it rained on my xt .....
 

it rained quite heavy on my 98 xt600e and was still raining when i turned on the ignition and pressed the start button.it normally started on the button, so when it didnt ,l let go the button,it kept turning over.l turned the ignition off.l pulled out the key.l hit the kill switch and still it was churning over.lt was bucketing down.the battery was going flat,a minute later it was dead ! does anyone have any ideas as to what l done? l definately killed the battery.

The starter solenoid has stuck on, it will probably have welded its contacts closed. New solenoid will be required.

hi there as 1moremile says the starter solenoid is jamed get a replacement DONT try to fix the one on the bike IT WILL go bad again . zigzag

You might be able to bang it to free it up but like other pepole said get a newone.I changed mine on a 90 xt 600 and it was 16$ and they had it in stock good luck

How old is the battery ? this happens to the solenoid usualy when the battery gets low, the solenoid will flicker and arc more than usualy and will weld itself closed.

if in a pinch, un bolt the main wire to the starter from the solenoid and touch the other
bolt that has the bain wire comming from the battery to start the bike up

Given that the battery could only crank the engine for 1 minute before dying I think it's a safe bet that the battery was knackered. As webmonstro says, this can cause the solenoid contact to fibrillate causing arcing. The arcing will cause the contact to get very hot and it will eventually weld itself closed. New solenoid and new battery I reckon.

Happened to me - starter solenoid stuck on even though mine was brand new with about 15 starts. Bought off eBay from into-motorbikes so I would probably avoid them.

xt + rain = ,,,
 

Thanking you all so much for your kind assistance.Your diagnosis makes perfect sense.l was thrown by the monsoon conditions. Will let you know when im back on the road ...Safe travels

I hope you are back on the road now. Did it turn out to be the solenoid in the end?