F4i problem...
 

I have an '05 F4i and went out to start it day before yesterday, and everything was normal. When I turned the key on, it went through it's normal self test, and the fuel pump came on, but when I pushed the starter, it turned for less than a second and everything went dead. Then I turned the key off, and the dash clock came on.

Ever since, when I turn the key on, everything (including the clock) loses power. The headlight and instruments don't come on, the bike has no signs of life. When I turn the key off, the tach cycles and the clock comes back on and remains on.

I've checked the fuses and they all look good. I have after market LEDs all around, and HID headlights, but I've checked the wiring to all of that and it appears to be intact.

Ideas?

Sounds like there might be a short somewheres.

Yeah, I was hoping for something a little more specific... Like where to start would be nice.

I haven't done any recent work or changed anything, so I don't know what could have caused the sudden change, other than a fuse or a short. Fuses under the seat look good, unless there are some elsewhere that I don't know about.

I'm really not to big on the idea of tracing every wire, so I'm hoping someone else has experienced this same problem...

Could it just be a dead battery? In my experience, they don't die so suddenly, as it was strong the last time I rode, but I could be wrong. I'm gonna go check that...

check your battery and battery connections

Yeah, that's where I'm at now. It's on the charger, so hopefully that's all it is. I'll feel like a jackass if it's something that simple...

Ok, it's not the battery. Glad I didn't miss something like that, but no idea where to look now.

Not the battery, the fuses by the battery box, nor wiring for the aftermarket lights.

So where to from here?

So it only happens when you turn the key on and off?? Then I would start looking at the ignition wires.

The first time it happened, it was normal when I turned the key on, then I pushed the starter button, the starter turned over for a fraction of a second, then everything cut out and never came back.

As it sits, the clock is on. When I turn the key to on, the only thing that happens is the clock goes off, as well as everything else staying off.

When I turn the key back to off, the tack needle cycles to the top of the band and back, and the clock comes back on.

I'll check ignition wiring next.

Anyone have any other ideas? I can't leave it in pieces in the garage, so the less I have to take it apart and put it back together to try different things, the better. Thanks

I would also take apart the starter switch on the handle bar to see if there and any melted wires. its only 4 screws so pretty easy to do.

not sure if this will help, but when my rr went it would cycle an reset the clock an guages when i tried to start it, but for me it would at least try, something to look into though

Ok, I unplugged the ignition wiring and tested the bike-side plug (female). There are 4 wires, one tested hot, one tested ground, 2 didn't test. I put some dielectric grease on the plug before reconnecting it, turned the key and tested the bike side wires themselves, then I had two hots and two grounds, and the N and FI lights come and flicker in time with a clicking sound coming from a relay on the right side sub-frame. There are 2 relays there, it's the rear one.

None of the lighting or dash comes on, but the clock flashes off when turning the key on, then comes back on. The fuel pump still doesn't come on, and the tach no longer cycles.

Next?

The two relays right there are identical, including part numbers, so to see if it was a bad relay, I swapped them, but the response was the same, so it's not the fuel cut relay.

Any other ideas? I really don't know where else to go. :\

They DO die that fast. My bike acted exactly the same way when the battery was dying/dead. Clicking from the starter indicates that it's getting power but not enough to turn the motor over. It's likely that your battery just isn't holding enough a charge to start the bike. Test it with a multimeter if you can and check the voltage output.