[Rajeevraj]

Hi All,
Looking for help from the motor-cycle experts. I have a 2 year old Pulsar 200 NS run around 7K km. Mostly used only within the city for office commute. Serviced at regular intervals. Last service was ~6 months back.

I have faced a starting trouble a couple of times now. Pressing the starter button invokes no response. Even with the choke on there is no response. The electrical's (horn, indicators) work fine. There is enough fuel.

The first time it happened I wheeled it to the service center close to my home, had to leave it there and collected in the evening. When I asked what was the issue, their response was vague (said something had to be adjusted) and I did not really understand. And that occurrence was after after a week of not using the bike so I did not think much about it.

Yesterday same thing happened (3 months after the first occurrence). This time unfortunately it happened in my office basement in the evening. There was no response. I tried for 15-20 min, and was above to give up and started to wheel the bike to a corner to park, tried one last time and it suddenly fired up.

My question is what could be the problem here.What basic troubleshooting tips can I follow? And is there anything I can do to get it started in such situations without the electric starter?

Note: The Pulsar 200 NS does not come with a kick start.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Pressing the starter button invokes no response. Even with the choke on there is no response. The electrical's (horn, indicators) work fine. There is enough fuel.

I tried for 15-20 min, and was above to give up and started to wheel the bike to a corner to park, tried one last time and it suddenly fired up.

Could be a simple wiring issue or the start button issue. Bajaj A.S.S (ofcourse other brands too) will be lazy enough to skip checking them or direct us to replace them. Better take the bike to some FNG and get it checked.

PS: try checking the voltage across the starter motor terminals during such instance, that should give an fair idea.

[Divya Sharan]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I have faced a starting trouble a couple of times now. Pressing the starter button invokes no response.

So you mean to say that the bike's starter motor doesn't even turn over the engine/crank? That 'kirrrr' sound? It may very well be the starter relay. It's fuse may have blown off!
Also, try once by opening your fuel lid (may as well be a vapor lock, but in that case, the bike would crank).

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I have faced a starting trouble a couple of times now. Pressing the starter button invokes no response. Even with the choke on there is no response. The electrical's (horn, indicators) work fine.

AFAIK, there are 3 things that could be the problem.

1) The Starter switch itself.
2) The Starter relay
3) The Starter Motor

It is most likely to be 1 or 2.

As for starting the bike without the Self Starter, only choice you have is a Clutch Start.

This page details it quite well.

http://www.wikihow.com/Push-Start-a-Motorcycle

As soon as it show signs of life, pull the clutch lever first and start accelerating.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

So you mean to say that the bike's starter motor doesn't even turn over the engine/crank? That 'kirrrr' sound? It may very well be the starter relay. It's fuse may have blown off!
Also, try once by opening your fuel lid (may as well be a vapor lock, but in that case, the bike would crank).

Right, the engine does not crank and all. What I don't understand was after 15-20 min, it suddenly worked fine. If it is a malfunction in any component I would not expect it to start working again on its own

[Leoshashi]

It happened frequently with my bike too and incidently it was also a BAJAJ.

Its probably your starter relay which has developed what they call- CARBON. Exactly similar thing happened with my XCD135 & Pulsar 180. Get it cleaned. It should solve your problem.
If the issue isn't solved, check the BCM fully.
If BCM is fine, consider replacing ignition coils. They are cheap, and since yours is a triple spark bike, I guess there would be 3.
There can be issue with the starter motor also. In my case, the starter switch, starter motor's terminals etc were 1st wiped clean to remove any carbon deposits. Then starter relay's carbon deposits were cleaned. These steps solved issue on my P180. However for XCD 135, BCM was found faulty along with one of the ignition coils(it has only 2).

Regards,
Shashi

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Right, the engine does not crank and all. What I don't understand was after 15-20 min, it suddenly worked fine. If it is a malfunction in any component I would not expect it to start working again on its own

I had the same problem in my bike.

I would only get a light chit-chit sound at times. But no sign of the engine firing up. Then the odd time, it would switch on and I wouldn't dare to turn it off even if the signal was 240 seconds long!

It was thought to be the starter relay, but was then narrowed down to a faulty starter switch. Cost me around Rs. 250 to repair.

And for all you know, it could be some slight loose contact somewhere that happens to make contact for some slight movement or something of the sort once in a while, causing it to function as normal.

[ArizonaJim]

The probable causes mentioned are the most likely candidates but one simple to check thing has not been included.

Both connections of the heavy duty wires to the battery terminals should be checked to see if any corrosion exists on their connecting surfaces.
Corrosion is very likely on a 2 year old motorcycle and if it exists it will greatly reduce the amount of electrical power going to the starter solenoid and the starter motor.

Its effects can be intermittent, often working fine but occasionally not working at all.

Doing this inspection involves removing each connection's fastener and examining the mating surfaces of the cable and the battery. Just visually inspecting the connected wires is not enough.

If any corrosion exists on these surfaces it can be sanded or scraped off to restore a good connection.

While doing this inspection it is VERY IMPORTANT to first determine which pole (terminal) of the battery is connected to "ground" or the chassis of the motorcycle. It is usually the negative (-) terminal.

This ground wire is the first wire to disconnect. It is also the last wire to reconnect.

With the ground wire disconnected, the power (usually the + terminal) can safely be disconnected for inspection.

The reason for this "disconnect the ground wire first" rule is, if the ground wire is left connected, all of the metal parts on the motorcycle will be actively charged.

If, while disconnecting the ungrounded wire the wrench contacts any metal part on the motorcycle it will cause an instant short with the full power of the battery going thru it.

I knew a guy who didn't follow this rule. He had a ring on his finger on the hand that was holding the wrench.
As he turned the wrench (which was contacting the ring) the ring contacted the frame of the car. The power from the battery went thru the wrench and thru the ring to ground. This resulted in the ring almost melting while it was still on his finger.

Those of you not overly familiar with working around batteries need to understand that the low voltage (12 volts) of a battery cannot shock you.
The low voltage is not strong enough to penetrate the resistance of your skin.
The high amperage of the battery is powerful enough to heat metal objects like the ring in the story I mentioned above though so do follow the "disconnect the ground first and reconnect it last" when putting things back together.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Right, the engine does not crank and all. What I don't understand was after 15-20 min, it suddenly worked fine. If it is a malfunction in any component I would not expect it to start working again on its own

Fungus inside the contacts causing this issue; remove the switch assy once, clean it well, spray WD40 & close it. You won't get this issue for a long time.

[Divya Sharan]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Right, the engine does not crank and all. What I don't understand was after 15-20 min, it suddenly worked fine. If it is a malfunction in any component I would not expect it to start working again on its own

Yes, then just get the relay checked and switch gear cleaned of dust and other particles. Use Zorrik and you will be happy.

EDIT - RG beat me to the solution by a long long time.

[Rajeevraj]

Thanks all for the inputs. I took the bike to the service center armed with these suggestions and requested to look at these potential causes since the issue could not be simulated. Based on the checkup, they said it was a loose contact with the starter switch itself and they have fixed it. Hopefully should be good now.

[Rajeevraj]

Looks like I spoke too soon. After a full service and the apparent fixing of the issue, today bang in the middle of evening rush hour traffic, I confidently switched the bike off at a signal. It wouldn't start after that.

Moved to the side and tried starting, no luck. Waited for 10-15 min to see if it would start again- No luck. Then finally moved to a side road and jump started it in 2nd gear. It started surprisingly easily in the jump start with just pushing by myself.

Went straight to the service center. The guy who told me it had been rectified was no where around, since it was starting fine then, the guys there could not understand what the problem was. I tried explaining the various points mentioned in the thread, finally they took it in and cleaned something next to the clutch lever. Not sure if this is what needs to be done. I tried explaining/understanding further, but it was like talking to a wall. They kept saying its all fine. Finally came away with the hope that whatever they cleaned has solved the issue.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

cleaned something next to the clutch lever

Clutch switch probably. It plays a role in triggering the starter motor relay when the vehicle is in any gear (except neutral) Not sure how it could help when the bike is already in "Neutral"

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Not sure how it could help when the bike is already in "Neutral"

Loose contact sending false information to sensor/circuit; the issue will be fixed now

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

The reason for this "disconnect the ground wire first" rule is, if the ground wire is left connected, all of the metal parts on the motorcycle will be actively charged.

I have never opened up and peered into the actual wiring harness, but you mean all the wires on the motorcycle are single leads? (Return/-ve/common/0V/ground whatever you may call can be accessed from anywhere using the chassis!)

And the same with the cars too?