i have a 2003 Sportsman 700 Twin with carb. Yesterday it ran fine all day, when we left the campsite we turned off the gas. when we got home my buddy went to take the bike off the trailer without turning the gas back on. the bike turned over 4-5 times just fine but would not start because the gas was still off. i heard it struggling and told him to turn the gas on. after we turned the gas back on the bike wold not start. now when i turn the key it just clicks once but does not turn over.

plenty of gas
bike has good battery
all lights work and winch works.

Thoughts?

 

try leaving the choke on for a little bit then try again

 

sounds like maybe the battery is run down from the amount of starting times. try putting a jump to it and see if the starter will run again.
can you hear the fuel pump pressurize when you first turn the key on?
dont know how the fuel system works on those but i wonder if maybe he screwed something up not having the gas on but the pump was trying to prime

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: eggenz7

sounds like maybe the battery is run down from the amount of starting times. try putting a jump to it and see if the starter will run again.

can you hear the fuel pump pressurize when you first turn the key on?

dont know how the fuel system works on those but i wonder if maybe he screwed something up not having the gas on but the pump was trying to prime</end quote></div>

this is a carb version. you would not here a ele. fuel pump as they are on the efi models. if its just clicking. its either a dead battery, bad connection, or solenoide or starter going bad. if battery is 100% charged up w/ the key on try jumping the 2 big post on the solenoide to see if it turns over the bike instead of clicking. if it still clicks then you have ruled out the solenoide.

 

Thanks i will try jumping to the solenoid this evening to see if that resolves the issue.

 

As it turns out there was a bad ground connection on the starter.
Thanks for the help.

 

glad it was an easy fix for sure.

 

ya me too, we called the local dealer they quoted 400 a for a new starter! this dealer jacks up labor and parts like no other.

 

This sounds like what just happened to me on the trails this weekend. Machine was running fine, turned it off to chat. Tried to turn it on and it just clicks once. Lots of power, no starter turning over.

Any other suggestions? I will clean all connections and maybe do some electrical tests to see if there is a bad connection and where.

 

Check all the connections as you mentioned,plus the battery. If still clicks could be a bad solenoid. You can jump the solenoid to see if the starter works. PLUS if you can't get it to crank,pull the plugs and see if you have spark. 2002 to early 2004 600 and 700 Sportsmans had problems with the Ducati ignition systems and changed over to new Kokusan ignition kits. Not all had problems,but a lot did. OPT