'08 KLR Starter Relay

[Newbie]

I'm in Dakhla (Western Sahara). Bike won't start. Battery new and all lights strong. Starter relay makes a brrrrr sound when trying to start. Cannot find a relay in Dakhla. Lots of 24v relays available but no 12v. There are 12v relays but look totally different with different pin configuration.
Could I somehow quich-fix or bypass the problem to get me to Dakar. Any suggestion will be welcomed.
Cheers
Neville

[*Touring Ted*]

You can bypass the relay with a jump lead...

The starter motor is just a 12V motor. If you can get a thick cable from your battery + to the starter motor + then it should start up.

You're ignition will obviously have to be turned on... Don't try this unless you have a few spare 30A "main" fuses and know where to put them. Just in case !!


A 24v relay wont work I don't think. Or, park on a hill and jump start it.

[Newbie]

Thanks Touring Ted

I don't want to risk frying anything trying to solve a relatively small problem. I was wondering if I could simply use another 12v relay and connect the pins with electrical wire? If I mix up the pins can I do other harm?
I can do a downhill start but it's pretty flat around here and loaded the bike is hard to push.
Another option for me is to order a relay from Agadir which would take a few days to get here

[*Touring Ted*]

Originally Posted by Newbie

Thanks Touring Ted

I don't want to risk frying anything trying to solve a relatively small problem. I was wondering if I could simply use another 12v relay and connect the pins with electrical wire? If I mix up the pins can I do other harm?
I can do a downhill start but it's pretty flat around here and loaded the bike is hard to push.
Another option for me is to order a relay from Agadir which would take a few days to get here

If you take the relay off that you have, it will have numbers on the contacts..

You want another 4 terminal relay (is it a 4 terminal ???) with the same numbers although if it's 12v it should work..

One pin will go to the battery possitive, one pin will go to the starter possitive. One will go to an earth and one will be the "switch" pin which will be connected to your ignition switch.......

Probably.....................

I'm not a very good electrician.

[Newbie]

Hi Touring Ted

Thanks for all your help, the problem is fixed. I went back to the store, bought the other 12v relay which I saw yesterday (also with 4 pins) and trotted around the corner to an auto electrician to show me how to match the pins from the old one to the new one. He wanted to see the bike so I went back to the campsite, push-started the bike and drove it in (Without the fairing and the headlights it's an ugly looking bike).

He plugged the old relay back in and it worked........somehow it must have got unstuck from all the handling. I did ask him to show me how to bypass the relay which he did. Remove the relay, then run a connection between the battery pin and the starter pin and the bike starts as if the relay is in and working. The wire can then be removed and the bike runs normal.

Total cost of the repair $nil (I returned the other relay and got my $3 back). Total aggrevation and stress......just about nil as well

Cheers
Neville

[*Touring Ted*]

I do love a happy ending !!

The connection might have just been lose or it jammed...

For $3 though, you should of just stashed the spare relay in your luggage in case !

[Newbie]

I considered keeping the spare relay but running a simple wire the way the sparkie showed me seems a much simpler way to get around the problem if it happens again