[yeti]

First run of the year, the engine of my 2015 Roadmaster stops and bike rolls to a halt, I’d just turned on the auxiliary lights when it died. It would turn over and start but dies almost straight away, after a couple of times it won’t even turn over. No codes displayed nor warning lights, all lights on the display light up during turn on check. Kill switch not activated by accident. The dash show the battery voltage to be 12.2V when I check it. When the rectifier had a fault in Dec 2015 it went down to 11.3V and went into limp mode before the bike stopped and took 80 miles to do it from the charging failing. Using the master PIN instead of the fob made no difference. Got the bike recovered to my home, as in was Sunday evening by then. Looks like it will have to go to the dealership but any ideas or similar experience?
There is a Datatool alarm/immobiliser fitted but the alarm deactivates normally.

 

[joescian]

First run of the year, the engine of my 2015 Roadmaster stops and bike rolls to a halt, I’d just turned on the auxiliary lights when it died. It would turn over and start but dies almost straight away, after a couple of times it won’t even turn over. No codes displayed nor warning lights, all lights on the display light up during turn on check. Kill switch not activated by accident. The dash show the battery voltage to be 12.2V when I check it. When the rectifier had a fault in Dec 2015 it went down to 11.3V and went into limp mode before the bike stopped and took 80 miles to do it from the charging failing. Using the master PIN instead of the fob made no difference. Got the bike recovered to my home, as in was Sunday evening by then. Looks like it will have to go to the dealership but any ideas or similar experience?
There is a Datatool alarm/immobiliser fitted but the alarm deactivates normally.

Sounds like battery is now stuffed. Did you have it on a battery charger or tender. Your battery should read 12.6 or 12.7 volts. Not 12.2. One of the cells may be weak. I would check battery terminals and ground to chassis for tightness and or corrosion. Charge the battery and after charging for 8 hrs if it’s still reading 12.2 then replace battery

 

[yeti]

Sounds like battery is now stuffed. Did you have it on a battery charger or tender. Your battery should read 12.6 or 12.7 volts. Not 12.2. One of the cells may be weak. I would check battery terminals and ground to chassis for tightness and or corrosion. Charge the battery and after charging for 8 hrs if it’s still reading 12.2 then replace battery

That's my first thought too and I've got it on charge at the moment. The recovery guy tried a set of jump leads to no avail, with me holding the VCU well clear, but I'll see what it's showing this evening.

 

[yeti]

Battery charged, showing 12.5V, turn on bike and as before, voltage drops to 12.2 fairly quickly and no sign of wanting to start, not even the fuel pump pressurising. Lights are bright if turned on and the voltage doesn’t drop any further but with LEDs that’s probably not such a good indication Next thing is to try a new battery, I’m not confident but it’s about due one anyway.

 

[Dean E]

Battery charged, showing 12.5V, turn on bike and as before, voltage drops to 12.2 fairly quickly and no sign of wanting to start, not even the fuel pump pressurising. Lights are bright if turned on and the voltage doesn’t drop any further but with LEDs that’s probably not such a good indication Next thing is to try a new battery, I’m not confident but it’s about due one anyway.

Yeah I would say the battery is probably smoked. A couple of things though, verify you are in neutral by rocking the bike back and forth. Don't trust the indication, Indian has a recall going on for that. Also cycle the kill switch a few times. Is the anti theft red annunciaiton illiminated when you try to start the bike? When you enter the master code that red anti theft light should go out otherwise the bike will act exactly as you see. Same for the kill switch. If turning the bike on does not even run the fuel pump then put a meter on the battery leads and monitor the voltage when the bike is on and when you hit the starter. Even 12.2 volts should run the fuel pump. Dean

 

[yeti]

It’s not even trying to turn the engine, no antitheft light but the aftermarket immobiliser, an insurance requirement when I bought the bike new, might be the problem though it appears to be disarming normally on the alarm side. I did the kill switch rocking by the side of the road quite a lot during the 6 hours I was waiting for recovery (RAC, anyone in the UK will know of them, I will be looking elsewhere in future) but also again this evening. I have to eliminate the battery as the cause before going too much further so will order one tomorrow. Lead or Lithium?

 

[Dean E]

It’s not even trying to turn the engine, no antitheft light but the aftermarket immobiliser, an insurance requirement when I bought the bike new, might be the problem though it appears to be disarming normally on the alarm side. I did the kill switch rocking by the side of the road quite a lot during the 6 hours I was waiting for recovery (RAC, anyone in the UK will know of them, I will be looking elsewhere in future) but also again this evening. I have to eliminate the battery as the cause before going too much further so will order one tomorrow. Lead or Lithium?

Stay away from the Lithium stuff. They require specific charging requirements and are very expensive. They are great for small electronics and power tools but questionable on items that require a large demand. They have been tried on aviation stuff with many failures and a few fires during testing. Get a good AGM battery and make sure to charge it before installing on the bike. Not sure what the aftermarket immobiliser is or what it does. Must be an European thing but I am not familiar with them. Is there any way to remove it to see if that is causing your issue? Dean

 

[Kriss]

The voltage may be ok but if the amps are low there’s no way it will turn the engine over, for the price of a new battery just change it.

 

[Dochardtail]

I have a 15 vintage,it will try to start with a low battery sometimes it will start if it barely turns over,I have the same battery that came with it,and it's dead every winter.now the kickstand switch drove me nuts as it will kill the engine if it thinks it's down.check that and your gear indicator.

 

[driver10]

Pull the main barker in fuse box and let it reset. There has been some people having problems with it. My RM is a 2015 and I'm thinking about getting both barkers to carry on the bike.

 

[yeti]

I don't think the battery is the cause, though it is a bit tired. I'm ordering a new one anyway and will install it before doing much else.
At the moment it's not even trying to start, there is absolutely no response from the starter button. Pulling in the clutch doeasn't make any difference and I have neutral indicated on the dash, and it is in neutral.
I think the fact I can't hear the fuel pump when operating the kill switch off and back on again is a clue and when the engine died it felt a bit like fuel starvation (this is my first injected bike, on the whole I prefer slide carbs with accelerator pumps). On it's own would this stop the starter motor from turning though? I have a PVCX which I paired a couple of years ago but never got around to doing anything else with. I think it can read the error log so there may be another clue there once I've worked out how and if it's not been erased buy RAC technician disconnecting the positive battery terminal to "reboot" the bike. Apart from checking a few fuses I think the rest can wait for the new battery, it might yet save me from having to do anything else.

 

[Demolition Man]

Also would say not the battery. Maybe battery too as a following cause after alternator falling but normally if the alternater output voltage is enough, the engine should stay running even when the battery is disconnected. Maybe kickstand switch, but then there should be a code. Fuel starving could with a bad fuel pump or a bad/clogged vent gas cap.

Cu,
Sven

 

[SJ12DS]

Do these bikes have a tip over sensor like the HDs? If so then doesn't that sensor shut off the fuel pump and maybe starter to prevent a fire? Just a thought. Not saying you tipped it over but that the tip over sensor might be bad.

Found this link:

Tip Over Sensor

On my way to work last night, my tip over sensor was tripped somehow and cut power to the engine. I ended up coasting to the side of the interstate and sat there till the timer let me fire up the engine again a minute later. I left her at the dealership this morning and waiting for a call to...

www.indianmotorcycles.net

 

[SJ12DS]

Here is what that poster found out:

Stranded

150 miles away from home in AZ and I’m stuck on the side of the road. Same issue I had before with my tip over sensor being tripped. This time the bike refuses to start. Reference this post: Tip Over Sensor

www.indianmotorcycles.net

 

[yeti]

They do, they're supposed to throw a code if there's a fault with them but leave the bike running only shutting the engine down if triggered, one of the things I'll look into once the new batery is in.
I filled it yesterday and have charged it ready to go in at the weekend. The tipover sensor looks to be easily disconnected so I'll try that and look for a code. It could of course have become unscrewed and triggered though we didn't spot anything at the side of the road.
However did I survive riding for 40 years without a tipover sensor?

 

[Davetac1]

First run of the year, the engine of my 2015 Roadmaster stops and bike rolls to a halt, I’d just turned on the auxiliary lights when it died. It would turn over and start but dies almost straight away, after a couple of times it won’t even turn over. No codes displayed nor warning lights, all lights on the display light up during turn on check. Kill switch not activated by accident. The dash show the battery voltage to be 12.2V when I check it. When the rectifier had a fault in Dec 2015 it went down to 11.3V and went into limp mode before the bike stopped and took 80 miles to do it from the charging failing. Using the master PIN instead of the fob made no difference. Got the bike recovered to my home, as in was Sunday evening by then. Looks like it will have to go to the dealership but any ideas or similar experience?
There is a Datatool alarm/immobiliser fitted but the alarm deactivates normally.

If you're only seeing 12.2 volts on your gauge,then your voltage is TOO LOW ,hence you do NOT have enough available voltage to keep the electrical system working properly, so naturally, the motor will quit.Ya wanna see atleast a 14.2 voltage reading on your volt meter.So start by checking the condition of your battery,its' connections,which should be clean and tight,AND the frame rail ground cable which has been a common problem for most of us and mentioned quite often on here because it gets loose.

 

[yeti]

New battery now in place, still no joy. The fuses I can get to are all good, the high current ones are inaccessible behind the battery box which seems to require the the rear fender’s removal to take out to access the fuses but I’m going to assume that they’re all OK from what does seem to work, which is all the idiot lights and gauges, headlight etc, tipover sensor (I removed this and tipped it, it’s working as are the hazard lights. I can’t get the relays out to try bypassing them, presumably there is some sort of puller that will do the job but I’m not doing it with pliers or medical forceps, which is as good as I’ve got, I’m not going there yet.
I did an internet search on the Datatool Scorpion S4 Red alarm/immobiliser (also supplied as an OE item for Triumphs) I have fitted and found a recall notice issued in 2017 covering the one I have installed. They can develop a fault that can immobilise the bike so this is my best guess as to what’s happened. I’m contacting Datatool to find out what they have to say for themselves and the dealer who fitted it to find out why he didn’t pass on the recall notice and what he’s going to do about getting my bike running again.

 

[SJ12DS]

Well I believe you have found your problem. Let us know how it ends.

 

[Davetac1]

Sometimes,there are all kinds of bargains on anti theft gizmos,that may,or MAY NOT work.And since you had this installed,or installed it yourself,it's possible that something was missed on installation,or,it wasn't a very good bargain to begin with.I generally park my bikes where I can see em so if some one wanted to tamper with,or attempt, to steal it,unless they can run faster then 1200 FPS,they're NOT gonna get very far!!

 

[yeti]

The alarm was installed by the dealer who sold me the bike and they are an approved fitter for those alarms. I didn’t have an option not to have it if I was to get insurance as the new price of a Roadmaster in the UK was above the threshold where most companies wouldn’t touch it. I could probably have it removed now the bike is nearly 5 years old and still get cover but I’d pay more for it. I‘ll see how it goes between the dealer and alarm company but I intend to take it to law if I don’t feel satisfied with the outcome.