NEED HELP WITH THIS ----URGENT-----

[MonsterInDark]

yA...its not them....i just went to check on that and i even pulled the wires out....and its not them....called nick and valley ducati....guna have to take it in there monday afternoon...hopefully it wont be anything major.... looks like ill have to pop the clutch for a couple more days....

[live2ride]

if its not clicking at all, i would hold down the starter button and go poke and prod every wire i can on the bike. (using caution as if its a main wire, it could spark). when i hear clicking again, i would inspect that area much more closely.  see if any wires are loose or corroded.  

this all assumes the battery is not just simply dead.  try a different battery. try jump starting with a car battery (car should be off).  if that works, then it's probably the charging system.  since you have been push starting it, it should be charging the battery but it hasn't.

usually, when the charging system is to blame, its still not the rectifier or stator, but once again the wires.  not loose wires, but rather burnt or corroded wires.  you would have to pull each wire harness and inspect.  but at least this is cheaper than replacing random parts.  

[MonsterInDark]

Thanks guys....i think that its probably corroded wiring or something linking my alternator to the battery or something like that...i drove it down the road to put some gas in it and to see if the battery would charge at all....and it didnt...but what i noticed was when the bike was at idle the headlight was flickering and then when i revved the engine up a bit the light would come back on steady and strong....so im assuming that it must have something to do with the charging units on my bike...and this morning i had just enough juice for a good crank over....but then once that was used...it was gone which made it seem like it suddenly happend... so ill check the battery voltage when i get home tonight and hopefully its just a $hitty battery...but like one of you said...with me popping the clutch to start it...and driving it around...if the recharging elements were working then the battery would be able to charge and i would have juice... but sadly i think it is more then that...

[minnesotamonster]

Safety selenoid? I had similar issues as you are describing on my 2001 600 and it ended up being the safety/ sidestand solenoid under the seat. Easy check to see if that's the cause, just pull out the black rectangular box under the seat and jump the with a piece of wire. Worth a quick check.

[Drunken Monkey]

Quick Q:

Is it a Halogen bulb or a Xenon bulb in the headlamp? The bit about "two bulbs" didn't quite make sense to me otherwise.

If it's a Xenon bulb the flickering is a sign of low battery voltage. The fact that when you rev it, it stops flickering would mean your battery is VERY low, but your charging system is working as long as you're revving the bike.

If that's the case the next mystery is what drained your battery...

[ODrides]

Replace the battery or put it on a charger for a couple days.  If you just drive a short distance "down the street" that's not enough time to charge your battery up.  At low revs there's no spare juice going back to the battery.

[Howie]

Since the bike bump starts check charging system output while the bike is running.  You should read 13.5-14.5 volts at the battery.  Though the bike bump starts and continues to run, as Cloner said, one of the three phases could be out,  providing enough electricity to run the bike but not enough to charge the battery.  Then check the battery connections and engine ground.  Tight does not mean a good, clean connection.  Either measure voltage drop* over the connections or remove, clean and reinstall.  The ground is by the breather valve.  Follow the negative cable down from the battery and you will find it.  While doing this work, well, longer than that since it would take 6 hours at 2 amps, charge the battery so you can have it load tested.  When you either determine the battery is good or replace it if the bike still does not start (assuming the click is the solenoid) check the connection at the starter.  Careful disconnecting it, the lug on the starter is easy to break.  If your wrenching skills are bad leave this for Nick.

Oh, when disconnecting the battery, negative first.  Reconnect negative last.  If you tackle the starter connection, negative on the battery should be disconnected.



*This is for a car, but works for bikes too:
Starter Circuit Voltage Drop

[WarrenJ]

As a fairly inexperienced Motorcycle troubleshooter, I've found this flowchart pretty darn handy for diagnosing motorcycle electrical problems - might help

[MonsterInDark]

Thanks for all the tips guys....i pulled the battery and put it on a charger for about 2 hours and load tested it and it dropped pretty quickly...but the load i was putting on it was alot more then would take to turn over the bike...so i put the battery back in and reconnected....check the solenoid plug to make sure it had a good connection....and then she fired right up....fired up 5 or 6 times...went in to have dinner and watch some TV...then came back about 3 hours later....bike was sitting there dead not wanting to turn over....popped the clutch again to get it home from my buddies figuring that this battery just wasnt holding a charge...and that i would have to replace it...had to pop the clutch again this morning so i could ride to work....then after about a 20min commute to work i turned the bike off and turned the key...hit the ignition...and she fired right up again....figured the battery would die in a few hours because the battery couldnt hold a charge very well....came out about 4hours later for lunch and she fired right up again....drove it to lunch...turned off and on again just fine....so im just going to give it a few days to see if it dies again...and if it does im going to replace the battery...because im assuming with the battery charging up again from a 20 min ride the charging system is working....so it must be the battery...ill keep you guys updated...but it seems like it might just be a battery thats at the end of its life....

BUT thanks again to all you guys who helped me narrow it down...and at least now if something else ignition related happens....ill have a guide as to where to start...and what im looking for!