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2003 R6 - Starter relay clicking, no start

15K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  MR E30 
#1 ·
Afternoon,

After doing research and getting nowhere, here is my particular situation.

I have owned the bike for 1 month. I take it out on its maiden voyage down a road called the 89A to a small town called Sedona. I am loving everything about riding.

I eat lunch, leave the town and everything is fine.

I am riding back to Flagstaff, up a particularly windy section following behind a line of cars stuck behind a very slow RV.

The temp on the gauge starts creeping up to around 200 degrees, so I decide to pull over on the side of the road and let this RV get out of my way so I can enjoy the corners at higher speeds.

Cars clear up, I go to ride again and the bike wont start. No attempt or subtle crank over. Simply the starter relay clicking away each time I push the start button.

Thankfully I am on a hill, and I push start the bike back to life and finish up the remaining 30 miles home in glorious fashion.

There are no issues whatsoever as the bike is running. Headlights are still bright, no hint of stumbling idle or the want to shut down, and it still runs and revs like always.

I get home, resting voltage on the battery is 12.89 volts. When I click the start button, the voltage still reads 12.89 volts. The starter relay is receiving all 12.89 volts when the bike is in the off position.

Still, all it does is click once, then nothing.

The battery is not OEM, but it is less than 2 weeks old. I am sure I will hear people saying the battery is the culprit, but as an engineering student who has dabbled into the electrical engineering world, I want to disagree with those people.

When I bought the bike the guy had a bad stator and a trash battery, but even at around 10 volts, the battery would still crank the bike to life, time after time.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is 200 degrees too high for the bike to experience? I did not see the high temp light come on at all during this whole ordeal.

Possible starter issue? I was trying to get to the starter to give it a smack and see if it was simply stuck in place.

Thanks!
 
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#3 ·
Hey another Arizona rider, welcome. Im down in Mesa area I have an Uncle that lives in Flagstaff. I used to own an 03 R6 and had a TON of electrical issues. The 03 R6 is known for this. The bikes temperature is ok at 200, the fans wont kick on until it reaches 214. In the summers the bikes temperature may get up to 220, anything above 225 that isn't cooling down, I would worry. As far as the bike not starting, it could be the starter. In my case the bike would magically turn off when it wanted to. Come to find out the ignition wire had melted to the frame and was not making a good connection. This doesn't sound like your problem as the bike cranks but not start. I would start with the starter and go from there. If you need any fairings for the bike let me know, I have almost all mine from the 03 as well as a few other parts. Hope things work out and good luck. :toocool:
 
#5 ·
Here's another piece of information that may lead to an answer.

Neg lead of voltmeter on the starter, pos lead on the positive input of the starter.

12.85 volts with the key in the on position.

As soon as I press the start button and I hear the click from the relay, voltage drops to zero.

New relay on order. If that doesn't fix it then starter I suppose.
 
#7 ·
Well, if anyone is searching for an answer, I have it.

New starter relay comes in. Replace it. Nothing happens.

I remove starter, open it up (very simple task) and find that the main power input connection has been severed within the starter itself.

Replaced the worn wire (looked like a braided grounding strap) and it now fires right up.

Win.
 
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