Wilsons Sandbox

Bad news. Had the '03 KLR all loaded for a weekend outing in Maine and took a "test ride" this morning to see how things stacked up w/ the bike loaded. All was well until I stopped to check out the bike after @ 15 miles. All looked good, so I went to restart the bike..... key on, kill switch off, and hit the starter.......... nothing. Check everything, try again..... dead. After playing around with the kill switch, starter button, ignition position, clutch lever, gear box in nuetral, side stand(up, down and back again), the starter got the message and worked fine! Got home ok and tried to get the situation to repeat, but couldn't. This has happened now 5 or six times on me and I'm to the point where I don't trust the bike to get me where I'm going - or , more importantly, back home. Unless I can come up with a definite fix to this starting problem in the next couple of days, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel my weekend trip. I'm bummed! This problem has occured off and on since I got the KLR a few months ago. I took the starter button apart and cleaned the contacts, but still no help. Need the fix in the next 48 hrs to save my weekend trip. Anyone out there have a sure-fire fix for this problem?? Tom _________________________________________________________________ http://liveearth.msn.com

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Tom Dudones" wrote:

> > Bad news. > hit the starter and nothing

Check to make sure both your connections at the battery are tight -- had the same problem you describe a month ago on an off-road trip and it turned out the bolt and nut on the positive cable had vibrated loose. Adjustment on the safety switch at the clutch lever can sometimes be touchy and when wrong will require that you hold the lever 'just so' to make the starter work.

It sounds like one of your safety switches is hosed up. My bother inlaw was having this problem. If you look at Marks website they have some tips, with pictures, on how to bypass them. Here is the link: http://www.klr650.marknet.us/ . Good luck and let us know if this helps. Tom Dudones wrote: Bad news. Had the '03 KLR all loaded for a weekend outing in Maine and took a "test ride" this morning to see how things stacked up w/ the bike loaded. All was well until I stopped to check out the bike after @ 15 miles. All looked good, so I went to restart the bike..... key on, kill switch off, and hit the starter.......... nothing. Check everything, try again..... dead. After playing around with the kill switch, starter button, ignition position, clutch lever, gear box in nuetral, side stand(up, down and back again), the starter got the message and worked fine! Got home ok and tried to get the situation to repeat, but couldn't. This has happened now 5 or six times on me and I'm to the point where I don't trust the bike to get me where I'm going - or , more importantly, back home. Unless I can come up with a definite fix to this starting problem in the next couple of days, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel my weekend trip. I'm bummed! This problem has occured off and on since I got the KLR a few months ago. I took the starter button apart and cleaned the contacts, but still no help. Need the fix in the next 48 hrs to save my weekend trip. Anyone out there have a sure-fire fix for this problem?? Tom __________________________________________________________ http://liveearth.msn.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Get rid of the Starter Circuit Relay to start with. That is the smaller relay on the port side of the Carb. Only the Starter Relay is sufficient. No harm can come. Jake. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Tom Dudones" wrote:

> > Bad news. Had the '03 KLR all loaded for a weekend outing in Maine and took > a "test ride" this morning to see how things stacked up w/ the bike loaded. > All was well until I stopped to check out the bike after @ 15 miles. All > looked good, so I went to restart the bike..... key on, kill switch off, and > hit the starter.......... > nothing. Check everything, try again..... dead. After playing around with > the kill switch, starter button, ignition position, clutch lever, gear box > in nuetral, side stand(up, down and back again), the starter got the > message and worked fine! Got home ok and tried to get the situation to > repeat, but couldn't. This has happened now 5 or six times on me and I'm to > the point where I don't trust the bike to get me where I'm going - or , more > importantly, back home. Unless I can come up with a definite fix to this > starting problem in the next couple of days, I'm afraid I'm going to have to > cancel my weekend trip. I'm bummed! This problem has occured off and on > since I got the KLR a few months ago. I took the starter button apart and > cleaned the contacts, but still no help. Need the fix in the next 48 hrs to > save my weekend trip. Anyone out there have a sure-fire fix for this > problem?? >

Give the starter solenoid a finger-wave. Those connections can be hard to get tight.

Tom I had a similar problem with my 2002 KLR. I disconnected all the safety switches and I still had intermittent start problem. Finally traced it down to the white wire connection under the seat on top of the battery. The connection looked OK but under the rubber connection protector I was loosing electrical contact in the connector I pinched the connector to make it tighter and still had the problem so I finally just soldered the wires together and have never had the problem since. It's worth your while to check this out. Doug in NC ---------- At 05:00 PM 7/25/2007, you wrote:

>Tom Dudones wrote: >Bad news. Had the '03 KLR all loaded for a weekend outing in Maine >and took a "test ride" this morning to see how things stacked up w/ >the bike loaded. All was well until I stopped to check out the bike >after @ 15 miles. All looked good, so I went to restart the >bike..... key on, kill switch off, and hit the starter.......... >nothing. Check everything, try again..... dead. After playing around >with the kill switch, starter button, ignition position, clutch >lever, gear box in nuetral, side stand(up, down and back again), the >starter got the message and worked fine! Got home ok and tried to >get the situation to repeat, but couldn't. This has happened now 5 >or six times on me and I'm to the point where I don't trust the bike >to get me where I'm going - or , more importantly, back home. Unless >I can come up with a definite fix to this starting problem in the >next couple of days, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel my >weekend trip. I'm bummed! This problem has occured off and on since >I got the KLR a few months ago. I took the starter button apart and >cleaned the contacts, but still no help. Need the fix in the next 48 >hrs to save my weekend trip. Anyone out there have a sure-fire fix >for this problem?? > >Tom

Doug Pippin 828-684-8488 d_pippin_89@... ---------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tom, I've had similar problems with my '95. The first was the sidestand switch and the second was a loose battery cable at the starter solenoid. Good Luck, GregM -----Original Message----- From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Tom Dudones Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 11:06 AM To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Help needed: No start, intermittent problem. Bad news. Had the '03 KLR all loaded for a weekend outing in Maine and took a "test ride" this morning to see how things stacked up w/ the bike loaded. All was well until I stopped to check out the bike after @ 15 miles. All looked good, so I went to restart the bike..... key on, kill switch off, and hit the starter.......... nothing. Check everything, try again..... dead. After playing around with the kill switch, starter button, ignition position, clutch lever, gear box in nuetral, side stand(up, down and back again), the starter got the message and worked fine! Got home ok and tried to get the situation to repeat, but couldn't. This has happened now 5 or six times on me and I'm to the point where I don't trust the bike to get me where I'm going - or , more importantly, back home. Unless I can come up with a definite fix to this starting problem in the next couple of days, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel my weekend trip. I'm bummed! This problem has occured off and on since I got the KLR a few months ago. I took the starter button apart and cleaned the contacts, but still no help. Need the fix in the next 48 hrs to save my weekend trip. Anyone out there have a sure-fire fix for this problem?? Tom _________________________________________________________________ http://liveearth.msn.com List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650 Yahoo! Groups Links ____________________________________________________________________________________ Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7

Thanks to all who replied w/ suggestions. I made the wekend trip w/o the bike leaving me stranded - tho it took a couple of tries at the summit of M t Washington to get it to click! I think the problem is in the clutch safety switch. When I try to start the bike w/ the clutch lever pulled in, I often get no response from the starter. But if I put the bike in neutral & leave the clutch lever out - ie engaged - then the starter works perfectly. Seems to me to just bass ackwords of the way the system should operate - ie, clutch should be disengaged for the starter circuit to operate, yes? Suggestions? Tom _________________________________________________________________ Now you can see trouble before he arrives http://newlivehotmail.com/?ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_viral_protection_0507

On Thu, Aug 09, 2007 at 12:10:12PM -0400, Tom Dudones wrote:

> I think the problem is in the clutch safety switch. When I try to start > the bike w/ the clutch lever pulled in, I often get no response from the > starter. But if I put the bike in neutral & leave the clutch lever out - > ie engaged - then the starter works perfectly. Seems to me to just bass > ackwords of the way the system should operate - ie, clutch should be > disengaged for the starter circuit to operate, yes? Suggestions?

My A17 acts the same way, as did a couple customer KLRs I worked on a while back. I thought it was wierd, but the customers said theirs had always worked that way. I will be interested to hear the fix. I suspect the clutch switch is bad, but I have been doing so much other stuff on the bike that it has moved down toward the bottom of the list of things I want to fix. Michael -- "Do you think that when they asked George Washington for ID he just whipped out a quarter?" --Steven Wright San Francisco, CA

On Thu, 9 Aug 2007, Michael Nelson wrote:

> On Thu, Aug 09, 2007 at 12:10:12PM -0400, Tom Dudones wrote: > >> I think the problem is in the clutch safety switch. When I try to start >> the bike w/ the clutch lever pulled in, I often get no response from the >> starter. But if I put the bike in neutral & leave the clutch lever out - >> ie engaged - then the starter works perfectly. Seems to me to just bass >> ackwords of the way the system should operate - ie, clutch should be >> disengaged for the starter circuit to operate, yes? Suggestions? > > My A17 acts the same way, as did a couple customer KLRs I worked on a while > back. I thought it was wierd, but the customers said theirs had always > worked that way. > > I will be interested to hear the fix. I suspect the clutch switch is bad, > but I have been doing so much other stuff on the bike that it has moved down > toward the bottom of the list of things I want to fix.

Mine started something like that after I added brush guards. I then used a multi-meter to work on the switch at the base of the clutch lever. Got it "tuned" to the middle "sweet spot" and then tightened it down and have been good since. Some folk like to disable the safties, and have some pretty arguments for that path. So far, knock wood, I have been fine with my path. -- Doug Herr doug@... A16 in Oakland, California