When I turn the key I hear a buzzing/clicking noise. No lights turn on, on the speedometer cluster, or turn signals, or headlight. The previous owner told me he charged the battery, and used a multimeter but could find no problems. He believed it was the solenoid. I am replacing the battery. If the lights still fail to come on, what should I check?
A (rapid) buzzing/clicking noise sound when trying to turn over an engine is caused by a weak or low voltage/amperage flow from the battery to the starter solenoid. There's just enough voltage to get to the solenoid but not enough to spin the starter; so what you are hearing are the rapid pulses of the solenoids contacts opening and closing.
If you hear a ticking sound, this condition is caused when the starter connection plate has shorted and will not allow the electrical current flow to continue through to the starter motor itself; OR the starter brushes have failed and are not allowing the electrical current flow through to the starter armature.
In order to start diagnosing the electrical system, you must have a fully charged battery (12.6Vdc) and one that can hold its charge.
CAUTION / WARNING: Whenever you are working on a battery, ALWAYS wear eye protection and gloves; and make sure there are no flammables (combustibles) nearby.
If the battery, when disconnected (removed) from the M/C's chassis maintains and holds its charge, you know the battery is not the source of the problem. However, if after you hook up the wire leads to the battery and the power from the battery is discharged- you'll need to find the source of what's draining the battery. To measure current draw; make sure everything is turned OFF. Hook-up your multimeter in series to the positive battery post and the positive lead wire; using the amperage scale on the meter, take a reading, it should be zero or an extremely low milli-amp reading.
In absence of any parasitic amperage draw you need to check the solenoid ground for any corrosion; as a matter of fact, check the entire battery harnesses for corrosion and loose connections.
You can also remove the starter and test the solenoid, starter motor, and over-ride clutch (Bendix arm), too.
If everything passes, then you will have to troubleshoot your motorcycle's charging system. Hope this helps- keep me and this forum posted wit any updates; best wishes.
SOURCE: I have a 2001 kawasaki
Find a manual here free
http://www.repairmanualclub.com/motomanuals/index.php
SOURCE: i have a 89 kawasaki ninja 250 that wont start just click
sorry to say it but the battery cannot handle the load, it may work with small things like lights and low amperage devices. but when you crank the starter motor your pulling far to many amps and the battery cannot put out meaning that the battery has a bad cell or it may just need a battery refill, today we just replace the batteries. it;s safer and a lot easier. plus you get money back for bringing in your old one. but the battery is not able to supply the proper voltage and amps anymore and should be replaced. a very simple test turn the key to run and turn your headlights on. then press the starter button see if the lights do not completely go out. if they do you have a dead battery cell. good luck with it, and thanks for using fixya
170 views
Usually answered in minutes!
×