Triumph Sprint ST starting problems

beanhead

Hi there, 1st post & call for help, typical of a bike forum isn't it!?

I bought a black '00 Sprint off ebay over the summer collected it & brought it back home, hard luggage, factory alarm & a bit of style I thought. Anywhere it was painted on the rearsets & forks had blistered, but I reckon thats road salt & less than perfect Triumph finishing, all in all I was happy & the purchase price was in my budget - €2100; not bad for 35000mls

Since then I've picked up an aftermarket seat (bad left leg needs softer seat) & a higher screen & heated grips for winter riding/commuting

Anyways I tried to start it a week back & it didn't have enough juice to crank so I took out the battery & placed it on an optimate overnight, plonked it back in the following day & it started right up :cool:

Over in my brother's last week & it just wouldn't start, couldn't get the neutral light to light up either & I know it was in neutral for sure. Also the lights now stay on when I remove the key..these are not the parking lights either..I have pretty much ruled out my own stupidity for the moment

Next I thought I would search for the problem online (this is like a hyperchondric looking at medical sites to get the blood flowing ) & found out that pinched ignition wires under the barrel could be an issue, took off the front fairing & checked but that wasn't it, also checked the harness & connecters around there for corrosion etc but nothing...
Switched a couple of the relays(that were the same) around to see if that could be it, again nada

Phoned bikeworld, the only Triumph dealer & was told that they only work on bikes they sell which is fair enough but I am back on the fugging bus again!

Can anyone point me in the right direction for a person/shop that is willing and able to sort out a problem like this?

Cheers
Al

Pigeon Reaper

most of the smaller shops will help you out. Ace are pretty good and cheap but you'll probably have to get the parts yourself. cotters could be helpful too. Where in Dublin are you? Have you tried testing with an ampmeter etc yet? When did this stuff start happening? did you change anything or did the bike get soaked in rain etc..

beanhead

cotters sounds good, guess I'll give them a ring & see if I can get a recovery service up there.

I'm pretty careful with a power hose & it wasn't washed for a week or so before the trouble started + I'm a bit clueless about lecky stuff

Thanks

Owen

Okay, you could have pointed out the problem yourself in your original post. The Neutral switch is not engaging/disengaging to illuminate the Neutral light on the dash. If the bike thinks it's in gear, it may not allow the starter to engage without the clutch being pulled in. Have you tried that?

Also, try the side stand wiring, if the bike thinks the side stand is down, it may result in the same issue. With regard to your headlamps? It could just be a stuck contact in the LH Switchgear. I'd get myself to my local Maplins, buy some switch cleaner, gently unscrew the switchgear housing (Not to the point where it separates and springs go flying) and give the internals a good spray. Trace back wiring looms to their respective connector blocks, and clean those blocks out too, there could be water lodged in there causing shorts, or corroding contacts.

Elfish

ned78 wrote:

Also, try the side stand wiring, if the bike thinks the side stand is down, it may result in the same issue.

Wiring here rarely fails, its the switch that gets jammed. Check the switch that the sidestand presses when you put the sidestand out. Is it releasing freely? Or covered in clabur? Pull switch arm out fully to make sure this isn't your problem.

Garibaldi

Hi OP, if your problem is persisting, the lads in Inchicore Motorcycles (I seem to mention them a lot) are supposed to be very good with Triumphs. The shop owner has one himself. Simon, the owner, is at 01 4532973.

beanhead

Wow, helpful response I'm impressed with you lot

guess I'll have a look at the sidestand switch, the neutral switch is internal so if thats failed you need to drain the sump & remove for inspection. I already sprayed the switchgear internals with wd40 (not sure if thats a bad idea...contact cleaner i should have used, whoops!)

Failing that maybe Inchicore..I like the idea of the garage owner knowing the make & foibles of a non big-4 make

thanks all

beanhead

Well Cotters came through for me in the end, big thanks to them & spending 10hrs on the facker testing a few different components for failure then dismantling all bodywork etc tracing through the loom to find some wires that had been cut through by the RHS inside frame.

A rewiring fixed the problem..nice fellas & resonable bill too