My wife's 2001 V-Star 1100 suffers from a mystery ailment: it won't start when the weather gets cold, down around 32 degrees or so. It cranks, but won't fire. It's as if not enough current is getting to the plugs to fire the mixture. I can jumpstart it and it will fire immediately. If the temp is just a tad higher it will fire. The battery is a gel type that is one year old, but it also did this last year with the previous battery. Our mechanic has tested the starting and charging systems and is stumped. Anyone have a similar problem with their V-Star?

Bob,

I have not but, a couple of thoughts. When bikes sits a long time the oil drains down and they crank a little harder. Batteries don't work as well when they are cold. Debatable about the oil with multi grade oil but maybe just a little thicker when cold. All these mean the battery voltage drops when you crank it over in cold weather. If Voltage drops below a level, I think around 10 or 11 Volts the ignightor unit stops making a spark or at least it is weaker. Maybe it also cranks a little slower.

If you did not buy the best battery this could be part of the problem.

So my thoughts, a battery tender, a cover with a light bulb under the bike, or a new higher quality battery. When my Liner's battery was 5 years old I did have that problem. Not with a new battery.

Dave

+1 I would try a battery tender, I have pig tails on all my bikes to quickly hook up a tender or charger to without having to take off the side covers. :)

Battery tender makes no difference. The battery is a Bike Master Tru Gel. It did exactly the same thing last winter with a Yuasa no-maintence battery.

Bob,

You may have done this but starters draw enough current that even a fraction of an Ohm will cause a significant Voltage drop. Remove and clean both ends of all heavy battery and starter cables. If you have not already.

Other wise only thing I can say is put your trouble light under the bike and a cover over it. No bigger than a 60 Watt bulb. I actually do this over the winter to help be sure it will start next spring and reduce moisture. The bike is in a unheated garage.

Dave

The starting system has been checked for current draw and is within spec. Not sure the trouble light trick would do much good, as we have no garage and the bike sits under a carport exposed to everything but rain.

Have you tried adding some octane boost? The colder gas gets the less combustible it becomes might be worth a try, or even some stabilizer?

Actually, higher octane is less volatile. Higher octane prevents engine knock (pre-ignition). The higher the octane, the harder it is to ignite.

If I were stumped and desperate. I would still check those connectors and bolts for the high current to the starter and to the frame. If you have just one tenth Ohm resistance through all those connections and the starter draws 10 Amps. That would be One Volt drop across the connectors and bolts. If the battery voltage drops another Volt from the heavy load and cold weather that leaves 10.5 Volts at best. At 10.5 Volts the spark would at least be weak. Maybe no spark.

If it helps here is a link to a service manual. I do see they say be sure you have the proper heat range plugs, correct gap, and electrode in good shape.

http://www.paulmilner.com/

Dave

Check your ignition system. Sounds like a drop in ignition voltage. Had a race car do the exact same thing many years ago. ;) When you put it on the jumper cables you've increased your available voltage to make the ignition fire.

The counsel of linerdave,Bikermike and MSDR is sound. Try their advice, or at least get on the same page, as they are tyin to help.

I also run an 1100 and have had no problem, using that line of thought.:cool: Ride Safe.

Before I built my garage last year my Venture would sit under the carport until usually early Dec. when I'd put it in the basement for the winter. When it sat for more than a couple of days outside it did the same thing. I always attributed it moisture in the intake and carbs, maybe even "damp" spark plugs too since some days the engine would be sweating when the weather warmed up a little. Moisture will find a way to get inside the engine too. Once I got it inside it never failed to start thru all kinds of weather. I bought my Road Star in August and once we started getting some cool mornings it was hard to start too. After digging into it I found that the carb heater had come unplugged. I cleaned and tightened the terminals and that took care of it. Years ago I had a Kaw 175 enduro that I let sit in the barn, covered with an old quilt, for a couple of months one winter. When I tried to kick it over the engine was stuck. When the mechanic pulled it apart the rings had stuck to the cylinder wall and it was rusted inside the cylinder like it had sat out all winter.

Unfortunately, for the sake of diagnosing this thing, the weather here has been well above normal for this time of year and the bike has been starting every morning. So for now, she's still riding it to work each day.

That's how I came to the conclusion that it was moisture causing it, swings in the temps. It wouldn't take much moisture on a spark plug to ground out the spark. Kinda like back in the day when the older cars & trucks would "drown out" if you splashed the plug wires or distributor cap with road water, only in this situation the moisture is inside the engine. Sometimes I'll have to dry the inside of the distributor cap on my '58 Ford tractor so it will start. Let us know if you find something definite, and good luck.