Need Advice... 2004RT not starting

[BFish]

2004 RT approx 44k miles. Mostly consistent weekend riding. New battery last year. Had time for a ride this evening and it cranked but would not start. Pretty sure the fuel pump was cycling as i listened the next time i turned the ignition on. After a couple of attempts i put kickstand back down then up hoping it was the culprit. Next try resulted in no cranking at all. when pressing the starter button i hear something, but no cranking.

 

Guess the starter could be gunked up, but not being much of a mechanic i'll throw it out to the group for suggestions. NO prior issues prior to this evening.

 

thanks in advance.

 

Edit...pulled fuse 5 (not sure why). looked ok. when tried to start it again same thing...fuel pump is cycling, battery seems ok, noted the brake failure light kept flashing.

[T__]

BFish, with the limited info you gave us your problem could be about anything..

 

If it still isn’t cranking over you need to start with that.. You didn’t inadvertently kick it into gear did you? Does the head light go out when you try to crank it? If all is well ignition circuit wise & your battery is up & capable of cranking the engine then you possibly have a failing starter (like magnets coming loose) or poor cable connection at eh starter..

 

On the initial complaint of not starting that could be either fuel or ign related. I guess the place to start there is to check for a nice snappy bluish colored spark while cranking the engine over.. If no spark then check the lower plugs for spark also.. If you have spark at all plugs then check the plugs for being fouled or wet with water maybe you got some bad gasoline)..

 

If good spark & the plugs are not wet or fouled then pop a fuel injector out (leave fuel line & wire attached),, the place the injector tip in a small jar or plastic bottle & crank the engine over to see if your injector is spraying fuel.. If no fuel being sprayed you need to check for good fuel pressure & flow to the injectors..

 

We can help you diagnose your starting problem but keep in mind we can’t hear it or see it or touch it so you will have to do that part then tell us what you find..

 

Just an afterthought here: is there any chance you or someone else stuck something in the muffler end? Maybe a washing plug or something similar.. If so it won’t start..

 

 

Twisty

 

[BFish]

hey twisty, not in gear and i get a buzz or whining but no crank when i push the start button. it ran great last time out (last week). not sure what a bad starter would sound like, but it sounds like it's a starter having a hard time turning. lights are ok.

 

is the starter in the left side? if i can locate it i'll check it.

[T__]

Brian, what is your battery voltage across the battery posts while trying to crank it? If much below 9.5 volts you might be fighting a low or bad battery.. It could also be a starter problem pulling the battery voltage low..

I guess the place I would start is to make darn sure the battery is fully charged & capable of producing enough power to crank it over..

 

Yes, starter is on the L/H side..

 

Twisty

 

[BFish]

will do...thx

[BFish]

Brian, what is your battery voltage across the battery posts while trying to crank it? If much below 9.5 volts you might be fighting a low or bad battery.. It could also be a starter problem pulling the battery voltage low..

I guess the place I would start is to make darn sure the battery is fully charged & capable of producing enough power to crank it over..

 

Yes, starter is on the L/H side..

 

Twisty

 

 

since battery was relatively new i was convinced it wasn't the culprit, but what do i know. hooked up charger for all of 30 seconds and that's all it took to crank up on first try.

 

guess i'll pull the starter and see what it looks like and try to figure out what caused the battery to lose some juice. thanks for the input. i'll sleep better tonight.

 

One last ? ....how could the starter draw the battery down? no doubt when i first cranked it the battery was down.

[Richard_D]

I put a new battery in mine March of 09 and it went bad in October of 09. Replaced under warranty . (Westco) My last Westco lasted 5 years. Good luck Brian.

[BFish]

it's a westco as well.

[tallman]

Brian,

It happens.

Always suspect the battery first.

They are without honor sometimes and like to fritz with us for their own reasons.

Try keeping it hooked up to the charger all the time and see if that helps.

Good luck.