Help! 1200 sport won't start. It's stuck in a parking lo

[swortsoul]

I'm going to go back and jump it from my car when my girlfriend gets home, but want to be sure I'm not missing anything stupid. 

I rode home from work and stopped at the store. Got my stuff, then the bike wouldn't start when leaving. Engine kill switch is in running position. Light comes on. Gauges sweep. I think I hear the fuel pump. Hit the starter, and don't really get anything. Maybe a light click, but not much. 

I checked the fuses. Bike was in neutral and I put the side stand up, and down a few times in case the switch was sticking. 

The battery reads 11.8V with the ignition on. I think that's low for starting, right?

So will a jump get me home?

Appreciate any quick responses, or any at all really.

Thanks
Tim

PS I really just think it's mad at me selling the V11 yesterday...

[swortsoul]

Someone replied on guzzitech. They also gave me this link, which is interesting.  http://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/modern-no-start-issue-solution.4908/

 

Bike is home.  Just went back after 1.5 hr, and it fired up.  Odd, but will look into that thread a bit more.

[GuzziMoto]

The "No Start" issue is a fairly common one with the CARC Guzzi's. Italians in general don't seem to understand electricity very well. There are a few ways to address the issue, I don't think there is one magic answer.

The two main areas to address are the way the power is supplied to the starting circuit, which is what that link talks about, and making sure you have good clean electrical connections, especially to ground. My CARC Guzzi has suffered the syndrome as well, it started doing it after I switched to a lithium iron battery. But while I think the battery played a part in it I think the real issue is the two things I mentioned, poor electrical design and aging connections. The lower power of the lithium iron battery (yeah, I know, they claim the lithium battery have more power, they don't) likely just triggered the issue. It probably would have happened eventually as the lead acid battery got weaker.

Anything that results in lower voltage/current for the starter can cause the issue. If the ECU senses voltage below its pre-programmed threshold it aborts the starting attempt.

Something to remember if it happens again, you can always push start the bike.

[pete roper]

Same problem caused by shitty system where electrons have to go through the ignition switch and run up and down the bike twelvety times before doing their job.

 

Direct feed to yellow wire on starter relay. As long as earths are clean,mend of problem.

 

Pete

 

PS. The same system has been used forever. It's always sucked but they won't changenit.

[Admin Jaap]

FWIW, the dash on my 1200 sport sais 11.8v too, but it starts w/o a problem. Check the blue 15A fuse.

[Admin Jaap]

Another culprit could be the starter solenoid. It died twice on me already.

[dlapierre]

It's happened to me a few times. Everything works and spools up but the starter won't engage. In every case it is just the connection at the battery posts that aren't secure enough. Try tightening them.

[Admin Jaap]

^ +1
Happened to me too once

[Kiwi_Roy]

It's happened to me a few times. Everything works and spools up but the starter won't engage. In every case it is just the connection at the battery posts that aren't secure enough. Try tightening them.

It's not just loose terminals that cause a problem, lead oxide can creep in and disconnect the wires even with the bolt tight. 

Scrape the battery terminals until you see bright metal then apply some Vaseline, this protects the metal from Oxygen, no Oxygen = no Lead Oxide

 

Old battery trick.

[Alfanatiker]

Had the same few times on my Breva. In my experience it's a bad connection -batt to frame combined with the circumstance that the dashboard (where the "battery" voltage is measured) doesn't have an own wire directly to neg. batt.

 

e.g if the wire (+cable lugs + screws) from  neg. batt --> frame has 0,05 ohms (the starter motor consumes an average starting current of 100 amps / series wound motor) you will have a voltage drop of ~5 volts on this connection at the moment of starting.

 

CARC starting procedure is: startbutton --> + -->  input ECU then output ECU + --> to starter solenoid. If dashboard detects "low voltage" it sends "stop starting" over CAN to ECU and you will hear the wellknown "klack".

 

I did an additional wire of 6 mm² (AWG 10 or 9) from  neg.batt --> fastening screw generator --> fork and never again heard "klack".