Electrical Problem just shut off

[brindle19]

I was riding my bike the other day that I just bought a few weeks ago. Its a 600 Katana. The bike just shut off on my while I was riding. Yes it has gas in it..lol I took it to a dealership cause I could not get anything to come on like the lights and such. Battery is good. The dealership just said buy a new bike. After looking over the bike I see just bundles of wires tapped together looking like a big pus ball. I was thinking maybe something hit metal and shorted the bike out.?? Also somebody had mentioned a breaker. I dont no if the dealer ship just wanted to sell me a new bike or if they didnt want to deal with the problem. They said something about it needed a whole new computer or wiring harness or something.

[MXG286]

You could try looking for a harness on ebay or some other classified add and put that on. It might be better then tracing the problem. Or you could look at all the wires and see if there is an exposed wire or connection. Did you check the fuses?

[DreKat]

in my opinion the dealership is eather lazy or they want to have a few thousand dollars! what year is the Kat. You could post a WTB under the Parts and Accesories section or check ebay for a wireing harness. Check your fuses, and maybe even the kick stand button, sometimes the button will stick and shut the bike off.

[The CyberPoet]

First of all, fill in your ride profile so we know which model/year you're talking about -- there's some serious differences in the electrical systems between the years.

Most likely culprits:
1. All: Fuse blow. Check all the fuses.
2. Pre-98 ONLY: main breaker tripped. Reset.
3. All: Sidestand loose, not engaging sidestand sensor (but it shouldn't kill the lights, just the engine).
4. All: Ground connector at battery or at the other end of the cable bad.

This might help, too:
CyberPoet's "How to diagnoise and troubleshoot motorcycle electrical and charging system problems"

As for the dealer -- it sounds like you talked to someone in the sales department, not someone in the service department. If it was someone in the service department, find a different shop to do your work, or learn to do you own.

KNOW THIS:
Tracking down intermittent electrical gremlins can be a very expensive proposition when letting a pro-shop do it, because it can take many, many hours to locate the problem. I recommend people learn to do it themselves instead; the tools and replacement wiring is quite cheap, and you can decide how much time to invest.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Black_peter]

Yeah you don't have a ride profile, what year arre we talking here?
Just so Y'all know that helps gurus like CP and I offer much better support. If it's older the ignition switch (the key switch) could be to blame. If you can reach under the fairings and wiggle the wires leading to it. It also could be the main harness connector (where the ignition switch wires connect in) same trick wiggle that. If you can't get lights and it wasn't any of the things CP listed, it may still be in the ignition switch. Wiggle the key or over rotate it. You can also try turning it all the way left (past lock) to the "P" position. This should turn on the rear light. Updates us please.