Help - stranded - OK now

[alanp]

2008 1200 Sport.  Rode to breakfast about an hour from home.  Just came out to leave, bike won’t start.
Turn on key, dash lights up normally, all the usual sounds.  Hit starter button, nothing happens.
 It is not the kill switch.  Side stand indicator light goes on/off if I lower/raise the stand, so that switch is working.
???

[Idontwantapickle]

No click at all? If someone there has cables then see if a jump will start it. If the light show is normal but no starter the bike can be push started. Get a helper or two. Use third gear or so and do NOT open the throttle until it is running.
Good luck

Hunter

[Testarossa]

Alan, were you able to bump start?

[yogidozer]

Show a location, maybe someone is nearby.
Also, unplug, and replug relays. Check hot lead on starter and ground from battery is good and solid.

[Wayne Orwig]

2008 1200 Sport.  Rode to breakfast about an hour from home.  Just came out to leave, bike won’t start.
Turn on key, dash lights up normally, all the usual sounds.  Hit starter button, nothing happens.
 It is not the kill switch.  Side stand indicator light goes on/off if I lower/raise the stand, so that switch is working.
???

A faint click under the seat, or nothing at all?

Have you tried to bump start.

[bobrebos]

Where are you located?

[blackcat]

Similar thing happened to me on my Norge and I disconnected the battery, waited a few minutes and hooked it back up. Started up and never had a problem since.

[alanp]

Thanks for all the responses.  It finally started the normal way.  Trouble is I don’t know what the problem was.  I never found anything wrong, but tried again and it went. 

[Rebochi]

  Known starting problem with Guzzis. add another relay directly to the battery with an appropriate fuse in line to power the starter solenoid. Use the existing circuit and connection to the solenoid to operate the relay.
   If this description does not make sense I can make a crude diagram.

[Idontwantapickle]

  Known starting problem with Guzzis.

Alan, Glad you got going! If it hasn't been done already adding a direct fused wire to the starter relay helps solve this problem. Even so, at this age it's a good idea to disassemble the ignition contacts to clean them and put on a coating of vaseline. Also clean the ground connections, relay connections, etc. As you probably know this has been discussed at length for years!        

Hunter

[alanp]

  Known starting problem with Guzzis. add another relay directly to the battery with an appropriate fuse in line to power the starter solenoid. Use the existing circuit and connection to the solenoid to operate the relay.
   If this description does not make sense I can make a crude diagram.

Is this the "startups interuptus" fix, or are you describing something else?  If something else, the diagram would be appreciated.  If this is "startups interuptus" wasn't there a kit to fix that?  Are they still available somewhere?

And thanks again for all the responses, it's good info to have.  I am glad to know push starting is an option, wasn't sure about that. 

[Testarossa]

Yes, it's startus interruptus but you don't need a kit, just a $5 Bosch relay, three feet of 12awg, an inline fuse and fifteen minutes with a crimping tool.

[alanp]

Yes, it's startus interruptus but you don't need a kit, just a $5 Bosch relay, three feet of 12awg, an inline fuse and fifteen minutes with a crimping tool.

Thanks Seth, sounds easy enough, but I am not that up to speed on the issue having just picked up the bike.  Aware of it, but never dug into the details which I will now need to do.

[willowstreetguzziguy]

Same thing happened to my 08 1200 Sport... TWICE, 2 weeks apart.  Wouldn't start, waited 40 minutes and it started.  Got the Startus interrupts and installed it 3 years ago and NO MORE PROBLEM!

[Kiwi_Roy]

As others have pointed out it's likely Startus Interuptus caused by too much Voltage drop through the ignition switch, flicking the switch a few times to get a better contact may do the trick.
The accepted permanent fix is to cut the yellow wire below relay 3 and splice on a wire direct from the battery through an in-line fuse (strong supply). Just relay 3 gets a better supply, the yellow wire still feeds the other loads via the weak supply via the ignition switch.

The starter solenoid needs to draw at least 25 Amps to pull the gear into mesh, the direct feed (strong supply) will give it 30 or more.
http://www.thisoldtractor.com/guzzi007/schematics/2007_Norge.gif  (according to Carl the Norge and Sport 1200 are the same)

If you prefer not to cut any wires you can purchase a kit from MPH that does the same thing with an extra relay socket, many owners have gone that way.

Unfortunately the wiring diagram gives you no clue as to how the starter solenoid works. It has 2 coils one that pulls 10 Amps and another that will pull 40 Amps or more if wired right. The 40 Amp coil is only working for a fraction of a second but its vital to the starter operation.

The topic comes up about once a month, I must have helped 100 owners through it, here's one from a week ago.
https://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=101750.msg1610183#msg1610183
Note: You can get the MPH contact from here.
 

[Testarossa]

When I first acquired my 850T, back in 1984, I had to go through the whole wiring harness and replace corroded connections. The original switch gear was fragile to begin with, and the switch wiring ran through the handlebar which put potential short-circuit points at the pass-throughs (two for each wire), so I rewrapped those. The starter switch contacts in particular were badly burned, which means arcing, which means way too much amperage. The circuit from battery thru fuse block to ignition switch to sidestand switch to starter switch to starter relay was just ridiculous. So I bypassed the whole mickey-mouse mess and rigged a direct line from battery to starter relay and used a robust dirt-bike kill button as a starter switch. Later, when I replaced the bars and had to get rid of the original switchgear (which ran its wiring through the original handlebar), I used K&S switches and figured out that adding a direct fused line would reduce the load on the circuit. Many years later, after the dawn of internet, I found Wildguzzi and learned about startus interruptus.

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

Is this the "startups interuptus" fix, or are you describing something else?  If something else, the diagram would be appreciated.  If this is "startups interuptus" wasn't there a kit to fix that?  Are they still available somewhere?

And thanks again for all the responses, it's good info to have.  I am glad to know push starting is an option, wasn't sure about that.

there is a kit plug & play for about $50 from MPH Cycles or AF1 racing... or its pretty straightforward patch job with $15 worth of stuff from a local auto parts store...  I'll look for a link. pretty easy fix either way

From KiwiDave:
************************************
the yellow wire on the starter relay.  It is the only relay with a yellow wire connected.  You can feel the click when you push the start button.

Cut the yellow wire, and graft a wire from the positive of the battery via an in-line fuse to the yellow wire going to the relay.  The fuse rating should be 15A or even 20A.

Insulate the remaining portion of the yellow wire, or use it for a switched power source for low currents.
******************************************************************

https://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=43725.msg660033#msg660033

[ohiorider]

Plug and Play ..... here it is.

https://mphcycles.com/starter-relay-fix-kit/

This is a simple fix.

Bob