Author Topic: Himalayan Not Starting Hot or Cold  (Read 1413 times)

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jadofind

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on: September 10, 2022, 11:18:11 pm
Background: 2021 (US) Himalayan, purchased in February 2022. Now has 4600 miles on it. It had significant stalling issues, mostly solved by the booster plug. No other modifications to stock bike.

Problem: Over the past week or more, starting has gotten progressively worse, hot or cold. Wednesday I rode it for about four hours at speeds up to about 63mph, usually about 55 mph, to my Dad's place. The return trip was at a bit more relaxed pace. Thursday morning I took my granddaughter to school (on the bike) in the morning. It was extra fickle about that start, but did get underway. The ~50 mile trip was otherwise normal. Friday evening I decided to ride to a store about 15 miles away. I could not get it to start (cranks but only fires a little, no smell of excessive fuel). Having some time, I disconnected the booster plug and restored the stock configuration. The bike fired up easily and made the trip to the store, though the engine noise was less than what I am accustomed to. It refused to start when I was ready to return home. I pushed it to the gas station across the street to eliminate the possibility that I just was too low on fuel, no joy. Roughly an hour later, it did start, but I couldn't keep it running while putting on my helmet and gloves. It wouldn't fire up again. Today, I retrieved it from the parking lot, visually checked the fuses and fiddled with (removed and reinstalled) the two relays under the seat. The battery was too weak to crank it well, so I put it on charge.

And more: Throughout my ownership, the battery has been unable to crank the engine well starting on the compression stroke. It typically gets past compression in a second or two, then cranks normally. I have no idea if this is something peculiar to my Himalayan or many of them require more to crank than the battery can easily provide. I mention this, since I don't know if the battery voltage is dropping too low during cranking for the ignition and fuel injection to work properly. Curiously, the fuel gauge seemed to be functioning as a voltmeter when I tried starting it with a weak battery, as it read lower with successive attempts.

My apologies for the length of the post, I just wanted to provide all of the clues, in context. As some readers may be thinking, it is still under warranty. I live about three hours from the dealership, so would prefer not to make the trip if the cause and solution of the problem can be otherwise determined.
2021 Himalayan
2014 Yamaha XVS950
2002 HD Sportster 883


zefnerd

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Reply #1 on: September 10, 2022, 11:39:22 pm
 Trouble starting can be lots of things, a video which captures the dash and its lights can be helpful. You mention that it struggles to start, it could be that your battery is on the decline. This can be easily tested using a simple volt meter. The first 4 steps of this how-to are easy to perform. A note that the standing voltage check shows the battery disconnected, that is not necessary for the test. Best of luck.

https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/how-to-test-a-motorcycle-battery


jadofind

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Reply #2 on: September 11, 2022, 03:11:36 am
Thanks, I did much of that after the initial post. With a fully slow charged battery, the initial voltage was > 13V. Cranking voltage was less than 10, about 9.7V. Just to make me feel inept, the engine started during this test. Charging voltage was slightly less than 14V. I intend to remove the battery tomorrow and have it properly load tested, since my test was close to ideal conditions. I'll post the results of that afterwards.
2021 Himalayan
2014 Yamaha XVS950
2002 HD Sportster 883


jadofind

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Reply #3 on: September 16, 2022, 10:15:02 pm
It has been a busy week. The battery checked good at an auto parts store and at a powersports dealer. I revisited the instructions for reading the MIL codes, Intake Air temperature sensor Malfunction and Fuel pump relay circuit Malfunction. I think both can be explained by what I was doing in an attempt to fix the no start issue. The reset process did not seem to work, so The MIL is still on. I will try going back to the last reliably working setup and see what happens.
2021 Himalayan
2014 Yamaha XVS950
2002 HD Sportster 883


zefnerd

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Reply #4 on: September 17, 2022, 04:40:25 am
 The MIL light should go off after a few error free cycles of the ignition being on for a minute lol or so, not sure if a start is required. As the MIL’s might still be actives, perhaps unplug/plug the AIS to make sure it if fully seated, additionally physically check to make sure all the the sockets that the fuel relay plugs into are firmly locked into its plug. If you’ve swapped around the relays or have tried a new, here in the US we have seen a good handful of peoples whose fuel pump won’t prime after a ride but sometimes start after cooling until completely failing later on. Without a good video to listen to for what’s working or not and what the dash is telling us, you might need to be verifying the basic function of the fuel pump. If that is healthy then the safety interconnects. Air, fuel, and spark. As it’s being elusive, I’d let the dealer sort it on his dime as it may require some troubleshooting the have special tools for and more costly parts which warranty will cover.


him a layin

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Reply #5 on: September 18, 2022, 12:59:32 am
fuel filter clogged?


jadofind

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Reply #6 on: September 21, 2022, 03:02:33 am
Epilogue: One of two remaining unexplained portions of this account is the initial failure to start. I decided to reverse the disconnection of the booster plug and discovered that I had failed miserably in the process, getting confused between two connectors and managing to leave the associated stock harness connected to nothing. In other words, I was able to start and ride it without any intake temperature input and no timely MIL illumination (no explanation for this either). After reconnecting the booster plug, I was able to clear the error codes and start the engine. I have ridden it at least four times since then, with gradual improvement in engine behavior. Starting is still somewhat tricky, it seems that the initial mixture is the culprit, I have to guess whether it will start best with full choke, partial choke or no choke. I try to forget about all of the motorcycles I've owned that were very easy and reliable starters, both injected and carbureted, and just be patient. In the course of the approximately 200 miles of riding since the correction of the sensor connection, the fuel economy seems to be normal, but some of the running characteristics make me think the booster plug is not working well. I will probably attempt to correctly restore the original configuration again, just to see if it runs better without the modification.
2021 Himalayan
2014 Yamaha XVS950
2002 HD Sportster 883


jadofind

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Reply #7 on: October 01, 2023, 01:47:17 am
fuel filter clogged?

Epilogue to the Epilogue: I obtained the Hitchcock replacement relays, which didn't help much. I finally traced the problem to a locked rotor on the fuel pump and yes, the fuel filter was packed with black stuff in less than 6000 miles. I also replaced the weak battery. No problems starting since the new fuel pump was installed. I plan to check the fuel filter whenever I check the valve clearances.
2021 Himalayan
2014 Yamaha XVS950
2002 HD Sportster 883


him a layin

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Reply #8 on: October 01, 2023, 02:54:11 pm
awesome! was thinking of suggesting fuel pump next.


AzCal Retred

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Reply #9 on: October 01, 2023, 04:55:42 pm
Have you checked all the cable terminations, all clean (bare metal) and tight? Battery Ground cable clean & tight? The battery can have internal resistance that drops voltage under load. Measure the voltage across the terminals when cranking. It should be over 11 VDC, close to 12 VDC.

The starter solenoid contacts can have high resistance too. You can gage this dynamically (voltage drop across contacts when cranking) or statically (electrically make up relay, large power cables to starter lifted). Should be under 0.5 volts dropped dynamically or 0.5 Ohms when made up statically.

The starter motor just knows applied voltage. If you think your battery is hinky, a 12V auto battery bootlegged in there (CAREFULLY) with jumper cables can provide a very low voltage drop source.

My ES350 had a marginal starter solenoid contact make up because the solenoid itself had poor grounding, leading to low applied pressure closing the heavy start contacts. The solenoid was OK, it just wasn't getting proper voltage to make a firm connection. Check your wiring diagram to see how your start solenoid circuit is powered up. I found my symptom by listening. In the factory circuit the solenoid would weakly "snick" closed when energized. Putting 12V directly across the start solenoid operating coil got me a resounding "CLACK" as it pulled in. More applied pressure, better internal contact. If start solenoid contact pressure is the issue, chase down where the circuit voltage drop is happening. My start PB was OK but the OEM grounds thru the clutch switch and neutral switch were flakey.

Look over the circuit diagrams, ponder on it, do some testing, report back what you find.
A trifecta of Pre-Unit Bullets: a Red Deluxe 500, a Green Standard 500, and a Black ES 350.


jadofind

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Reply #10 on: October 01, 2023, 07:20:27 pm
Have you checked all the cable terminations, all clean (bare metal) and tight? Battery Ground cable clean & tight? The battery can have internal resistance that drops voltage under load. Measure the voltage across the terminals when cranking. It should be over 11 VDC, close to 12 VDC.

The starter solenoid contacts can have high resistance too. You can gage this dynamically (voltage drop across contacts when cranking) or statically (electrically make up relay, large power cables to starter lifted). Should be under 0.5 volts dropped dynamically or 0.5 Ohms when made up statically.

The starter motor just knows applied voltage. If you think your battery is hinky, a 12V auto battery bootlegged in there (CAREFULLY) with jumper cables can provide a very low voltage drop source.

My ES350 had a marginal starter solenoid contact make up because the solenoid itself had poor grounding, leading to low applied pressure closing the heavy start contacts. The solenoid was OK, it just wasn't getting proper voltage to make a firm connection. Check your wiring diagram to see how your start solenoid circuit is powered up. I found my symptom by listening. In the factory circuit the solenoid would weakly "snick" closed when energized. Putting 12V directly across the start solenoid operating coil got me a resounding "CLACK" as it pulled in. More applied pressure, better internal contact. If start solenoid contact pressure is the issue, chase down where the circuit voltage drop is happening. My start PB was OK but the OEM grounds thru the clutch switch and neutral switch were flakey.

Look over the circuit diagrams, ponder on it, do some testing, report back what you find.

Thanks. I haven't looked recently, but the wiring diagram I found for a Himalayan was not for the EFI version, let alone a 2021. I'm not sure that makes a difference for the starter solenoid, however. Since it has been starting well for several months, whatever was causing the weak cranking performance was either the battery, or the new battery is strong enough to minimize the effect of the problem.

I was mainly updating the thread so that any future readers wouldn't think that they found an answer, but be disappointed.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2023, 07:22:43 pm by jadofind »
2021 Himalayan
2014 Yamaha XVS950
2002 HD Sportster 883