jjprit Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 ok. u have a 1987 yamaha virago xv1100. this issue happens mmaybe once or twice a month. The most 4 times a months every.. ill be riding on the highway going pretty fast. for example today i was riding it on the I95 in florida doing about 100 miles per hour for about 80 miles so a good hour drive... i stop at a gas station. turn off my bike.. fill up with some gas. go to start my bike and BAM IT DOESNT START.. When i start it i hear my starter click, so its shooting out and i hear a FAINT spinning. Sometimes if i let it sit for a while it will start right up. Sometimes it wont. 1)If i push start it no problem ( this kills me becuase this is one heavy son of a gun) and usually when i get home. turn off the bike it starts right back up.1 2) i can wait for a little while every now and then and it would start back up. Only sometimes so at this point im thinking it has to be a bad starter or selenoid But i did not want to buy a new starter due to the price... i randomly said hey let me hook it up to a car battery and see if starts i hooked it up to my wifes car and BAM!!! starts with no problem. so with this new info l i decided to think maybe it was my battery or regulator. I tested my battery with the bike off.12.4 volts. Started the bike it dropped to 12.2 (obviuosly cus it used juce to crank up) Waited a minute or 2 and it reads 14.2 volts with the motorcycle running. Turned off the bike now it reads 12.5 volts. (so with my knowledge so far its not my regulator which is the charging system or my battery not being charged) God im hoping its not the starter. So i get my batter tested at a friends garage. its read 285 cold cranking amps.. .Im not sure but i was aware that my bike needs at least 340 cold cranking amps.. If this is the issue. i need help trying to understand why this would only happen once in a while. Not every time. maybe once or twice a month the mad 4 times it happened a month, and i ride my bike on a Daily bassis. If it was my cold cranking amps should it be a normal thing. Not after i good ride? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaman Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Sounds like your battery is OK. I would start by cheking the earth wire to the starter, and cleaning it all up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Possibly reg/rec not charging properly? Definitely check everywhere for loose wires, including fuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dt502001 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 This is one of thoes things that you need to test while it's doing it,put your multimeter in the saddel bag and when it does it check the voltage at the solenoide and starter, posibly the solenoide isn't alowing full amp through at times. I would as suggested clean all terminals from the battery to the starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjprit Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 i cleaned all my connections. the thing i odnt understand is a bad fuse or connection is a bad connection or fuse. Why does it work 100% of the time if i hook my motorcycle up to a cars batter with jumper cables? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dt502001 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Hmm posibly you battery has a plate thats shifitng causing a dead cell,if it works on a heavier cca battery check the amp draw that the starter is pulling your battery might not be up to the task. edit: also viragos were notorius for bad starters esp when hot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjprit Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 batter is brand new. 2 weeks old. AGM or AMG i dont remember lol. My starter selenoid reads over 12 volts recieving. starter is getting full poewr. I have not tried it when it gets hot. it hasnt happened yet. When it does i will use my multimeter to tell u what the selenoid is recieving and what the starter is revieving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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