Startus Interruptus Fixed

The symptoms sound like a battery on the way out. However to get the dash to read higher volts, I disconnected recrimped the two pole plug from the alternator - this is on the other side of the two big fuses. When voltage on the dash gets low, I disconnect and reconnect this plug/socket several time. Presumably it's cleaning the contacts...
Voltage on dash show more.

whether you go the MPH kit or make it yourself (satisfaction/skill points) there is a good write up on here, with plenty of pics too..... its pretty easy and you don't require an electrical engineering degree to MacGyver it up.

- just make sure when you shrink the heat shrink with a lighter... be sure you do it on the bench not when its fitted on the bike...
my 9yo pointed out my Darwin Award attempt "dad, should you be holding a flame next to the fuel tank..."



strangely, I'm still here

Heat shrink with a lighter? You buffoon!

Heat gun or soldering iron. Tsk.

Yeah battery is about 3 years old. My Ducati battery needs replaced too... it’s 5 years old so guess like I’m spending $200 sooner than later haha

I don't believe the MPH kit does anything about the wimpy wire from the relay to the solenoid, it needs to be a couple of sizes larger. When I replaced this wire on my 2007 I ran the wire past the positive battery terminal so if all else fails I can touch it to the battery bypassing everything including the neutral interlock, I removed a small portion of insulation doubled it back and covered the bare part with a piece of heat shrink slipped on but not shrunk.
This feature has proven useful a couple of times once when the bike tipped over while waiting for a ferry (the tip over switch prevented it from cranking) and when checking the compression on cylinders the other day. I didn't turn the bike on so there was no fuel delivery or ignition sparking away it just cranked.
Its also nice to know that the starter and battery are in order and not have to wonder if it's a silly wiring fault thats preventing the bike from turning over.
I will add my usual warning about making sure the bike is in Neutral so you don't launch it and pull the clutch in to be double certain.
BTW don't forget to give it full throttle while checking the compression otherwise its got nothing to compress.

Kiwi_Roy wrote:

I don't believe the MPH kit does anything about the wimpy wire from the relay to the solenoid, it needs to be a couple of sizes larger. When I replaced this wire on my 2007 I ran the wire past the positive battery terminal so if all else fails I can touch it to the battery bypassing everything including the neutral interlock, I removed a small portion of insulation doubled it back and covered the bare part with a piece of heat shrink slipped on but not shrunk.
This feature has proven useful a couple of times once when the bike tipped over while waiting for a ferry (the tip over switch prevented it from cranking) and when checking the compression on cylinders the other day. I didn't turn the bike on so there was no fuel delivery or ignition sparking away it just cranked.
Its also nice to know that the starter and battery are in order and not have to wonder if it's a silly wiring fault thats preventing the bike from turning over.
I will add my usual warning about making sure the bike is in Neutral so you don't launch it and pull the clutch in to be double certain.
BTW don't forget to give it full throttle while checking the compression otherwise its got nothing to compress.

Hi Kiwi Roy,

Just yesterday for some reason the lights weren't on in the speedo nacelle. I hit the starter button and nearly launched the bike - but full brake application and a nearly dislocated thumb stopped things. Is it the case that the bike will still turn the starter motor even if the bike in in gear? I don't mind handling weapon that has it's idiosyncrasies, and have learnt my lesson, but thought this must be symptomatic of a fault?

So I went for a decent ride today ~438 miles over 8 hours and bike performed perfect- no problems at all. Get it home in the driveway and unload the beer from the sidecases to put them in the fridge, (can't let it get too warm)

Go out to reposition the bike and sure as shit it won't turn on,- FYI the bike is hot as crap, its near to 90F in the sun and I've been pushing it almost non stop the past 8 hours. reading 12.4-12.6volts on the dash and hear some clicking under the seat- Looks like I'll its the startus interruptus?

Just want to rule out other things here- but could it also be an old starter switch? I'm thinking probably not since I did hear clicking from under the seat when I pressed the starter button.

Perhaps those clicks you heard were Morse Code, telling you it wanted one of those beers......

Would seem odd to me that an 11 year old GRiSO would start that now. Mine did it after year 1. Mine doesn’t read higher than yours on the battery-even with a new one until it starts up and stays at about 13.8

b3177h wrote:

So I went for a decent ride today ~438 miles over 8 hours and bike performed perfect- no problems at all. Get it home in the driveway and unload the beer from the sidecases to put them in the fridge, (can't let it get too warm)

Go out to reposition the bike and sure as shit it won't turn on,- FYI the bike is hot as crap, its near to 90F in the sun and I've been pushing it almost non stop the past 8 hours.  reading 12.4-12.6volts on the dash and hear some clicking under the seat- Looks like I'll its the startus interruptus?

Just want to rule out other things here- but could it also be an old starter switch? I'm thinking probably not since I did hear clicking from under the seat when I pressed the starter button.

It certainly sounds like Startus Interuptus to me
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If you look at the number plate light (18) or the small lamp inside the headlight (54) you will see they are fed from the same yellow wire that feeds the start relay.
Watch one of those bulbs while you press start, you will see it go dim as the solenoid sucks down the Voltage.
All the MPH kit does is replace the yellow wire feed with a new one direct from the battery, if you cut the wire just before it splits to feed both relays (2)&(3) and crimp on a new #16 or #14 wire from the battery through a 20 Amp fuse it should be good.  Just to re-iterate Battery, through 20 Amp fuse, to feed both relays. Tape up the live end of the yellow so it can't short to chassis.
To complete the job replace the Red/White or is it Red/Yellow wire from relays to solenoid with the same size wire you used to feed the relays
It's optional to run it past the battery so if all else fails you can bare off a section of insulation and touch it on to hot wire the starter. (with the bike in Neutral of course)

[quote="Kiwi_Roy"]

b3177h wrote:

It's optional to run it past the battery so if all else fails you can bare off a section of insulation and touch it on to hot wire the starter. (with the bike in Neutral of course)

In the early daze of Startus Interruptus, I carried under the seat, a short piece of wire with a alligator (or was it a crocodile?) clip attached to one end. It was easy to attach to the positive of the battery, and brush it across the top of the starting relay (there was a connection there somewhere).

Later, I cut the yellow wire and ran it directly to the positive of the battery via an in-line fuse. No more Startus Interruptus.

Installed the Kit from MPH Cycles this weekend- I also got a good video documenting this- is there a good 'GRiSO' youtube channel that I can upload the video to for demonstration purposes? Might help some folks out in the future.

b3177h wrote:

Installed the Kit from MPH Cycles this weekend- I also got a good video documenting this- is there a good 'GRiSO' youtube channel that I can upload the video to for demonstration purposes? Might help some folks out in the future.

Think I got this disease aswell, please put it up on YouTube if you have the time. Cheers, Johan

The fuse will blow fairly quick because you now have a better feed to the relay, feeding it more Amps.
One thing the MPH kit doesnt address is the wimpy wire from the relay to the solenoid, you could address that by putting another one in parallel or splicing it to a larger one.

beetle wrote:

Aside from the possibility of Startus Interruptus, the ECU will also prevent start if it reads the battery volts as too low. That's why it's important to have clean, tight battery terminals. As well as the main ground at the starter motor, plus the ECU ground. What the ECU reads may be also different to what you read with a multimeter at the battery terminals, due to various sciencey & teckernology stuff.


I have an MPH kit on my GRiSO. I have been a sparky for 38 years, an electronics tech for 34 years, and a nerdy geek for 56 years. I installed the kit 'cos I'm lazy*, and I hadn't even experienced Startus Interruptus.



* Actually, Pete gave it to me and I said "Ooh! Shiny!" and installed it. Some years later, after Michael had stripped the bike bare to get the frame painted, he says to me "you know that the wires weren't soldered, they were just twisted together under the heatshrink?" D'oh! That could've been embarrassing....

Did you mean that the wires in the MPH kit were just twisted together under the heatshrink and not soldered, or was that the original Guzzi wiring loom wires?

The wires in the MPH kit.