Starter Fire?!?!?
Starter Fire?!?!?
Hello all,
I was riding my 06 Road King to work today and the battery light came on. I turned around and headed home. The light would come on as I came to a stop at lights but at speed it would stay on. Then I smelled it....the starter or something in that vicinity started smoking so I parked it and will have to get it tonight.....what in the world could cause a starter to catch fire? What else is near there that could burn up like that?
God Bless.
I was riding my 06 Road King to work today and the battery light came on. I turned around and headed home. The light would come on as I came to a stop at lights but at speed it would stay on. Then I smelled it....the starter or something in that vicinity started smoking so I parked it and will have to get it tonight.....what in the world could cause a starter to catch fire? What else is near there that could burn up like that?
God Bless.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 14,118
Likes: 11,163
From: San Diego, CA
Um.... you walked away from a bike that was smoking...!?!?! You seem to have left out some details...
You had a battery light that stayed on, you smelled something and saw smoke near the starter, and then you parked it and "will get to it tonight"??? I sure hope it's still there for you to "get to" tonight.... I hope you pulled the battery ground before you left it.....
If you have a battery problem and smoke near the starter... it could be a short, which if not addressed could cause a fire....! Hopefully when you shut it down, it took power away from whatever leg/wire the short was in..... The starter, however, has some large cables that lead directly to the battery. If they short out, it could be like shorting directly to a battery terminal. A 12v short, straight to a battery terminal, can weld a wrench to metal, it's nothing to take lightly.....
In any case, first thing you need to do is pull the ground terminal off your battery!!!! It will remove the possibility of another (or continued) short. With smoke & a burning smell, you may not need a voltmeter to find the problem. I would do a visual of all wiring around the battery and the starter.. You are looking for chafing that wore through a wire cover and touched the frame/ground, or a connection that came loose enough to touch the frame/ground..... Based on your description, it should be easy to see. There may be a lot of black charring around a wire or portion of the frame, or at least some discoloration due to heat.. It's also possible something in the starter shorted out internally. Again, smell and signs of burning could lead you to the culprit. If you can't find anything on a visual, you need to get out the voltmeter and start checking wires.
I wouldn't reattach the ground wire until I was confident I found the source of the heat/fire....
Good luck with the repair....
You had a battery light that stayed on, you smelled something and saw smoke near the starter, and then you parked it and "will get to it tonight"??? I sure hope it's still there for you to "get to" tonight.... I hope you pulled the battery ground before you left it.....
If you have a battery problem and smoke near the starter... it could be a short, which if not addressed could cause a fire....! Hopefully when you shut it down, it took power away from whatever leg/wire the short was in..... The starter, however, has some large cables that lead directly to the battery. If they short out, it could be like shorting directly to a battery terminal. A 12v short, straight to a battery terminal, can weld a wrench to metal, it's nothing to take lightly.....
In any case, first thing you need to do is pull the ground terminal off your battery!!!! It will remove the possibility of another (or continued) short. With smoke & a burning smell, you may not need a voltmeter to find the problem. I would do a visual of all wiring around the battery and the starter.. You are looking for chafing that wore through a wire cover and touched the frame/ground, or a connection that came loose enough to touch the frame/ground..... Based on your description, it should be easy to see. There may be a lot of black charring around a wire or portion of the frame, or at least some discoloration due to heat.. It's also possible something in the starter shorted out internally. Again, smell and signs of burning could lead you to the culprit. If you can't find anything on a visual, you need to get out the voltmeter and start checking wires.
I wouldn't reattach the ground wire until I was confident I found the source of the heat/fire....
Good luck with the repair....
Last edited by hattitude; Sep 24, 2018 at 02:20 PM.
I definitely removed the battery cables. I dropped it off at the dealer last night and it was indeed the starter that let the magic smoke out. I am working with them to find the cause of the issue. I am thinking something like a relay failed and caused the starter to engage and not something failing and over volting the system.
Will do. They are ordering a starter now and it will be there in a week. As Tom Petty says, "The waiting is the hardest Part"
So update on the bike. It seems that the starter switch failed and locked to the "Start" position causing the starter to fight the motor or run continuously which is most likely the cause of the issue. We will see once it is all buttoned up.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Rkatxrider85
Ignition/Tuner/ECM/Fuel Injection
2
May 12, 2019 08:57 AM
parichar
Sportster Models
5
Oct 1, 2011 02:33 PM
