here is a copy of a post i made about 6 years ago
trouble shooting tree
questions
MODIFIED ON 5/12/14
#1 when you turn the key on does the needles sweep and the headlights come on yes go to # 2
or no could be battery,ignition switch,fuses,connectors under the tank,engine management relay,ect
#2 does the green light come on for neutral yes go to #3
or no could be not in neutral, bad gear sensor,wiring
#3 with the clutch lever pulled in push starter button does the engine turn over yes go to #4
or no could be bad starter button, bad kick stand or not all the way up, bad
starter relay, bad battery or bad connections at battery,
#4 the engine is turning over good does the motor start yes your are ok till problem shows up.
or no. Can you hear the fuel running for about 2 seconds as soon as you turn the key on yes go to #5
or no could be bad fuel pump, fuel pump relay,wiring
#5 assuming the fuel pump has enough pressure the problem could be terminals at coils,bad gas,injector or injector wiring.
we have seen connectors,fuse terminals, the wire on ign. switch melting,
this is just a helping hand and does not cover all problems. there may be mistakes in this as i have not spent a lot of time typing this. i may make changes latter and welcome info from hanso, warp and others to correct the info i have typed here.
hope this helps herman
i have been a mechanic for 50 years. the last 39 years i have had my own automatic transmission business and worked on vehicles with many types of electrical problems,like ign. switches, computer problems, shorts, failed relays, and vehicles worked on by other mechanics, ect.
over a period of time the
ignition switch gets bad because of the arching when you first turn it on. when your bike is new everything works great and the current to the lights is good. after your bike (and your ign switch) gets some miles on it the ign. switch will no longer flow enough current through the contacts. this causes access heat and can melt the main white wire off the switch, also can cause the connector under the tank to go bad.
many people has installed the eastern beaver or relays to correct this situation, which is very good advice. however you still have the ign. switch with bad contacts that is feeding the starter. some people (like me) has also taken the
starter solenoid out of this circuit and have had no problem with the ign. switch.
in the older rockets the power comes from battery through fuse #11 through fuse #2 then by white wire to ign. switch through fuse #9 through the starter relay to headlights.
the best way to check is while you are having the problem is to check voltage from ground to fuse #9 if it is less than 8 volts you need to replace ign. switch. if you are short on money you could possibly get by and do eastern beaver(or relay mods) and take the
starter solenoid out of the circuit(starter relay mod)
when i first came to this site i knew very little about the rocket my knowledge was gained through the problems posted and a lot of good guys taking there time to try and help us with our problems. i would like thank those of you that welcome newbies and spend time helping us with our problems.
herman
