[MotrcycleWillie]

Hey guys. I bought a 1986 Honda Shadow VT700 two days ago. It ran fine with the exception of needing a new battery. So, I drove it to Walmart and bought a new battery and tried to pop the clutch to start it. Unfortunately I bought a battery with the poles reversed and it burned out the main fuse. I replaced the main fuse and put the old battery back in (charged) and the lights come on but I can't seem to get the engine to even turn over anymore. I shorted the solenoid to see if it would get the engine to turn over. The solenoid will spark but there was no sound. I know a good bit about engines (worked on lawnmowers and cars most of my life) but I'm not sure where to go from here... any ideas? Thanks for your input! Hope to get the bike running again soon.

 

[smilie]

Do you have any power anywhere when you turn the key?

 

[MotrcycleWillie]

Yes. The Neutral light comes on. It didn't before I replaced the main fuse but it's it does now.

 

[smilie]

Not sure about your bike. If you had power to your starter solenoid, it should have turned over when you shorted across the large terminals. I'd check all your connections and retry. Obviously have enough juice for lights, but takes a lot more amperage to crank and run. I don't think you'd have fried the starter by reversing polarity. I'd also check other fuses while I was at it.

 

[MotrcycleWillie]

I checked all of the wiring harness connections and they all seem fine. And as far as cranking and running, shouldn't I still have been able to start it by popping the clutch? I even hooked the battery up to a car battery (jumper cables) and tried to short the solenoid and still got nothing. Thanks for replying, though!

 

[smilie]

Did you read the sticky a few lines up in this section "What to check if my bike won't start"? Might be a good read for you.

 

[MotrcycleWillie]

I did. This isn't the first bike I've had, either. I previously had a VStar250 that got stolen. Had to pop the clutch a hundred times on that one because of an attempted theft where the ignition switch was busted off.

 

[smilie]

Wish I could help, but I don't recall ever hooking a battery up backwards to anything. Being the inquisitive type, I have to ask. Why would you pop start a bike a hundred times, instead of fixing the ignition?

 

[MotrcycleWillie]

At the time I was a broke college student and I didn't have the $300 it was going to cost for the part. I, of course, had to hotwire it because of the missing ignition switch... It eventually killed one of the coil packs, too, at which point I parked it and that's when it got stolen.

 

["Captain D"]

Hey guys. I bought a 1986 Honda Shadow VT700 two days ago. It ran fine with the exception of needing a new battery. So, I drove it to Walmart and bought a new battery and tried to pop the clutch to start it. Unfortunately I bought a battery with the poles reversed and it burned out the main fuse. I replaced the main fuse and put the old battery back in (charged) and the lights come on but I can't seem to get the engine to even turn over anymore. I shorted the solenoid to see if it would get the engine to turn over. The solenoid will spark but there was no sound. I know a good bit about engines (worked on lawnmowers and cars most of my life) but I'm not sure where to go from here... any ideas? Thanks for your input! Hope to get the bike running again soon.

I read >
I replaced the main fuse and put the old battery back in (charged) and the lights come on but I can't seem to get the engine to even turn over anymore. <

Question 1
Have you tried a proper fitting New battery???
You already know this one is not good, from what I read...


>>So, I drove it to Walmart and bought a new battery and tried to pop the clutch to start it.<<

Not understanding Why? you push started it?

>>>Unfortunately I bought a battery with the poles reversed and it burned out the main fuse.<<<

BUT did you return the battery and/or purchase the correct number for your bike?

IF it were me, I`d start with a proper, new, fully charged battery installed...
Check all connections in the start circuit particularly the battery connections for polarity, clean & tight...

These start buttons are notorious for being faulty also...

Diagnostics is FUN, ain`t it,
D

Next step after getting it running I`d check the charging system for possible malfunction from reverse polarity...

 

[John Hopkins]

As Captain D has said you have to start with a new well charged battery because the old one may not be suitable or strong enough to run all the tests you need to do..

First question..are you color blind?..you will need to be able to tell the colors on the wires you will be testing.

Next..we can help you to sort this problem if you are willing to follow exact instructions..starting with this..go back to Walmart and change the battery for the correct one and buy a $10 Digital multimeter, not one with a dial (analogue) not a $100 one because if you connect it to something on the wrong setting it will be destroyed and you can afford to destroy a $10 meter better than a $100 one.

Set the meter to dc volts.

Charge the new battery until it reads 12.6 volts and holds that voltage or close to it for two hours, then fit it to the bike and come back for the next steps.

John.

 

[MotrcycleWillie]

Captain D! I just bought a new battery and ran some more tests. I definitely have a bad relay. The engine will only turn over if I jump the relay (unless it's the start button), however, the engine still will not start again...

 

["Captain D"]

Check tech sticky >
Switch cleaning 101 and see IF you might want to attempt switch cleaning...

Normally when the switch is dirty/worn/burnt it`ll intermittently work\...
MOST of the time BUT not always
Good Luck,
D

 

[John Hopkins]

Before you jump in and replace the starter relay clip the red lead of your meter to the red/yellow wire on the relay and the black meter lead to the red/Green wire on the relay, set the meter to dc volts, switch on the ignition and press the starter, see if the voltage reads 12v dc, if it doesn't you are not putting any voltage on on the coil of the relay so you can't expect it to turn the starter.

John.