Blown main fuse confusion

[andyvh1959]

This is on a VN900, but it's likely similar for a lot of Kawasaki cruisers. My buddy tried to get his VN900 fired up for the riding season. His 900 has 40,000+ miles on it, all stock engine wise, even the intake/exhaust. He got it fired up back in April, but not since then as they were travelling for all of May.

Last week he tried to start it but no go, tired to jump start it off his Mustang. So he got a new battery, installed it, and nothing, no lights, no fuel pump whine, no speedo sweep. I checked the bike and nothing shows bad although the 30amp main fuse had blown. Installed a new fuse, and, nothing. Meaning nothing like as if there is no battery in the bike. Main fuse is still intact. I wonder if the diodes in the relay box are blown? Checked the new main still good. Must be something between the main fuse and the ignition switch. Perhaps even the ignition switch itself.

So far I've searched the wiring and connections as best I could in his garage and found nothing out of place. Nothing chewed through. Nothing burned/crispy. Nothing corroded. I may pull out the ignition switch and start jumping contacts and see if anything comes to life. But I really suspect jumping the bike from his car resulted in blowing the main fuse, and likely fried the diodes in the relay box, especially the one that controls the ignition.

[DragonLady58]

OK, charge your battery, top it off. Now, get to your fuse box, turn your key on, probe your fuses, you should have power going thru your fuse block.
Double check your battery connections, be sure they are as clean as you can get them, tight, even suspect your battery cables, unless you check them. If they show good, by testing, and by visually looking under the insulation, if you see any green corrosion, replace them.
Now, get a screw driver, jump across the lugs on top of the starter relay, does it crank? If your battery is good and hot, she should spin over....
If everything is still dead, clean your ground wires where it fastens to the engine and frame. Make sure they are good and tight.
If still no joy, put a multi-tester between your neg. battery post and the negative battery cable....is it showing any parasitic draw? If it does, pull each fuse one at a time till you find it.

When you pull the right fuse, the draw ought to stop. That will show you the section you need to start looking....
Get back with us if your fusebox is powered. If not, your switch is probably suspect....
Yes, check the diodes....

[andyvh1959]

Thanks, but battery draw is not the issue. The battery is new, and it tests out good, not a surface charge. Checked the battery connections and ground connection, both good, clean and tight. Checked all the fuses, all good but found the 30 amp main fuse blown. New 30 amp fuse in and nothing, no response when the ignition key is turned on, just like if the battery were not installed. 30 amp fuse still good. So I may jump the starter solenoid to see if it does indeed crank.

Recall I said my buddy jumped his bike off the car battery, but he doesn't recall if the car was running. Also, the bike started back in April before he jumped it and replaced the battery. I still suspect the relay box diodes are shot. So I'll check them and then try jumping the starter solenoid.

[vulcanscott]

did you check the three common spots ? Ground Gang Termination on the right side orange plug . Chaffing of the main wiring harness over the rear valve cover . melted stator plugs under the left side engine cover . Just Thoughts

[andyvh1959]

All good things to check for sure. I already checked the chassis ground on the rh side.

Thing is, all his troubles started after he tried to jump start his 900 off his car. Tomorrow I'll check the relay box to see if any of the diodes got fried. Since one of the relays controls the ignition I suspect that may prove some results. I at least want to confirm that for him before he hauls his bike the to dealer for service.

[andyvh1959]

Was at my buddy's house yesterday to check the relay box diodes, to make sure he had not blown it when the 30 amp fuse blew. Earlier I had coached him via text messages to check the 30 amp fuse at the starter relay. He found it had blown, got a new fuse, put it in, but the bike did nothing. So I stopped in thinking he may had blown the relay box.

I removed the relay box and it checked out. As I am reinstalling it, I see a larger cable behind it and the frame. Turns out my buddy had not reconnected the positive to the battery. What he thought was the positive was actually the positive for an accessory outlet on the bike. I connected the positive, key on, bike fired right up!! ALWAYS confirm the basics before going deep into any repairs.