She won't start

[jenmom22]

Help!
Today was a super day - warm (in the upper 40's) and no rain in the forecast. I bundle up and go out, but my baby won't start.

Unfortunately, the dealership is closed for the holidays, so I am turning to you guys for help.

When I press the start key, I get one turn, like it is trying to turn over, but then nothing. It wouldn't 'keep going' like it does when you try and start the car - and I'm not sure if it would anyway (I've never had any opportunity to know, as it has always started quickly in the past).

I had my foot on the brake, the bike is in "N," I did the "M" thing.  Lights, horn, etc works fine.  The battery is at full 12 volts.

Any ideas?

[DragonLorD]

I don't want to undermine you Buddy but what about killer switch? - is it not off?
- work throttle couple of times full down and back, might be moved a bit or stuck
- check all fuses too
- some one else dime in soon, don't worry we'll get you ryding
Keep us posted

[NancysToy]

Charge your battery! If that doesn't do it, clean and tighten the connections at the battery, and charge again. If that doesn't do it, you probably need a new battery. You can carefully jump start the Spyder using the jumper terminals under the seat.

[DragonLorD]

Charge your battery! If that doesn't do it, clean and tighten the connections at the battery, and charge again. If that doesn't do it, you probably need a new battery. You can carefully jump start the Spyder using the jumper terminals under the seat.

NT, isn't he saying that battery is full on 12V and everything else is working?

[StriperKing]

I agree with Scotty, battery or battery conections.

[jenmom22]

Okay, killer switch was off (I turned it on, to show my husband the difference).

The battery is fine, as far as I can tell - we put a 'trickle' on the bike for 30 minutes today, but there was no difference. Joe has a indicator that you attach to the posts, and it registered full (12 volts). The posts look clean.

When you push the start button, it all looks fine, but you only get one 'burst' of the bike trying to turn over, and then nada.

It's one of the semi-automatic styles, if that makes any difference. I'll try the throttle roll.

Oh, and the bike is 15 months old, as of 12/25. There is almost 3,000 miles on her.


Thanks to all! We have about 3 days of 60 degree weather coming, reeaaalllly want to ride.

[Big Arm]

NT, isn't he saying that battery is full on 12V and everything else is working?

The battery may read 12v with a meter, but that doesn't mean that it has a full charge to turn the engine over. It needs to be put on a battery charger to fully charge. The battery is 15 months old. Mine lasted 1 yr. alltho many here are still running their '08s on the original battery. Keep us posted.

[boborgera]

Okay, killer switch was off (I turned it on, to show my husband the difference).

The battery is fine, as far as I can tell - we put a 'trickle' on the bike for 30 minutes today, but there was no difference. Joe has a indicator that you attach to the posts, and it registered full (12 volts). The posts look clean.

When you push the start button, it all looks fine, but you only get one 'burst' of the bike trying to turn over, and then nada.
.

Sounds like a loose connection AT THE BATTERY, [neg cable] Not the jumper posts.
Also what does full 12 volts mean; 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.8, Any thing under 12.8 is not charged.

[bikeguy]

I agree with Scotty. I'd look for either a battery or connection problem. Try checking the battery voltage under load. One way to do that would be to connect the meter to the terminals then hit the starter and see what the voltage reads. I bet the voltage will fall to substantially less than 12 volts under load.

Cotton

[Blondespyder]

The battery may read 12v with a meter, but that doesn't mean that it has a full charge to turn the engine over. It needs to be put on a battery charger to fully charge. The battery is 15 months old. Mine lasted 1 yr. alltho many here are still running their '08s on the original battery. Keep us posted.

I have to agree.. I have an 08 RS and I had the exact same issue one morning. Battery said fully charged and still wouldn't start! But, jumped it and had no problem after that. I did happen to have the same issue a few months later and it was the security feature. It thought it was being stolen and shut down the whole bike system... Dealer had to put in a new ignition and computer system, with two new keys! Was thankfully under warranty

Good luck.. Hope you get riding soon.

[DragonLorD]

Now that looks like battery is gone if it tries but can't turn over. As other guys already said, kick start it, throw kick start kit in the frunk and ryde, get new battery when dealership opens again and most importantly - RYDE and RYDE and RYDE much much more.
....less than 3k in 15 months is not enough to keep bike alive
Enjoy

[Blue Star]

Now that looks like battery is gone if it tries but can't turn over. As other guys already said, kick start it, throw kick start kit in the frunk and ryde, get new battery when dealership opens again and most importantly - RYDE and RYDE and RYDE much much more.
....less than 3k in 15 months is not enough to keep bike alive
Enjoy

I will also add that you need to ryde highway speeds to keep battery charged.

[Neez]

I had a similar problem on my SE5. I pulled the battery out and took it to the dealer for a load test. Proved OK. They replaced the starter. Still no joy. Turned out the bearings in the starter gear train were tight and they had to replace them on warranty. Rare, apparently, but it can happen.

[jenmom22]

Now that looks like battery is gone if it tries but can't turn over. As other guys already said, kick start it, throw kick start kit in the frunk and ryde, get new battery when dealership opens again and most importantly - RYDE and RYDE and RYDE much much more.
....less than 3k in 15 months is not enough to keep bike alive
Enjoy

How do you kick start?

I will take all the suggestions and work on her in the morning - thank you to all! I'm not sure how to get at the battery, but have the manual online.

I already promised the bike that I would ride her more in the upcoming year. I got some cold weather gear now. Thanks again! I so love my Spyder family.

[NancysToy]

A battery that reads 12.0 volts is dead. The Spyder battery needs to read at least 12.7 volts to be useful.

Trickle charging for 30 minutes will not do the job on a dead battery. At a charging rate of 1.0 amps, a battery this size needs at least 12 hours of charging from a fully discharged condition.

[arntufun]

How do you kick start?

I will take all the suggestions and work on her in the morning - thank you to all! I'm not sure how to get at the battery, but have the manual online.

I already promised the bike that I would ride her more in the upcoming year. I got some cold weather gear now. Thanks again! I so love my Spyder family.

FYI.... It was a joke about the kickstart.

Isn't anyone watching my videos that will show you how to get to the battery and a bunch of other stuff ??? It's in series one of this thread link below.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...Arntufun-Style

[Bob Denman]

A joke?? I thought that if you stood kicking the left front tire and cussing up a blue streak...

[jenmom22]

A joke?? I thought that if you stood kicking the left front tire and cussing up a blue streak...

Just about did that one....


Joe was looking for the kick start. He was not amused... it's early...

[Bob Denman]

Just don't kick the RIGHT front tire...
"Nanny" takes exception to it...

[napper39]

loke others said loose battery post they vibrate loose and loose fusess they also vibrate loose and that will cause the same thing.hope you get her started,try those things brfor you take it to the dealer.if its a loose battery cable they will charge you money.

[Daisyjoe]

I feel your pain. This happened to me a couple of months age. Went out to ride, turned key, it tried to turn on (1time) but nothing. Each time I tried, it would try the first time then nothing. Each day I would try and I would get the same response. This was on Friday afternoon, dealership did not open until Tuesday. Called Tuesday described malfunction to dealer. Of course they said bring it in. They gave same suggestions (as our Spyders friends) as to what could be wrong. I was trying to figure out how I was gonna get it to the dealership (I live an hour away with no trailer) For some reason, I decided to try my other KEY. It cranked immediately. Drove it to the dealership. They checked it out. They could detect no problems. I haven't had any problems since that day. It cranks with either key now. CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN THIS MYSTERY

I have a 2010 SE5. I bought it new and it had about 2k miles when this occurred. Good luck. Spyders You gotta lov 'em

[Blondespyder]

I feel your pain. This happened to me a couple of months age. Went out to ride, turned key, it tried to turn on (1time) but nothing. Each time I tried, it would try the first time then nothing. Each day I would try and I would get the same response. This was on Friday afternoon, dealership did not open until Tuesday. Called Tuesday described malfunction to dealer. Of course they said bring it in. They gave same suggestions (as our Spyders friends) as to what could be wrong. I was trying to figure out how I was gonna get it to the dealership (I live an hour away with no trailer) For some reason, I decided to try my other KEY. It cranked immediately. Drove it to the dealership. They checked it out. They could detect no problems. I haven't had any problems since that day. It cranks with either key now. CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN THIS MYSTERY

I have a 2010 SE5. I bought it new and it had about 2k miles when this occurred. Good luck. Spyders You gotta lov 'em

That is what I was talking about when I said my bike thought it was being stolen,...the key apparently has some computer things in it (go see Lamont's post of a key taken apart) anyway, mine wasn't connecting correctly and was sending a signal to the bike that it was being tampered with and so it was shutting the whole system down.. I would suggest maybe having that one key checked, just to make sure.

Happy riding!!

[Dudley]

I am not a pro on batteries, but as I understand it, a battery can read 12V but if it has a dead cell, it will actually be "dead". My thinking is that yours may be in that category. Hope you find the cure soon so you can ride.

[Mr. White]

Sam, you might charge the battery 18-24 hours @ 1.5 to 2.0 amps. If you can, have your husband or Bruce install a battery charger pigtail so you can charge often. Ya gotta ride that puppy more and run 4,000 rpm to keep the battery up. I charge Big Red 1 most of the time between rides. Hey, we have a nice, easy ride Saturday over to Bulverde for Mexican food, come on out and run that thing....ha ha

[PCBeachBum]

I recently replaced my battery on my '08 SM5 and even though the battery was new, I still had to put a charge on it before installing it. It wasn't fully charge, so I put it on the tender and left it on for 12 hours. Checking it after, it was at 12.7 volts and fully charged. Just because its new and just out of the box, doesn't mean its fully charged and its best to make sure and put it on a tender, before installing it and attaching the cables.