OK where to begin. My Bandit 600 ('01) simply won't start. It won't even try to start. What I've checked up to now is the switch on the clutch lever, the starter switch, the starter motor. all of these have continuity and I can't see any obvious problems. I also know it must be a problem with the ignition system because the bike can be successfully bump started, which also means there is no problem with the immobiliser. The battery is fine and fully charged. So before I start pulling apart all of the wiring looms does anybody have any suggestions of what the problem could be. I will make clear that the bike will not even attempt to turn over. When I push the starter absolutely nothing happens. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Hotwire the starter relay and see if you can get the starter motor to spin. I if you can then it's possibly a switch, or a safety switch or even the other starter realy (some bikes have two). If you hotwire the relay and it doesn't sping the starter, then work towards the starter. Could even try hotwiring the starter just to verify it works. If you hotwire the starter and it doesn't spin. Put a volt meter on the battery and watch it as you bump the starter. If voltage drops very low, you've probably got a bad battery. If not, you may have a bad starter. Process of elimination. As for your checking these things by continuity, I don't put much stake in that sort of test. The starter pulls lots of amps, but you can get continuity through one little strand of wire, but that little strand of wire won't be able to pull those amps so it still won't run the starter motor.
Thanks for the tips I will have to try them tomorrow but will report back. I'm assuming that to hotwire the starter I just connect it straight to the battery, or is that a bad idea? If I can hotwire the starter could I use that as a temporary solution until the weekend just to get me to work and back or will it cause damage? Once again thanks for the tips.
It's on the centre stand. The side stand is constantly in and it will bump start with it in that position therefore I assumed there isn't a problem with it. There is no switch on the centre stand.
But if the switch is not making contact (broken) the starter will not activate. It's worth a check. Az
Kickstand switch is good. It looks like I will have to start pulling apart all of the electrics. I'm not good with electricity I really don't understand it so wish me luck. Here goes nothing.
Usually it's enough to connect one leg, then just briefly connect the other leg to see if the starter jumps. No need to make a solid connection. I'd start with the relay as it's often a culprit. It's also usually pretty easy to gain access to. I'd get a wiring diagram if I were you. And like I said, some bikes have two relays. Like on my KLR there was a relay that was basically the logic cuircuit for the safety switches, which then activated the main solenoid (big relay) to run the starter. The logic curcuit relay would go bad, so I just bypassed it thereby also bypassing all the safety circuits. Many of these bikes, and I believe most Suzuki's will only start with the clutch pulled in. At least that's the case with my Strom. That means if the little switch on the clutch isn't switching then the bike won't start. So there's another place to check for a fault. I've also seen where the spade plug on the bottom of the clutch perch is just barely unplugged so it'll fail to start. But I'm assuming you've checked all these obvious points of failure before digging into the guts of the bike. The other poster's comment about the side stand, usually applies to when the bike is in gear. My Zuk will cut off if I put in in first with the side stand down.
If the sidestand switch on the Suzuki is fooked it might start but will kill the bike when dropped into first gear even with the stand retracted. I'm betting starter relay and if it's like Suzuki Canada cheaper to buy anywhere but the local dealer ($150.00) Had mine fail on my 05 Wee while on a road trip. Dealer took one off a bike on the floor to get me back on the road
Thanks for all the help guys. I tried all of the obvious stuff and none of it worked so I started digging deeper and realised I was in well over my head. I'm alright at mechanical stuff but electronics just confuse me. The Suzuki guy is coming round tomorrow to pick it up and fix it for me (in exchange for a lot of Beer Tokens, I'm sure ). I hope it won't cost too much to fix because the bike is a damn good little commuter and I'd hate to have to replace it. Once again thanks. Alex
Too late now but for future reference electrical problems are not impossible to fix. Use a trouble light before and after all of the switches. Power must go in and then out with the switch in the right position. Ex; Sidestand switch. There must be power on one side of the switch in one wire. With stand up the other wire will also have power as the switch makes the contact. I would also check for power at the selenoid, first. It could be bad. Safety switches typically prevent the bike from running in gear like the stand switch. The bike starts in neutral but shuts off when placed into gear.
The local Suzuki dealer returned the bike to me with the problem unsolved. They had pulled off the immobiliser and sent it off to Datatool and they said there was nothing wrong with it. They didn't charge me a penny for any off the work they did so I can't complain. When I got it back I decided I would start to pull it apart and replace all of the electrics if I needed to. So I decided to start from the fuse box and work my way forward. This is what I found. I feel like an absolute idiot for not noticing this before. So I removed the protective cover for the wires and this is what I found. I will head down to the hardware store tomorrow and get some solder and some new wire, and get this fixed. Hopefully this is vibration damage twinned with the wires getting stuck in a tight spot in the cowling and the heat which has melted the wires together was just a result of the wires shorting together. Thanks for all of your suggestions. This turned out to be amazingly simple and is probably just a case of me giving up too easily.
Hi There, I'm brand new to this site and was reading your problem with the Bandit. i'm having the exact same symtoms as yourself with my Bandit...I can't see the pics on you article. Any advive please Cheers Gar
The original poster hasn't been back to ADV since 2011. Don't get your hopes up that he's going to reply.
