WR450 stalls, but elect. starter goes dead

[yam314]

Right in the middle of a race yesterday,my bike (04 WR450) stalled out. Normally, I would just hit the button and never slow down.But this time the LED would not come on ,and it took me at least 4 minutes to kick start it-while most of my class came by! Then, it started ,and ran flawlessly for the rest of the 2.5 hr Scramble.

The battery always seems to have a good charge and worked fine all weekend. The connectors seem tight.The wierd thing is ,that it would not even kickstart easily like it normally does. Anybody got any suggestions for me to check, or do I just need a new battery?

BTW, I always kick it on the dead-engine starts,as the elect starter doesn't turn over fast enough.

Jeff

[jerryls]

I've had my bike do this too when stalling. It feels like the clutch is still engaged, and I get no response from the starter. Usually if I find neutral and rock the bike back and forth a little, it will fire right up.

Of course this crap never happens when trial riding, only during races.

Jerry

[yam314]

The battery shows 12.8 volts until the on/off button is turned on.Then the voltage will drop to 1.5 v.I will try a new battery.Will also dis-connect the sensors to be sure they are not going to ground.Shouldn't the bike still kickstart w/ a dead battery?

[ETP]

The battery shows 12.8 volts until the on/off button is turned on.Then the voltage will drop to 1.5 v.I will try a new battery.Will also dis-connect the sensors to be sure they are not going to ground.Shouldn't the bike still kickstart w/ a dead battery?

Wow. If its dropping to 1.5 volts when the switch is on, and the starter is not running, then you've got something shorted in the electrical system. Using the electrical schematic in the shop manual as a guide, you can disconnect parts of the wiring harness until you isolate the cause of the short.

[jed075]

mine will kick start with a dead battery,i would check the neutral switch,and do you have a key or enduro button, both of these have done the same thing to me.