S2R800 won't start

[S2RMassive]

I've got a 2006 S2R800 with about 7k miles on that I don't ride very frequently anymore.  It got to the point where every time I wanted to ride I'd have to pull the battery out (there's no power outlet near where I park it) and put the battery on a tender in my apartment the night before.  Last time I took her out was a week after I had charged the battery.  I ended up having to start the bike a few times within a few minutes - once to get it going, once because I turned down the throttle warm-up too soon and it stalled and the third time at the gas station.  I ended up having to push the bike home because it wouldn't start at the gas station(luckily I was only 1/2 mile away).  That was about two months ago.  Since then I had taken the bike out for a short ride after putting the battery back on the tender.  A few days ago I tried to start the bike and it wouldn't turn over so I put the battery back on the tender for a few days. and here is where things started to get strange:

1. The tender immediately started flashing green indicating the battery had > 80% charge remaining.
2. When I put the battery on the bike it wouldn't start.  So I rechecked the battery connection and it was fine.  Checked and rechecked that the starter kill wasn't on.  Turned off the high beems still no engine turn.
3. All of a sudden I start hearing a clicking noise coming from somewhere (not sure where) that wouldn't stop until I disconnected the battery which obviously made it stop.  Reconnected the batter and the clicking started again.
4. Took the battery out and put it back on the tender - tender still read that the battery is > 80% charged.

I'm really stuck here.  Can someone please help?  I'm pretty good mechanically but not with bikes.  If someone can point me in the right direction I'd really appreciate it and probably be able to post up some more useful information.  Furthermore, and I know this is a long shot but I also know that there are some really helpful people out there, if someone can stop by (I'm in Emeryville, CA) and help me with this is I'd offer a dinner and as much beer as you can carry on a ducati (my girlfriend is a really good cook).  If you guys think this is a lost cause I guess I'll have to tow it to desmotosport.  All of your help is greatly appreciated and thanks for all of your help in advance.   

All the best,

Sohail

[mostrobelle]

The clicking happens when you're pushing the starter button?  Or...the clicking happens all on its own and you're not touching anything? 

[enzo]

Clicking sounds like a starter solenoid.  Someone else will have to confirm, but it sounds like power isn't getting to the starter motor properly.  As I understand it, the solenoid is a switch between the battery and the starter, activated by the starter button.  If it's failing, then the switch might be what is clicking uncontrollably, as well as what is partially draining the battery.

Might be related:
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=40783.0

[S2RMassive]

Thanks for the advice mb and enzo. 

The clicking started happening sporadically when the key is in the on position.  Didn't start happening right away as I may have mentioned before.  Also, hitting the starter button didn't seem to have an effect on the clicking noise. 
I checked the link that you sent me enzo and that seems to be what's happening to me.  I'll give some of the ideas in that thread a shot tonight when I get home.  I also spoke to one of the mechanics at desmoto sport and he suggests it could even be one of the wiring harnesses in the right side of the handle bars - said turning the handle bars extreme left then extreme right may help the engine start in which case the next step would be to ride it in immediately or just try to push start and ride it in.  Otherwise I'll have to have it towed.  Either way I think the bike will end up at desmotosport. 

Could bad starter button + harness or who knows.  Any other ideas?

-Sohail

[mostrobelle]

Yeah, I'd go with what Enzo said.  We've had our bikes fail to start due to numerous causes, so we're quasi-experts now.  Your description is exactly what one of ours did.  There's a little bit of black magic that happens to get a bike to start.  You can spend a fair bit of time researching it money buying parts--not to mention all the little things that you can break as you're taking it apart--ask me how I know.  Push it over to Desmoto and let them do their thing.  The diagnosis will take 30 mins or less and after parts and labor you'll probably be outta there for around $400 with a bike that starts.  Go have that battery checked before you buy a new one, too. 

[S2RMassive]

Thanks MB.  Here's a bit more info just in case:


After putting the freshly charged battery in the first time i put the key in the gauges sweep and everything looks fine.  When I attempt to start I hear a starter click as if the battery is dead.  Subsequent attempts to start result in no more "starting" clicks and the guages all go haywire.  By haywire I mean tach and speedo are either bouncing around or stuck on 2k or 20 mph, temp goes from hi to 3000 to 204 to all dashes (mind you the bike hasn't started in 2 months), when I pull the clutch in all the gauges go off or come back on depending on the bike's mood.  In other words, everything is hosed. 

[J5]

its 4 years old

still the original battery ?

my bet is the battery is stuffed

if the battery is no longer holding enough charge , yeh sure it will charge on the tender but when you go to use it there isnt enough grunt in it to do anything

the solenoid clicks on and off as the voltage drops

take you battery to a decent battery place and get them to load test it and i sure you will find it is no good

[S2RMassive]

Thanks MB.  Here's a bit more info just in case:


After putting the freshly charged battery in the first time i put the key in the gauges sweep and everything looks fine.  When I attempt to start I hear a starter click as if the battery is dead.  Subsequent attempts to start result in no more "starting" clicks and the guages all go haywire.  By haywire I mean tach and speedo are either bouncing around or stuck on 2k or 20 mph, temp goes from hi to 3000 to 204 to all dashes (mind you the bike hasn't started in 2 months), when I pull the clutch in all the gauges go off or come back on depending on the bike's mood.  In other words, everything is hosed. 

[S2RMassive]

Thanks for your help everyone!  So I decided to give the bike a jump start.  As soon as I hooked the jumper cables up the bike started acting normal again; gauges, lights etc all sprung back to life.  The bike fired up no problem as well - I even took it around the block once and everything ran great so you're right.  I need a new battery.  Anyone know where I can get the best deal in the Bay Area.  I'd rather not wait for it to be shipped.  Once again, I really appreciate the help.

[mostrobelle]

Cyclegear has cheapies.  Or go to Desmoto.  You get a 10% discount if you mention that you're part of the DMF. 

[duckwrench13]

Just as a precaution, I would have the charging system checked over. The voltage regulators are known to fail from time to time. If you've been having dead/dying battery issues, and frequently have had to jump start, etc, there's a slim chance that the voltage regulator could have taken a beating. Once that fails, all the new batteries in the world won't help. A new regulator will run in the $100-200 range, depending on model.

It's worth the few $ to have the charging system checked over.