No headlight, no horn, no signals, no windshield ops, no start

I ride my 93' K1100LT daily to work have had a couple of electrical problems in the past but this one has me puzzled.

I turned on the key this am and my headlights came on for a second then I hit the starter button. The headlights went out as usual but never came back on and the motor didn't turn over. Previously I found the sidestand was not closing the switch so I bypassed it - nothing changed. Checked fuses, disconnected the negative battery term and unplugged motronic unit, reseated relays, reseated wiring connectors and looked over any other connection visible. The instrument cluster lights up with all normal lights, abs cycles, fuel pump winds up for a second or two, the turn signals will blink both lights together when either signal switch is pressed then stop. Starter relay 'clicks' when the starter button is depressed but never turns over the engine. The electric windshield quit working too! Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

Have you tried to jump start the bike?

I might give jumpstarting a shot but my garage is 20 feet below street level and I'm 56 and out of shape. Maybe get my wife to tow me up to the road! Good idea though, thanks.

Could take the battery out of the car and take it and cables to the bike.

I would check the ignition switch, then off switch by the starter button.

Both signal lights lighting at the same time might indicate a bad ground somewhere. Clean the ground wire at the engine. I have had ground wires corrode or break and the signal lights ground back through each other and cause all to blink. Boat trailers are bad about this. BMW uses a small ground from battery to engine ground. I added 2 more 12awg wires to mine.

I have been guilty of only checking the hot side and ignoring the ground.

Ralph Sims

A couple of past posts also suggested the ignition switch as you have. Thanks for the ideas.

Check for loose electrical connections, any electrical componets supported by rubber insulators, and the load shedding module. I'd do that before I pulled the $tarter.

JON

I believe that you are going to find that your starter brushes are worn or dirty. They will cause the load shed relay not to energize. Without the load shed relay energized, all of the stuff you described will happen. If you have a voltmeter it is easy to check. Put the voltmeter on the starter terminal. There is only one. If you have 12 volts there and the starter isn't turning, the starter is your problem. If you have the problem that I suspect you will have 12 volts at the starter terminal before you even push the start button.

no lights...

Could it be your battery? Sometimes these little boxes under the seat short out inside the plates. If you have a car battery close by hook up the jumper cables... don't start the car though... the alternator in the car will mess with the harness on the bike.

Relays also as you mentioned could be the problem with the headlight not coming on. I had taken the relays out and mixed them up between the shed relay and what ever else is in the relay box under the tank.

Yep, If the brushes on the starter are dirty or worn out that too, can cause havoc! All grounding for the engine goes thru the starter.

Winter riding is hard on bikes however the need of a larger helmet to cover the smile is priceless... eh?

tim lindstrom
95k1100Rs
columbia heights, mn

HFbmw said:

Yep, If the brushes on the starter are dirty or worn out that too, can cause havoc! All grounding for the engine goes thru the starter.

Click to expand...

Actually the only grounding that goes through the starter is the load shed relay, not the whole engine.

I've heard this statment many times before. I'd like to set the story straight on this.

A easy way to check to see if it is your starter is to simply turn the key on, run a jumper wire from the starter terminal to ground. If the headlight turns on, your starter is your problem. Do not hit the start button while doing this.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll give them a try and see what happens. I miss riding behind that big fairing on these cold mornings as my '85 Honda Nighthawk is a bit lacking in wind protection. Thanks again.
Gary

I ran the ground wire to the starter terminal and the lights came on. I pulled out the starter and it was nasty inside w/ grit and black dust. I cleaned it all out and reinstalled OK. The bike started right up! Thanks for the diagnosis on the starter!!