My K1200RS clicks, wont start, and dies

[SweetT]

I tried to start my K1200 this morning, I turned on the key and everything was normal. When I hit the starter button there was an audible click (like a starter solenoid trying to engage) and the bike went dead. No head lights, no tail light, no warning lights, no instrument lights. Everything electrical shut down. Oddly, the LCD clock stayed on briefly and slowly faded out. When I turned the key to Off, the clock lit back up again!

I shut off the key and turned it on agian, but the bike's electircal system was still dead. No fuel pump whirr, or lights. The clock started to fade out. I turned off the key and went back inside the house. About 10 minutes later I came back out to the garage and turned on the key and everything worked! I pressed the starter button and Click! the bike went dead.

The bike is a 98 with 56K. The battery is probably 3-4yrs old. It has 12.6 volts according to my multimeter. I rode the bike for a good hour on sunday with no hints of problems. I guess I'm lucky my bike left me "stranded" at home!

Any ideas? Could it be a bad battery, or starter relay?

[smilingcouple]

The starter most likely is not your problem if the whole electrical system fades. You can still have 12 volts but the battery can be bad under a load. Easy fix take to an auto zone and have them test the battery.

Being 3 to 4 years old consider yourself lucky. During your ride one of the battery plates could have cracked.

First start by checking your battery connections for corrosion and good contact. But it does sound like a bad battery.

Murf