Strange Electrical Problem

[buckeye]

My wife decided to start cleaning out the garage while I was still at work yesterday afternoon. A nice gesture, but doing so involved moving my Kat (2002 650cc) out of said garage, which she'd never done before. She underestimated the weight of the bike and ended up dropping it on it's right side. Unable to pick it back up herself, she called me panicked, and I got home within about 25-30 minutes. Almost zero cosmetic damage. But, it had a full tank of gas, and there was a small puddle on the floor where it had been leaking. Got the bike back up, but now it won't start.

When she knocked it over, it was sitting without the battery in it because the battery was on a charger. After putting the battery back in, with the key in the OFF position, the digital clock comes on, and I can see a small red light glowing somewhere under a body panel just to the left of the battery. However, when I turn the key to the ON position, the digital clock goes out AND none of the display lights (like the neutral light) come on AND pressing the start button does absolutely nothing. No sound whatsoever. Most interestingly (to me, anyway), is that returning the key to the OFF position brings the digital clock back to life, BUT it resets to the default time (1:00, I think) as if the battery had been totally disconnected while the key was in the ON position.

I'm stumped. The battery tested fine, but I got a new one just to make sure. The brand new one does the same thing (nothing). Both batteries (new and old) fire up another bike with no problem. I've done some searching and tried a few things I've found that MIGHT help. One was a "tip-over reset" and involved turning the key from off to on 3-4 times. I didn't think this would do anything, since the bike had no battery installed when it was tipped over. And, it yielded no results.

Any other ideas? I'm just a beginner at doing my own bike maintenance, so if you have suggestions for me to try something, please explain it with as much detail as you can muster. Thanks in advance!!!

[92xjunker]

Light by the battery is strange. They do have led fuses that will light when blown. Clutch safety switch, side stand, fuses and electrical connections would be my check points, at lease the quickest check points.

[buckeye]

Light by the battery is strange. They do have led fuses that will light when blown. Clutch safety switch, side stand, fuses and electrical connections would be my check points, at lease the quickest check points.

I'll post a pic of the small red light I'm seeing if I get a chance tonight. I checked all the fuses under the seat - all still good. Can you give me a little more detail on the clutch safety switch and "side stand." If you mean side kick-stand, I get the same results whether it's engaged or not. Even before this happened, if I had the key in the ON position and the side stand engaged, I'd still get signs of life from the indicator panel. Clutch safety switch is something I'm not at all familiar with. If you can recommend some basic locations of "quick" electrical connections to check on, I'll look at them. Thanks!

[92xjunker]

Check the main fuse on the starter relay, 30amp. It's usually the cause. Then the connections that may have been jar'd loose.

[IanDMacDonald]

I had this same exact issue after dropping my Kat @ Sam's Club. It's a fuse. Pull each fuse and ring tjem out. I can 100% guarantee you it's a fuse that blew.

[92xjunker]

We've had others find a loose connection under the tank.

[buckeye]

Check the main fuse on the starter relay, 30amp. It's usually the cause. Then the connections that may have been jar'd loose.

I had this same exact issue after dropping my Kat @ Sam's Club. It's a fuse. Pull each fuse and ring tjem out. I can 100% guarantee you it's a fuse that blew.

Thanks, guys! I'll pull all the fuses from the fuse box again tomorrow and give them a closer once over. Hope it's something that simple! Can you help me find the "the main fuse on the starter relay"? (Sorry again for being so new at this stuff!) I know there's a black box to the left of my fuse box. Is it inside that? (see pic) Or somewhere else? If it's inside that box, how do I open that box? I've looked for a tab or something to press down in order to open it, but can't find anything. Don't want to break it.

Also, I'm attaching a pic of that glowing red light. It's about 4-5" in front of the positive battery terminal and just to the left. It glows constantly no matter the position of the key, but the brightness of the glow increases when the key is turned to the ON position.

[92xjunker]

Gonna need a better pick, could be a speedo healer, rev limiter or after market ignition system like Dyna.
Main fuse and relay is on the Left side under the fairing

[loneraider]

This will be a dumb question but do you have the battery cables on + positive and - negative were they should be? I was just thinking about the red light near the battery/

[buckeye]

Check the main fuse on the starter relay, 30amp. It's usually the cause. Then the connections that may have been jar'd loose.

I had this same exact issue after dropping my Kat @ Sam's Club. It's a fuse. Pull each fuse and ring tjem out. I can 100% guarantee you it's a fuse that blew.

Sorry for the delay in posting a reply to this issue. Other things crowded out my "bike repair" time slots, but I found some time over the holiday weekend... and I have good news!!! It was indeed the 30amp fuse (by what I assume is the starter relay)! See image below. And, it solved the "red glow" issue. It was a "smart fuse" that glows when it's blown. And there was great rejoicing! (Hooray.)


However... now I have a new issue. I'll call it "reawakened" since I remember this being an intermittent problem before the drop/blown fuse incident. It has to do with the headlights. After replacing the blown 30amp fuse, all the electrical stuff came to life when I fired the bike up. As I was playing with the choke as it warmed up, I bumped it a little too quickly and the Kat stalled out. No biggie. Fired it up again, everything came back to life again... except the headlights (and I am CERTAIN they WERE on the first time it started). Ugh. Being the first summer I rode the Kat, I only had it out a few times at night, and I remember at least once when the only light functioning was the small "third light" above the headlights. Glad that was during a short 2-3 mile ride home in the city!

I've been using some of the other EXCELLENT forum threads to try to find my problem. It's not intermittent at this point. The lights won't come back on at all. FWIW, between the first time I started the Kat (when they worked) and when I restarted it after it stalled out, I didn't move or change anything! So, I have no idea what "changed" to cause the problem. Anyway, utilizing this thread on the headlight connector and this thread on the "pod" where the HIGH/LOW headlight switch is located, I've done some trouble shooting attempts.

I will include some pics below, but (to be brief) I did the following: took apart the connector piece, cleaned the metal pins on both sides with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip (even though they looked fine), put the connector back together, and inspected the solder points on the switch. I've never soldered anything before, but the solder points look strong and feel strong (no movement at all when I jiggle the attached wires back and forth). I did NOT mess with the "lower" part of the pod where the mechanism for the turn signals are since both the turn signal bulbs AND the indicator lights on the "dash" work great. If I need to inspect down there as well, let me know and I will do so. Just didn't want to take apart anything that isn't necessary to my quest! Of everything I've done, there has been zero functional change. No headlights at all.

So... with all that info (and pics) any further advice or ideas are MUCH appreciated! The thread I linked above where someone cut the actual plastic connector pieces is something I'm willing to try if you guys think it's likely to fix my problem. It's just a bit intimidating since I don't know exactly which wires in that connector do what, and cutting connectors is a "point of no return" type deal.

Thanks in advance!!!

[92xjunker]

No where did I see checking the bulb....just going for simple first

[buckeye]

No where did I see checking the bulb....just going for simple first

Fair point. I will do so. But, the chance of both bulbs (both were working after the initial engine start once the 30amp fuse was fixed) getting burned out at the same exact time just because the engine stalls out about 20-30 seconds from startup, and nothing else changed or moved, seems pretty unlikely to me. I should have also noted that I did indeed check both the high-beam and low-beam fuses under the seat. Twice. Just to be sure.

I will check the bulbs and report back as soon as I can! Thanks!

[92xjunker]

I'm going that way just because it wasn't done....
Also check the lamp sockets.

[indianboy7]

Go to the other switch pod on the right handlebar. I had a problem where the starter switch wasn't moving freely and would keep the headlights from coming on after start. I initially sprayed some silicone lube around the switch and that freed things up enough to get it working temporarily. The problem came back again and I took it apart to find a bit of grime and dirt in there that kept the switch from letting the headlight contacts connect after releasing the switch.

[92xjunker]

+1. I was going to mention that...