Starting Problems

[kippa]

Nice to see some good press about the trophy i brought mine as a stop gap till my rocket was on the road but i love it and have no intention of moving it on and use it as well as the rocket, my only issue is also starting mine clicks several times before it turns over with the same battery that spins the rocket starter no problem ??

[STJIM]

Check the tightness of the two conections on the starter solenoid ( forward of the battery ).  Disconnect the battery ground wire before you check the tightness and then re-connect the battery groiund wire after you do this check.

The "clicking" sound is the solenoid pulling in so the problem has to be the solenoid itself, the connections on the solenoid, the main ground connection, or the starter itself.

Got a voltmeter ??  Measure the voltage across the main ( large ) connections on the starter solenoid as you have the start switch depressed.  If you measure more than about 0.5 volts, the solenoid has too much internal resistance across the internal contact.

[trophied]

Turn on ignition and wait about 3-5 seconds for things to boot up and the dash to cycle and try starting it.  If I turn on the ignition and try to start it immediately nothing happens because the system isn't booted up.

[STJIM]

Trophied :

True, but you won't hear a clicking sound either, correct ?  Kippa says he is hearing a clicking sound, but the starter isn't being energized, or at least the engine isn't being turned over.

[Coconut]

Hi kippa,

After I looked at your Trophy ( back in October 2019 ! ),
where a faulty Relay for the Radiator Fans was replaced,
you were going to take it to a Dealer and have it checked over.
Not having heard anything since I presumed all was well !

There were also problems back then of the engine not always Idling,
and the Starter sometimes not engaging - which could be due to :

Weak / Faulty / Failing Battery ( probably not if it is OK on your Rocket )
Poor Battery terminal connections
Poor / Corroded Main Fuse terminal connections
Poor / Corroded connection at the Starter Motor
Poor connections at or faulty Starter Solenoid
Faulty Starter Relay

Where does the clicking noise come from ? - If it is from just forward of the Battery,
that is where the Starter Solenoid is located.

If the clicking noise ( from the Starter Solenoid ) can be heard every time the starter fails to spin,
this would indicate that the Starter button, Starter Relay and wiring to the Starter Solenoid is OK,
and I would recommend concentrating on the Starter solenoid itself - it's probably easiest just to replace it and see.

T1310008 from Triumh at around £45.00,
or compatible types on eBay etc for around £19.00

Cheers     

[STJIM]

IMO if the battery will start the Rocket with that big engine, it's definitely not the problem.

I recommend that every MC Owner should have a basic digital voltmeter and knows the basics of electrical circuits and how to use the meter ( volts, amps ( current ) , Ohms and Diode check function).  It's not that difficult and will pay for itself in terms of not buying parts at random to troubleshoot a problem,  such as a possibly bad starter relay.

BTW, if I needed a starter solenoid for my Trophy I would be curious to see if I could match it up with one of these : 

https://www.discountstarterandalternator.com/c/powersports/motorcycle/solenoids/

It may be the same as : 

https://www.discountstarterandalternator.com/p/new-solenoid-relay-1986-2003-kawasaki-zg1200-zg-1200-voyager-motorcycle/

Half decent video ( missing a few points, but not too bad ) : 

[Trophy Moderator]

The preceeding posts were originally made in a Topic
that was not relevant to the subject of "Starting Problems",
and have been split from there to create this new Topic.

Trophy Moderator

[digital]

If the clicking sound is coming from the starter relay, it is indicating that the starter relay is receiving 12 volts to activate the output of the thick wire that comes directly from the starter relay and goes directly to the starter, it should crank the engine.

In this case, the battery does not have enough amperage to move the starter motor or it has a bad connection between the terminals of the thick cable, the protruding terminal of the starter relay or the final terminal of the starter motor. If the starter motor does not have the protective plastic cover, it is very possible that water or mud has entered the positive terminal of the starter motor terminal. The mass is taken directly with the screws that hold the starter motor with the motorcycle engine.