story; i changed both oil & filter. I pour in about 3 quart of oil first to make sure i dont over fill it. start the bike and let it idel for 4 mins. the low oil indicator was not on, so i thought i'm ok. turn the bike and check oil lever in an upright position. the oil level is a little above the lower line. so go ahead and fill it up with another 1/2 quart of oil. try to start it but it wont start. it doesnt try to crank or anything. when i push the start button, it just make VERY FAST clicking sound on the left of the bike. nothing else. what could be the problem?

this is on a 2001 f4i. i use castro syntec 10w40 with mobil1 m1-110 oil filter.

 

let me guess you left the key on while checking the oil and when you filled it huh. its simple.... youve got a dead battery. the ticking is the starter trying to crank it over but it doesnt have enough powerto do so. just jump it and ride it . if it does the same thing when u try and start it agian then u need a batt. oh and ride with ur high beams off. the stators (alternators arent very good in the f4-i's.

 

but it did start after changing the oil though. i let it idel for about 4 mins. then turn it off to add some more oil in. but when i went to start it, it just very fast clicking noise.

 

I'm with donki...battery weak.

 

my_honda- Think about this. What if your battery was already low and you let your bike idle for 4 minutes. That right there probably drained your battery. Bikes are not like cars and have to run over 4k rpms to charge the battery. It is very easy to drain a motorcycle battery. Next time when changing oil instead of letting it idle stationary, take it for a ride around the block.

 

Thanks. Did not know that the rpm must be over 4k to charge to the battery.

 

Cool man. We all learn new things everyday.

 

I am having this same problem. I put a new gasket in the stator b/c it didn't have one when I got it. While I was at it I changed oil/filter. Tried to start bike up and it just clicks under the seat in the fuse box (and I can feel them pulse while they make the ticking noise). So I replaced all ALL the fuses and the same thing happens... Tried to jump it - nothing... So - any new suggestions on how to remedy this situation?!

NPCCHAMP

 

that clicking is your starter relay, which means it's good

if my memory is serving me right the only thing between the relay and hte starter is the starter connector, so you either have a loose connection or bad ground or your starter motor is bad

but always with any electrical problem you should make sure your battery is fully charged before trying to diagnose anything

 

It's odd that you are getting the dead battery symptoms (i.e. the clicking) without much starting. As was stated above- these bike's will not be able to charge the battery at idle. The RPMs are simply to low. Not being able to jump the bike would most likely just indicate that the batt. is completely dead and can't hold a charge anyway. If you have one, just hook it up to a trickle charger for a few hours to see if that remedies the problem. Those chargers are worth every penny.