Hot Italian relay.

[tonup69]

Never had this happen before on any bike. The starter has been broken on my bike since I got it a few months back. Push the button with the ignition on and nothing happens. Not even a click. So, today I pushed the button with the ignition off and the key out of the bike.

It tried to start! I couldn't stop it!!! Even with the engine switch on off it tried to start.

After it stopped turning over I pulled the covers. The battery and the starter relay were hot to the touch. The battery is charged (I took it off to check), but the lights wouldn't go on or anything.

It looks like none of the fuses are blow. The previous owner had taken out the main fuse from the battery to the fuse panel (never a good idea, I will need to replace it).

I guess my question is: do you think I have a short in my starter relay? That was my guess. I will replace that and the main fuse (30V?) and then hope it is fixed.

Cheers,

LTR

[John Bunting]

Hi Tonup,
It sounds like the relay contacts are welded together, caused by arcing across the contacts, or dirt causing a high resitance which gets progressively worse untill you have no contact or a welded contact.
Regards
John

[3potjohn]

I agree it sounds like the starter relay.Mind that live feed, the small bolt holding the live feed cable onto the relay on my K1 was within 2-3mm of touching the frame.Not good .
I've done the melting wires thing when I first started motorcycling.My starter motor has become OK when it's cold and very slow when its hot.A new feature.

[tonup69]

Hi Tonup,
It sounds like the relay contacts are welded together, caused by arcing across the contacts, or dirt causing a high resitance which gets progressively worse untill you have no contact or a welded contact.
Regards
John

OK, so just to be clear - you don't think the relay is broken, just the contacts or a short leading to the relay? I will check this out tonight to get a better idea about what you mean by "welded together".

Cheers,

LTR