Help!! Ignition fuse keeps blowing on Burgman 400

[mdubya79]

Hi Guys,

I have just purchased a 1999 Burgman 400 after months of looking for the right one. It has 6000 miles on the clock and has been well looked after.

I have done 500 trouble free miles on it, but unfortunately I seem to have killed it!

I w as doing 70 mph on the motorway when it lost all power. Whilst waiting for a breakdown lorry I decided to take a look at it. I realised it was the ignition fuse that had blown. There was a 20 amp fuse in place when a 10A should be there. I replaced with a 10A fuse, turned on ignition and it blew straight away. Replaced it with a 20a, and the bike started, then fuse blew.

I replace the fuse yet again, and all seemed ok. Took my wife out for a ride, and after a mile it blew again. This time I went though 6 20A fuses on the roadside with a very annoyed wife, trying to get it going........ended up walking the bike back home!

It seems quite random when it blows, mostly when ignition is switched to on, but sometimes starts, then blows........

I have read as many posts as possible, cant decide if it maybe the ignition switch itself or an earth prob???


Please somebody help me, it took ages to pursuade the wife the get another bike, now I Just have a pretty garden ornament!!

Matt

[Buffalo]

You have a short somewhere that you will have to track down. From the way you say it is acting I would suspect a wire with the insulation rubbed through that is intermittently touching to ground. Some other possibilities are a bad ignition switch or kill switch.

[mdubya79]

Thanks buffalo, pretty much what I suspected, it doesnt seem to be the kill switch, as it blows with that set on or off. I have been using the bike to do a bit of courier work, so I have stopped/started much more than normal, thus putting the ignition lock/switch under more pressure than normal.

I am on a tight budget, and cannot afford to get a technician to look at this, so was hoping for a "yes this is a common fault, all you have to do is............" type answer!

I suppose my next question, is there a decent step by step guide here to strip down all the tupperware on this bike?

I will just have to go through every wire/connection I find until (hopefully) something stands out.......

Matt

[Buffalo]

Your not going to find a whole lot about the 1999 400 on this site. The Burgman's didn't show up on this side of the Atlantic until 2003.

[NormanB]

Matt are you in UK?

[mdubya79]

Hi Normanb, yes I am in the UK...................

Matt

[Chet_Benson]

Matt
Norm may having been asking cause you did not put it in your profile. Add your location to your profile and you may have a member near by that could help.

Starter circuit

[Scootereno]

If it was me I would start by cleaning the ignition switch with electrical contact cleaner and do an inspection of all the wires that come out of it. A dirty switch can pop a fuse just like a short circuited wire. If that doesn't locate the problem I would then trace the wires from the starter backward. Being handy with a volt meter would help. Good luck and maybe Norm lives close by and can give you some tips if needed. Shoot everybody is close by in England aren't they?

[Ralph M]

If it as any electrical extras or mods fitted then that would be a good place to start.

[mdubya79]

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies.

I never use the 'kill' switch on the handlebars, but have tried it in the on&off pos and it makes no difference, although I will take that apart and clean it up first before tackling the nest of wires underneath.

There is a set of heated grips on the bike, which I have now disconnected, but to no avail.

I'm hoping for some nice weather so I can start tinkering, good old british summer, it has rained every day since I bought the bike which makes progress slow!

I find it strange that it can go a mile down the road fine, then pop the fuse, then pop the next few I put in, then let me turn the motor over, then start popping fuses again - very random!!

This is the first suzuki I have bought, and the first scooter...........I hope because of this it wont be my last!!

I am in Hertfordshire in the uk in case somebody want to pop over and help mop up my tears!!!

Thanks

Matt

[mdubya79]

Ok Guys, Here's the latest!

I have completely stripped the bike down, all plastics, speedo, screen etc etc, looks awful!

Here we go:

Well firstly I did a continuity test on the two wires wires behind the ignition fuse. One seems to be a chassis ground, and the other live when the ignition is on.

After fiddling about, I did the same test again, and there was no continuity between the wire and chassis as before, and what do you know, the bike started on a fresh fuse - no probs...........................

Unfortunately after a quick wiggle of the wire behind the fuse, the engine dies......but fuses no longer blow now, I can just hear what sounds like a relay clicking from the rear of the bike when the wires are moved, and the engine just cuts out when you wiggle the connection.............wtf?

I am going to replace the offending wire, and bypass the fuse box and give it its own inline fuse........I just cant understand why I cant get the fuse to blow any longer.

I have checked every wire I can, but cannot see anything obvious, I just dont want to put the thing back together and it start blowing fuses again!


Any ideas guys?

[Chet_Benson]

You said it started as a 10A fuse, is that what you are using now?

[mdubya79]

Yes, now using 10A fuse

[Buffalo]

Well firstly I did a continuity test on the two wires wires behind the ignition fuse. One seems to be a chassis ground, and the other live when the ignition is on.

After fiddling about, I did the same test again, and there was no continuity between the wire and chassis as before, and what do you know, the bike started on a fresh fuse - no probs...........................

Unfortunately after a quick wiggle of the wire behind the fuse, the engine dies......but fuses no longer blow now, I can just hear what sounds like a relay clicking from the rear of the bike when the wires are moved, and the engine just cuts out when you wiggle the connection.

I could be wrong, but I don't think either wire going to that fuse should be a ground. It should be an in line fuse on a hot wire leading from the ignition switch to the ignition. If you are getting indication of continuity to ground on one then I would suspect that is your bad wire. That would also explain why when you wiggled it and it no longer showed continuity the bike started. That clicking sound you hear may be arcing where it is touching to ground. That it didn't blow the fuse may just be because it is not making contact long enough to heat the fuse enough.

[Chet_Benson]

The diagram is not for the 1999 250 but the 2003 400 starting is going to be the same. And like you say there does not appear to be a ground. The juice is coming off of the battery to the fuse thru the switch and to two other fuses.

[mdubya79]

Hi guys,

I have ordered a few waterproof inline fuse carriers on the net, just waiting for them to come through.

I am replacing the orange wire that I can trace from the ignition barrel to the back of the fuse box, but does anybody know where the other wire on the ignition fuse leads to, as I want to replace/bypass this one too just to make sure I have no other issues. It seems to dissapear into the wiring loom (maybe towards the back of the bike)......I have taken so much apart, I just don't want to do any more unless absolutely necessary! I'm dreading putting her back together the longer I have to wait for my parts to be posted!

Thanks

Matt

[Buffalo]

Well on the 2003 and later bikes it goes to a number of places. It goes to the side stand switch, the kill switch, the starter button, the ignition coil and the starter relay. I would suspect it goes to much the same places on your 1999 model but would need a wiring diagram that I don't have to know for sure.