hornet 250 problems starting

FatherLen

hey guys
i have a slight problem with my bike. it's a hornet 250, 97 with nearly 50k on the clock. over the past little while its been giving me trouble when trying to start it. when i press the start button the motor tries to get it going but with no luck. at first i thought i flooded it so i left it for a while(about 15 min) then tried again. no luck. i know it has nothing to do with the temperature of the engine because i bump started it and drove it until the engine was hot. then turned it off and tried again. still no luck. i am just close of trying to take out the starter motor and see if thats it but i said i would try here first.
any thoughts on my problem would be greatly apreciated.

BrokenArrows

FatherLen wrote: »

hey guys
i have a slight problem with my bike. it's a hornet 250, 97 with nearly 50k on the clock. over the past little while its been giving me trouble when trying to start it. when i press the start button the motor tries to get it going but with no luck. at first i thought i flooded it so i left it for a while(about 15 min) then tried again. no luck. i know it has nothing to do with the temperature of the engine because i bump started it and drove it until the engine was hot. then turned it off and tried again. still no luck. i am just close of trying to take out the starter motor and see if thats it but i said i would try here first.
any thoughts on my problem would be greatly apreciated.

Does it struggle to turn over the starter motor or does the starter motor sound strong but just not start the engine.

FatherLen

it sounds strong-ish it tries to start it and it just starts to kill the battery, to be honest i haven't had the bike for very long. i am starting to think it might be the battery. my plan is to go for a long drive maybe 40 minutes after bump starting it and see if that makes a difference. could it be the battery?
edit: other reasons i am suspicious of it being the battery is when i rev the engine the headlamp gets brighter and when i turn on the indicator the neutral light dims. i have had starter motor problems with my previous bike and i dont think its that starter motor. i cant get my hands on a multi meter until monday.

uncle betty

It could indeed be the battery.

Most important before you go any further - ensure the battery is fully charged. Wasting your time otherwise.

If you're not getting a meter til Monday, you might as well put the battery on a charger over the rest of the weekend.

In general, make sure the battery is not obviously knackered. Look out for the breather tube if it has one. If that's kinked, melted and/or blocking the escape of gas, it will cause you charging problems.

Make sure there's enough electrolyte in the cells if it's the kind of battery with the upper and lower levels marked on it.

Give the terminals a clean with emery paper or similar, and also the cable lugs. Or you could mix a bit of baking soda and water.

I don't know how you're fixed with electrics ? If you want I can post up on how I check a battery, by loading it. That'll soon tell you where you stand.

FatherLen

hey cheers i will try that. my dad is a sparks so i will get a hand off him.

uncle betty

I forgot to say that actually, it is common enough for a battery to be able to spin the starter motor, yet not get the bike started. I think the reason is that spinning the starter causes the voltage to drop below the minimum voltage that is needed by the electronic ignition.

Electronics in general tend to be very voltage sensitive. That's why connecting the battery the wrong way around is potentially expensive.

Anyway, in case it might be of use, I put down a few things to look for with the battery.

First and foremost, if you haven't had the bike for long and it was sitting around for a long time, that's absolutely no good for a battery.

That you have the right battery in there, specified by the manual - correct amp-hour (AH) rating and so on.

If there are any additions or accessories in the system, or putting in 60w bulbs when the bike was designed for a 35w - could all cause problems.

1. Open Circuit State of Battery Charge

A very basic test. Not definitive. Charge the battery, put it into the bike. Switch on so that you have headlight, for about 2 minutes. Switch off, and let the battery sit for about 10 minutes.

Now check the voltage, using DC setting on the meter.

A conventional battery at 100% charge should show about 12.6v + Less than 12.4v after 10 minutes, probably means it is goosed.

A maintenance-free battery (no filler caps) at 100% charge should show 12.8v to 13v. Anything less than 12.5v to 12.8v after 10 minutes, not good.

2. Load Testing the Battery

Set the multimeter to DC voltage.
Flick the Engine Kill Switch so that the engine cannot fire up.
Put the meter probes on the battery.
Hit the engine start button and hold for 3 or 4 seconds.
You are looking for the lowest voltage reading. You need around 9.5 volts.

3. Testing for Current Drain

A battery will obviously very gradually lose it's charge over time. It'll lose it a lot quicker if there are unwanted draws caused by shorts etc.

To check for this, disconnect the Negative side of the battery. Everything switched off. Set the meter to Amps.

Put one lead to the Negative terminal of the battery, and one lead to the lug of the negative cable. Do not hit the starter :-)

Meter should read practically zero, or a tiny number. Otherwise you have unwanted draw, so pull out all fuses one at a time to see the reading drop. When it does, that's the circuit which contains the problem.


After all that, you're into checking the battery charging system, and regulation. Better to do that before you shell out a load of cash for a new battery.

Best of luck. Any questions just ask away. If I can help, I will.

Alkers

I would say its the battery also, had one of these and found the battery drained very quickly from trying to start the bike if it was cold and ended up having to bump it quite often when it got cold.
Whip it out and let it charge overnight and see how you fare in the morning.