Help a new brother out!

[Clem_imp]

Alright, so this is not what I wanted my first post to be, but unfortunately right out of the gate I am asking for some wisdom.

I bought a '13 cb1100 a few weeks ago, LOVE the bike! I decided to make some changes, I took off the rear fender, and switched out the turn signals for smaller ones. I had made the fender change, rear light change and took the bike for a ride the other night, everything was good. Yesterday it started right up and I pulled it into my garage to change out the front signals. I took off the headlight made the change, and the nut for the headlight to attach to the front was loose, so I had to open up the lamp and re-position it to attach the headlight. I button everything up and go to start it....I get a clicking sound and the oil light comes on, then the engine light. WTF! I mess with it a bit more and it keeps happening. The right crank case cover was scratched up when I bought it and I had replaced that, but it was no big deal and had driven it since, but I thought because the oil light was on maybe I needed to change the oil or it had air lock or something. I changed the oil and still same thing. I have attached a video of what is happening now. Please, any wisdom would be helpful, I don't know how to go through the wires, to figure out what is what, and I am assuming it's an electrical problem. See video link below.

[url=https://youtu.be/h3FMFhQBi5I]cb1100 starting issue

Thank you in advance.

[Cormanus]

My first thought was that you'd accidentally left the kill switch on (or off; I'm not sure). But when you do that, the warning lights all stay on after the fuel pump cycles, so I don't think it's that.

You say you have it in neutral, but I don't see the neutral light on. I had a problem recently when the bike wouldn't start with the clutch pulled in. I think the kill switch in the side stand was sticking. Try making sure the bike is in neutral and the N light is on.

One other thought. The fact that the power to the display goes off when you press the starter makes me wonder about the health of your battery. Is it possible it's died? They do go very quickly and without warning.

[Lord Popgun]

The oil light will stay on until oil pressure comes up. Being on with the engine not running is normal.

Like Cormanus says, you are not in neutral. When you are, a big green N will appear.

I just went out and put my bike in 1st, key on (and oil light is on) and hit the start switch. The headlight goes out, the starter does not turn. This is normal. My 'dash' stays on.

And again, I agree with Cormanus, your battery may be weak too.
But first, put it in neutral and try again. Make sure the kill switch is in the run position. You will hear the fuel pump cycle when you turn on the ign. If you don't hear it, leave the ignition on and click the kill switch to the other position. The circle with the X is the kill position.

I hope it works as I don't feel like looking at the wiring diagram right now

[flynrider]

Not sure if it was just the audio quality, but I didn't hear the fuel pump cycle when the key was turned on. That's what happens if the kill switch is in the "kill" position. Lights and instrument display will come on, both gauges will sweep, but fuel pump won't cycle.

As others mentioned, the other anomaly is that your neutral light is not on, as it should be if you are truly in neutral.

Lastly, the behavior of your instrument display is suspicious. Normally, when you push the start button, the bike switches off the lights to conserve energy to turn the starter. I have never seen the instrument display turn off when the button is pushed.

I take that back, I did see that happen once when my battery died, but in that case, everything turned off and didn't come back on when I released the button.

Assuming the kill switch is in the "run" position, I see two possibilities. Some wires got crossed or unplugged in the headlight bucket when you were installing the lights, or your battery just happened to die at the same time you were working on the lights. The clicking sound you initially heard would tend to favor the battery death/discharge theory. That sound is produced when there's not enough juice to keep the starter relay closed, so it just rapidly clicks on and off.

[Rolls_imp]

No neutral light makes me wonder. Isn't it true that if the bike's in gear, on center stand, & kickstand down, it'll play dead?

[Cormanus]

Not sure if it was just the audio quality, but I didn't hear the fuel pump cycle when the key was turned on. That's what happens if the kill switch is in the "kill" position. Lights and instrument display will come on, both gauges will sweep, but fuel pump won't cycle.

As others mentioned, the other anomaly is that your neutral light is not on, as it should be if you are truly in neutral.

Lastly, the behavior of your instrument display is suspicious. Normally, when you push the start button, the bike switches off the lights to conserve energy to turn the starter. I have never seen the instrument display turn off when the button is pushed.

I take that back, I did see that happen once when my battery died, but in that case, everything turned off and didn't come back on when I released the button.

Assuming the kill switch is in the "run" position, I see two possibilities. Some wires got crossed or unplugged in the headlight bucket when you were installing the lights, or your battery just happened to die at the same time you were working on the lights. The clicking sound you initially heard would tend to favor the battery death/discharge theory. That sound is produced when there's not enough juice to keep the starter relay closed, so it just rapidly clicks on and off.

I didn't hear the fuel pump either Flyn. So I went outside and checked my bike to see what would happen if the kill switch was set to "Kill". No fuel pump cycle; the gauges did the sweep thing; all the warning lights stayed on. With the Kill switch set to "Resurrect", the fuel pump cycled, the gauges swept but only the oil light stayed on.

In Clem's case only the oil light stayed on which made me think it was probably not the kill switch.

No neutral light makes me wonder. Isn't it true that if the bike's in gear, on center stand, & kickstand down, it'll play dead?

That's right. There's a switch in the kick stand that tells the bike when it's down. If you try to start the bike in gear—even with the clutch in—and the kick stand is down it either won't start, or if it's running, it will cut out. Indeed, in spite of owning the bike for 3 years and riding more than a few kms, I am still constantly embarrassed by starting the bike, putting in gear and having it stop because I've forgotten to put the stand up.

[emptysea]

Could be, maybe, that the battery is so low that the N light won't light. I would think that it was that he was not in neutral and the kickstand is down, but he says that it used to click and now he doesn't get the clicking. So what changed? I suspect the battery, but maybe it's a combination of battery and not being in neutral.

Oh...welcome to the forum. I'm from Chicagoland, too.

[flynrider]

One more data point. If the bike is in gear, and the kickstand is down, the fuel pump should still cycle when the key is turned. It just won't turn the starter when the button is pushed.

[jimgl3_imp]

the problems you are having are electrical. the changes you made were electrical (lights). you must have a wire grounded somewhere or you've crosswired something somewhere.

[Clem_imp]

Gentlemen...I come to you shamefaced and embarrassed. I ended up buying a battery charger, charged my battery and now it is running beautifully again. I don't know why I didn't even think about the battery. You guys are great though, with how you jumped on it right away with suggestions. I really appreciate it.