlights and the mount they sit on to free up enough space. The cover was held on by 3 tabs, some careful prying freed it:



Contacts in there looked very good, no obvious signs of damage.

Next I moved on to examining the connector where the ignition switch is connected to the rest of the loom. Some web searches led me to believe this was located under the airbox. Once I had removed the fuel tank I was able to see the connector, it is between the airbox and frame, where I'm pointing in this picture:



Pulling the airbox out allowed access:



And I could finally inspect the connections



See the bottom left terminal? Looks a bit deformed. That's #4 on the circuit diagram, where I suspected the issue was. It looks like it may have melted a bit, which apparently is a problem with these connectors. It sits right on top of the engine and can carry up to 30 amps, which is a huge current, could potentially get very hot.

Looking on the other side:



Top left pin is pin 4, you can see just underneath it the plastic is bulging out slightly, where everywhere else it is completely flat.

Now two questions remain...

Firstly, was this caused by a problem elsewhere causing too much current to pass through the terminal, or is this a design flaw?

Secondly, what is the best solution for this issue. I'm tempted to just splice in a jumper that goes around the terminal block. Ideally I would dismantle this thing but no idea how, story of my life so far haha

Lastly, why does this happen to me?

 

Yeah looks like i get continuity between the female side and the fuse. Also continuity between the male side and the ignition switch. There must be a faulty connection between the male and female. Maybe the plastic melted and the contacts moved apart, or molten plastic got between the contacts.

Also I expected to see grease inside there but there wasn't any.

 

Decided to bite the bullet and have a crack at fixing this thing. Butchered my poor baby by cutting the yellow/blue wire on one side and the brown wire on the other side of the connector


Crimped on some heavy gauge mains copper wire. The bit I used was too long but I just folded the excess behind. Put some heat shrink on it. Did my best to get a good connection


Airbox back in


Tank back on


Had to do that twice because I forgot to bolt the airbox down....

Moment of truth.... will the headlights work?



Wow, I actually fixed something. She even started first try. Now I just have to adjust the headlights, looking a bit cross-eyed at the moment

Lessons learned:

Don't lift the fuel tank too high, you'll scratch the paint at the back. The fuel breather hoses spew fuel when the tank is upside down, use a spare section of fuel line between the breather and a suitable container to collect excess fuel. Put a cloth on the forks when tightening the headlight assembly to protect the paintwork. A tiny dab of oil rubbed on the inside edge of the rubber mounts will help the airbox slide back onto the throttle bodies. Don't drop anything near the rear swingarm... I still haven't found that nut.

 

Where can you buy a new connector, and how do you remove the old connector without cutting the wires, and what kind of a crimping tool do you need to put the new connector on. I tried looking for all this information but all I can find is industry specialist stuff.