Rocket Wont Launch!!

[400banditman]

Hello all!!

My first and not last post to this forum....

I have a 92 GSF400. I was riding it home one day, just sitting alongside the road, engine running fine, waiting for my friend in his cager to catch up. Then the bike just shut down, as if I flipped the kill switch. No gasping for air or fuel, sputtering, nothing. Just out cold and quick.
Turned the iginition on and tried to start it. No starter. Nothing. Lights, horn, signals, all fine....
Then some other riders pulled over to help. They pushed me down a hill and I tried to pop start it in 3rd gear. Nothing. Just slowed down to a stop.
Couldnt be my starter, that wouldnt have killed the motor like that, while running.
Cant be the battery, lights and such work fine.
Which leads me to believe its like a coil pack, regulator/rectifer...something to that nature.
Any ideas where I should start? Please help!! and btw, just moved to Danbury CT and have no internet yet...only at work. So all responses will be tommorrow...Thanks!!
And I LOVE my GSF400...dont want to get rid of it!! Put ALOT of work/money into it already...got pics of it in Daytona FL bike week too! Great friggin time there! an guess what, it ran FINE!!

[Wrider]

Sounds like it could be in infamous evil CDI problem.
Do some research on it in here, it's a very common problem but can be fixed if you know how to use a solder iron and know where your local Radio Shack is at.

[canyonbreeze]

>>> No Starter <<<  If it's the igniter (called CDI by some) it shouldn't affect the starter.  Did you check your fuses?  If the lights et al work ok but there's no starter then I suspect electrical.  See if a fuse is blown.  If not, try cranking the starter by shorting across the starter solenoid with something (wear insulating gloves !!!) to see if it cranks.  If it does crank and you have a blown fuse try replacing the fuse.  If it blows right away you may have a short somewhere.

I was hundreds of miles from home last year when my B400 was dead after stopping for gas.  After close to 4 hours in a gas station parking lot on a 105 degree F afternoon I tracked down a short in the connector from the regulator/rectifier.  Cut the connector off, twisted the wires together and got home.
 

[Wrider]

Ooops you're right, didn't see that...

Check your main fuse as well.  If that blew due to a spike in the system it wouldn't let the starter spin either.

[interfuse]

Also download the manual and check the safety switches.

[400banditman]

Thanks for all the response guys!!

CDI huh? ....was suspecting something eletrical. And maybe a fuse? They say always replace the cheap stuff first!

For what its worth, I had just replaced the valve cover gasket...and ran into a problem with the gas tank squishing the throttle cable....once it started it would scream like a banshee, pinched in WOT.
What else did I screw with....oh yeah the kill switch/STARTER housing on the handle bar...got a little twisted around.
But ok, thanks for the input guys!
BTW I already got the manual...I should start pawing through it
I will reply at lunch EST time....

[canyonbreeze]

"What else did I screw with....oh yeah the kill switch/STARTER housing on the handle bar."

Should have been the first thing to check.

[400banditman]

I beg to differ, if that was the case, it wouldnt have started in the first place...must be a fuse or blown CDI...guess i should delve into that more...
thanks for the advice guys, keep it up, an i'll keep everbody posted

[Chris H]

I dont think it will be the ignition box, could be a fuse, safety switch or relay. You could check if you have 12v at the coils.

[400banditman]

I sure hope not, there friggin $600!!!

I need to get my hands on a ohm/volt meter...check the fuses...thanks again for the help, the nice weather only aggrivates my sitituation...

I will update again tommorrow morning

[canyonbreeze]

I beg to differ, if that was the case, it wouldnt have started in the first place...must be a fuse or blown CDI...guess i should delve into that more...
thanks for the advice guys, keep it up, an i'll keep everbody posted

I was meaning that since you had worked on this it may have come loose while on the road.  A problem in the run and start switches could do exactly what you describe the problem is.  A blown "CDI" will not affect the starter.  (It's not actually CDI).

[stormi]

Two similar threads that might help you out. 

http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=2305.0
http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=6388.0

[400banditman]

Hey you guys are awesome!
Was out sick yesterday, so I couldnt respond.
Well, I got a multimeter, all ready to do some major electrical work. I began by checking the fueses...low and behold the second one I pulled, the ignition fuse, was blown. I replaced it with a new one and she fired right up!

Thanks for all the help and advice!

[doqq]

The "blown" fuse is not the problem.  You may want to look into what caused the fuse to "blow".  A short to ground perhaps?

[400banditman]

I was thinking the same thing...why?

Anybody have any ideas? What would cause a 'short to ground', and how could I fix it?