INTERMITTENT STARTING PROBLEM

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You could be right. BTW, have you found out anymore about your particular fault? Did you draft in the witch doctor? Think I'll have him round my Bonnie after you!
 
Greg, I haven't even tried.........it's only done it that one time since the new relay. I'll just keep the witch doctor on unpaid retainer. I sure hope that they come up with an answer for you (and the rest of the civilized world of Bonneville owners) so that we can get an answer. What gets me is that there are so many out there with no problems from "day one". Jim
 
Oh my crikey freaking Moses. Had a call from the garage. They'd been in contact with Triumph to seek technical advise; the official response was extremely surprising and sadly very INFURIATING!!!!

Triumph (not the garage) have said: "There is nothing we can do. Sometimes the ECU will halt the start sequence if any spurious signal is received. This is normal and not a fault."

Words freaking fail me. I've utterly and point blankly refused to accept my Bonneville back. I've also emailed the Warranty department of Triumph to reiterate in explicit detail how this problem IS a very real fault and that it cannot possibly be passed off as "normal". I've requested a replacement Bonneville or a refund.

To add insult to injury, my wife has said that I "shouldn't worry about it, it's only a bike and don't worry about what other people think when it doesn't start."!!!! I never swear, but all sorts of horrible words are bubbling around in my head waiting to burst out.

This is going to be fun.
 
Hmmm................will they install a new ecu?? Reminds me of the "old days" of British motorcycles (and probably others, as well) when the (in)famous response to these type of problems was: "But they all do that, sir!" Why does it only happen to the Bonnevilles' ecu and not the rest of the line. This is the 21st century, afterall.
Jim
 
I just got my 2015 Bonneville T-100 Black a month ago and has the same problem. I told my dealer about it and his suggestion was to hold the clutch stronger when I press the ignition button since releasing the clutch would stop it ! Well I am not experienced with my Triumph but I have been riding motorcycles for 10 years and I am not an idiot ! so if anyone knows how to fix this problem please share ...
 
It looks like this is just something that we will have to live with; at least the bikes always start for us. I did hear recently of another "fix" which involves grounding the starter relay independent of the wiring harness.........something about removing it from the ecu circuit, I believe. At least, I haven't had to resort to the old "run and bump", yet, although I could use the exercise!! I have considered spreading garlic around the bike and putting on my bull buffalo hat (the one with 2 horns), then shaking a couple of gourd rattles before hitting the starter, though..........
The "village idiot" is willing to try most anything: Jim
 
Well, all I can say, as I did before, is that holding the start button down, or if that doesn't work, a quick release and re-hit on it has kept me on the road. Looks like I'll be living with the "parlor trick" for a while. At least, it hasn't interfered with my riding...........just won't use it for a "getaway" vehicle, that's all.
Jim
 
Hi,

I stumbled upon this thread while looking for help on my own starting problems on my Triumph. Mine had a slightly different starting issue, but I felt very compelled to make an account, as I read this entire thread and kinda empathized with the situation.

I'm just curious- for everyone experiencing this starting issue, how exactly are you starting the bike, on both cold and warm starts? Are you using the choke/fuel enrichener?
 
The only time the enrichener was used on my T100 was when the dealer showed me how to start it, as they are required to, when I bought it...................have never touched it since then. For all I know, the thing could be broken.
Jim
 
I would recommend using the choke as per instructed in the owner's manual on every start; it sounds hard to believe, but that actually might solve your starting problem.

I found this thread on Triumprat when I was curious about the pipes on my SE. The OP had different starting problem symptoms, but if you're saying that you never use the choke, the solution might be the same. Post #15 will pretty much sum it up.

My Bonnie is acting up. Need help from people smarter than me... - Page 2 - Triumph Forum: Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums
 
The Triumph people are telling you a bunch of KRAP, think about it, on any vehicle in the world, ANY, how many are there that will not "turn" over when you engage the starter, you may have be in neutral but it will turn over!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Hi, again Ryan: The problem is definitely electrical, pretty much confirmed by the dealer in Daytona, when I was down there this year, and I guess some other models have a bit of it. The engine will begin to turn over, but stop before making a full revolution; holding the start button down will usually get it to do the full "spins" and start. The only thing that I can add is that it will always start, in the end.
Jim
 
Hi folks

Just thought I'd add my experiences of this problem here in case it sheds any light to anyone who knows more about how these bikes work then I do (so that's just about everyone then!!).

I have a Tiger 800xc which I bought from new. It's only done 600 miles now.

When I bought the bike it had no problems at all but at about the 300 mile stage something happened following which I now have exactly the problem described here by others (starter cranks for a couple of turns then stops. If I hold the starter buttton down it resumes then the bike fires up).

Here's what I did by accident to make the problem start when it wasn't there before (and boy am I kicking myself now for doing it!!)

So. .. It all started because one time I was in gear with the clutch pulled in and I absent mindedly put the side stand down while the engine was running, clutch in, and in gear. Obviously the side stand switch did its job and killed the engine as it's supposed to. So I just thought 'stupid me, not concentrating'. But from then on I've had the problem described intermittently. Usually when the engine's hot. It's always OK staying from cold.

So I'm just wondering, if there are any technically savvy folks out there, does this help identify the problem, because something happened when that side stand switch cut out the motor.
So it seems to me if anyone knows EXACTLY which parts of the circuit are 'shorted/grounded etc' to get the engine to an abrupt halt it seems likely be that either one of those components got damaged by the cut out process, or at least maybe one of their connections was weakened by a spark or something depositing carbon on it during the deliberate 'short out', if that makes sense.

Anyway, something happened involving whichever parts of the electrical system are stressed by that side stand shutdown process.

Even though it shouldn't have done, could my incident have burnt out our damaged a weak 'something' that for others was never right to start with?

It's odd how shutting down the engine 'violently' (and it did, the whole thing just shut off in a second, not like when you just cut off fuel or stop the spark and the motor turns for a few seconds afterwards) have caused this.

It shut off like a my electric drill does when I release the trigger quickly. There is a small spark inside the drill body and the It stops instantly. Bosch call it some 'safety brake system'or some such.

If we could identify which elements get risky 'grounding' shorts or voltage fluctuations during that process it may give a shortlist of things to try swapping out.

Just a thought.
 
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Hi folks

Just thought I'd add my experiences of this problem here in case it sheds any light to anyone who knows more about how these bikes work then I do (so that's just about everyone then!!).

I have a Tiger 800xc which I bought from new. It's only done 600 miles now.

When I bought the bike it had no problems at all but at about the 300 mile stage something happened following which I now have exactly the problem described here by others (starter cranks for a couple of turns then stops. If I hold the starter buttton down it resumes then the bike fires up).

Here's what I did by accident to make the problem start when it wasn't there before (and boy am I kicking myself now for doing it!!)

So. .. It all started because one time I was in gear with the clutch pulled in and I absent mindedly put the side stand down while the engine was running, clutch in, and in gear. Obviously the side stand switch did its job and killed the engine as it's supposed to. So I just thought 'stupid me, not concentrating'. But from then on I've had the problem described intermittently. Usually when the engine's hot. It's always OK staying from cold.

So I'm just wondering, if there are any technically savvy folks out there, does this help identify the problem, because something happened when that side stand switch cut out the motor.
So it seems to me if anyone knows EXACTLY which parts of the circuit are 'shorted/grounded etc' to get the engine to an abrupt halt it seems likely be that either one of those components got damaged by the cut out process, or at least maybe one of their connections was weakened by a spark or something depositing carbon on it during the deliberate 'short out', if that makes sense.

Anyway, something happened involving whichever parts of the electrical system are stressed by that side stand shutdown process.

Even though it shouldn't have done, could my incident have burnt out our damaged a weak 'something' that for others was never right to start with?

It's odd how shutting down the engine 'violently' (and it did, the whole thing just shut off in a second, not like when you just cut off fuel or stop the spark and the motor turns for a few seconds afterwards) have caused this.

It shut off like a my electric drill does when I release the trigger quickly. There is a small spark inside the drill body and the It stops instantly. Bosch call it some 'safety brake system'or some such.

If we could identify which elements get risky 'grounding' shorts or voltage fluctuations during that process it may give a shortlist of things to try swapping out.

Just a thought.
Similar story on my end (problems arose after kickstanding while running). 2009 Bonneville. I find it shocking that this issue persists in the newer models. If they're going to make the ECU so finicky you think they'd try to make diagnosis more straightforward.
 
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Hello, all: Got a strange one for you here; sometimes, when I'm starting the T-100, I hit the button and it begins to turn over, then stops just like I'd released the button. I've tried playing with the clutch lever and the sidestand to no avail. Then, when it feels like it, it'll start right up. This can take a half-dozen stabs on the button, or just one extra. Sometimes it will go weeks without doing it, and then it comes back to haunt me. I'm going to ask the dealer, again, about it; originally, they said that this can happen once in a while. Not very reassuring, that answer, but the problem seemed to go away for a long time, but it's back lately. Any ideas?? Wondering if there's a recall on the problem.... time will tell, I guess.

Thanks: Jim
__________________
I had the same thing happen to my explorer and after several attempts to bypass safety
switches discovered that if I push the starter button in and up at the same time it starts
every time .Now if anyone can help me,in my experimenting with safety switches I bypassed the clutch safety switch on the lever only to discover the fuel gage and cruise don't work.
And I lost the switch and housing.Other than replacing the entire control $214, where can I find just the switch and cover?This is my first post so forgive my ignorance Jackh1466
 

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