Last night I installed my first fender eliminator kit (Competition Werkes on a 2011 Monster 796). I was patting my own back because when I had everything put back together and tested the lights; everything worked and blinked properly. Then when I was putting the bike away for the night, I noticed that the headlight was not working, the engine light was on and the dash had a message which read: ERROR: LIGHTS. This morning I called my dealer, and he had no suggestions for me other than to check the fuse, which I had already done.
When I got home from work today, I went to take another look at the problem, to see if by some chance I had unplugged a front light relay without realizing it. To my surprise, the problems had multiplied. Now the motorcycle does nothing when I turn the key to the ON position. Nothing. I put the bike on the battery tender an hour ago in case I had accidentally left the key in the park position in my last minute haste to cover all my bases before leaving for work this morning (in case the dealer had questions for me when I called). I'm suspicious its not a dead battery.
I'm not sure how clear my problem is from this explanation. If you have experienced similar problems or have a suggestion, please chime in. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
ARE.
I'm gonna go with a bad ground somewhere, but I base that on absolutely nothing but a WAG.
If you've gone through all the obvious and still nothing, I would reconnect all the original wiring and see what happens.
Check every fuse in the bike including the main fuse. Fully charge the battery. If you are using a trickle charger and you did leave the bike in park one hour did not do much. Your battery is a 10 amp hour battery. If the battery was completely discharged it would take 10 hours to fully charge at 1 amp, 15 at .75 amp. Many chargers on the market are also not capable of fully charging an AGM battery (what is in your bike), but will charge it enough to start the bike. Then put a voltmeter across the battery.. It should read at least 12.6 volts. Turn the key on. You should see close to the same voltage and the dash should go through it's show. Now try starting it.
My apologies on the battery tender, I should have stated that I had just started it charging...
So I've had a chance to look things over after these posts. The battery is all charged, still nothing on the dash when I turn on the key. As it turns out, there was a fuse blown in the fuse box when I pulled them all in better light, and when I pulled out the wiring to reconnect the original license plate light (which is the only light that was not an original on the new fender) it looked like one of the wires may have been pinched when the eliminator was bolted under the seat.
The only fuse I have not checked is the Main Fuse. I can see it on the wiring schematic, but I do not know where it is on the bike. Do I need to lift the tank to find it?
Well, to sum up the thread in case anyone searches it and needs the answer: the power wire on the fender eliminator license plate light was pinched. Once the wire was fixed up, I pulled the gas tank off just enough to replace the main fuse, which had blown in addition to the headlight fuse in the fuse box. The main fuse on a 2011 Monster 796 is located under the gas tank on the right-hand side of the bike, underneath a green cover.
Thanks for the suggestions,
ARE.