Electrical - Starting the Bike

by Jim Powell
(Chicago, IL)

1996 Yamaha Virago 535

I have a bike that starts once in awhile. The problem seems to be electrical. When starting the bike nothing turns over but the headlight dims down to the point it almost goes out. I take my thumb off the Starter button and the headlight comes back nice and strong. Something is pulling a lot of current. The starters on these bikes are notorious for breaking.

I thought it might be the starter. I pulled it and tested on separate battery on the work bench. The starter worked. The battery in the motorcycle is new and fully charged. Volt meter reads 12.4 volts.

Yesterday afternoon I put the starter back on the bike, added oil and decided to try and start it. The bike decided to start. I played around a little bit. After turning everything off and shutting down, I decided to try starting it again. I put the key in the ignition, turn the ignition ON, turned the kill switch ON, left the kick stand down and didn't pull in the clutch. I hit the Start button and everything turned off. Lights went off, too. I shut everything back down. Then, began the startup procedures but nothing is working. I can't get any of the lights to come on. Nothing works. It's as if the battery isn't even attached to the electrical cables.

The fuses are fine. I checked those using the volt meter. The starter is fine and the battery still shows a full charge. Any ideas where I can start troubleshooting? I think if I disconnect the ignition cables from the battery and reconnect I can get the lights to work again.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and answer my question.

Jim