Pop starting an FZ6 for dummies

[famous556]

Hello everyone.

I recently had the wonderful experience of having to try and pop start (push start) my FZ with an entirely 100% dead battery. To make the lead up story short, I was putting on my gear and had turned on the key when I saw an old friend. We ended up chatting and catching up for about 2.5 hours. I had made the mistake of leaving my key on the entire time :spank: :spank: :spank: . So I went to hop back on the bike, and had no display, or lights of any sort. I was lucky and unlucky in the fact that I was in a hilly part of town. Lucky on the way down the hill, unlucky on push back up . I tried a number of techniques, letting out the clutch slow from 10-15mph in 2nd. I tried 3rd and first from this speed too. I tried letting out the clutch fast, I tried it all. Each time I tried the bike would turn over and occasionally the display and lights would flicker, but I did not ever have a sputter or anything. Lets just say I had a hell of a time. I realized after the first attempt that the bike is EFI and therefore requires power for the fuel pump, ECU, fuel injectors at a minimum to even think about starting. After probably 20 unsucessful attempts, I decided to come up with a new game plan. I thought of something I had read on here. I remembered reading on here that the bike actually uses more power than it makes to idle and that the headlights were a huge drain on the electrical system. Using my quick thinking skills (an hour too late into the fiasco), I pulled the plugs from both headlights to allow more of the generated power to be used for the computer and fuel systems. Eureka!!!! First attempt with the headlights pulled was from about 15 MPH and in 2nd gear. The bike turned over from the road first with no attempt to start, then sputtered, then right as it was about to either stall or start it decided to fire up. I rode it around the block with the headlights pulled still. The bike was MAD! Hardly any power, orange engine light on, sputtering and angry but it was idling good and was actually running. Before riding home I plugged the headlights back in and set off for home 20 minutes away. The headlights were very dim, and the bike still angry, but things went good on the way home.

When I was comfortable that I had no traffic around me and could attempt a rolling start to test the battery, I pulled the clutch at speed, hit the kill switch, and attempted to restart the bike with the starter.... All I got was a single click and a dead display. Letting the clutch back out slowly to avoid skidding the tire, the bike fired back up and although still angry.. gave me no issues the rest of the way home. After a night of putting the battery on a 1 amp 10 hour charge, the bike turns over faster than ever and is now happy again.

Lessons learned!

#1 Don't leave your key on, a few hours will absolutely 100% drain an otherwise healthy battery that has never given me a single issue.

#2 If you have to push start a fuel injected bike, pull the headlight harnesses, or if you can access a fuse panel easily, pull some non-essential fuses to allow all the power to go to vital systems, a simple push won't cut it when the battery is that dead and the stator is trying to power all the systems at once!

Learn from my mistake and maybe you can avoid all the trouble I went through to get the thing to start!

Comments appreciated, heckles accepted with humility :Flip:

 

[fb40dash5]

#3: You might need a long, steep hill if the battery is really dead.

#4: If you need a really long, steep hill, you might also need a good friend or two, in the event it still doesn't work.

#5: Install some way to charge/jump your battery without pulling the tank, before you need it. In fact, installing it will probably keep you from ever needing it. (note to self: do this, before you kill your battery, and are kicking yourself for not following your own advice)

 

[Motogiro]

Good call on the headlights but they (FZ6) don't come on until the engine is running so they should not put a drain on the battery until the ECU tells them to turn on. So whether you have a modded headlamp or not, if it's running from the headlamp circuit it should not draw current just with the key active...

You may have generated enough current after a few tries to get it going..

On my Suzuki the headlamp do come on but are unloaded during crank cycle so If I had to bump the Zook I'll remember to unplug em!

 

[famous556]

Good call on the headlights but they (FZ6) don't come on until the engine is running so they should not put a drain on the battery until the ECU tells them to turn on. So whether you have a modded headlamp or not, if it's running from the headlamp circuit it should not draw current just with the key active...

You may have generated enough current after a few tries to get it going..

On my Suzuki the headlamp do come on but are unloaded during crank cycle so If I had to bump the Zook I'll remember to unplug em!

Thanks for your insight Cliff. While I agree with you 100% and have noticed that starting the bike in the conventional way doesn't let the headlights turn on until the bike is running, I was getting some mixed results with my "modified" starting procedure. The headlight would flicker when I was attempting to push start the bike (It wasn't dark when I was supposed to be going home, but towards the end it got dark enough to notice). I wonder if because I was trying to pop start it instead of using the starter the computer was confused in it's power deprived state and was trying to give power to all the systems as if it was running. 15 MPH in 2nd puts the bike at 1500-2000 RPM I believe so I presume the ECU thought the engine was in fact running and was trying to power everything on?

 

[Motogiro]

Thanks for your insight Cliff. While I agree with you 100% and have noticed that starting the bike in the conventional way doesn't let the headlights turn on until the bike is running, I was getting some mixed results with my "modified" starting procedure. The headlight would flicker when I was attempting to push start the bike (It wasn't dark when I was supposed to be going home, but towards the end it got dark enough to notice). I wonder if because I was trying to pop start it instead of using the starter the computer was confused in it's power deprived state and was trying to give power to all the systems as if it was running. 15 MPH in 2nd puts the bike at 1500-2000 RPM I believe so I presume the ECU thought the engine was in fact running and was trying to power everything on?

I'll bet your 100% on that because the ECU may see the stator output and then it turns on the headlamp relay. The headlamp relay loads what little current is available and you get a no start. So yes I agree best way to jump it is pull the headlamp plugs!

 

[agf]

Ok heres a question
Can I use the tender wire witha 30 amp fuse in the +ve line to jump start form my sons bike if my battery goes flat (dead)
My jumper leads are way heavier guage so just wondering will I melt the tender supplied wires that I have permanently inserted into the system???
waddyareckon?
cheers
ade

 

[KingY]

i did this last year on a loan bike i had ad the time while mine was with the insurance after a crash ( not my fault ). put key in bike and turned on, then i got chatting and forgot i left ignition on, lucky enough the chap i was speaking to had some jump leads in his boot.

Well i dont think it is advised but he put the jump leads on the car and just touched them on the battery for a split second and the bike fired like a rocket. Deffo not advised but it saved me on that day. never left my ignition on again!

 

[edgeofnj]

Ok heres a question
Can I use the tender wire witha 30 amp fuse in the +ve line to jump start form my sons bike if my battery goes flat (dead)
My jumper leads are way heavier guage so just wondering will I melt the tender supplied wires that I have permanently inserted into the system???
waddyareckon?
cheers
ade

my understanding is that the battery tender pigtails cables are too thin and won't handle the current for jump-starting. you may be able to have them hooked up to the donor bike for some time to let some low current charge come through and somewhat charge the dead battery before cranking.

 

[fb40dash5]

My jumper leads are way heavier guage so just wondering will I melt the tender supplied wires that I have permanently inserted into the system???
waddyareckon?
cheers
ade

Quite probably, the one on my dad's S40 are melted, and IIRC that's about how he did it.

I have some little ~50A Anderson Power Pole connectors I've been thinking of wiring up with 8ga or so wire instead of a normal little SAE plug like that for just that reason.

 

[yamihoe]

may be a stupid question...but why didnt you try it in 6th gear? Thats how we always do it. did it on a vfr and it was super easy..... I got my car to start in 5th (5spd not a 6) at 5mph after the brake lights stuck on all night.

now obviously grab the clutch as soon as you feel it start up.....but is there a reason to not do it in that gear?

 

[Motogiro]

Those little tender connectors are going to heat up from the amount of current the starter draws. If you have a bike that would start with just a couple of turns on the starter you might be okay but I wouldn't suggest it as a normal course of action. You could, through the tender connection, hook another battery, from say a car (Car motor off!) or another bike and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Your dead battery will take a charge from the other battery and then disconnect from other battery and try starting your bike.

 

[FinalImpact]

Take note: A quickly discharged battery as OP's case will usually rebound a good deal more so than one left in the barn for months to decay on its own. Meaning the voltage was likely coming UP after the KEY was turned off, had it been left alone for 30min or longer. That doesn't mean it has ample energy as far as starting goes but is likely enough to power the essentials for a bump start.

Think of instantly shorting a small battery for a moment, they bounce back over time. However a 5 year old battery with high internal resistance (just an example), doesn't bounce back well but often can will rise back up enough to run low loads. So, turning the key off and letting it sit can increase your odds of success if left alone for 30 minutes or longer. Not great, but enough to run ECM and Fuel pump.

-
This is not the same but I killed the bike the other day braking too hard on a wet road with a new tire. I was leaving the paved and onto loose gravel - it was rolling at about 4 - 7 mph if that, in 2nd gear and I stood up on the pegs and pounced on the seat while releasing the clutch and quickly pulling it back it. It started.
Point - its all about timing. Had I left the clutch engaged, I'm certain my low speed would have stalled it again. And had I done nothing to increase the traction on the gravel, the rear tire would have skidded and the engine would not have fired. Yes and accident killing it, but the bump was test to see what we as a team could do. . .

 

[Nelly]

I'm not entirely sold on having to unplug the light bulbs to jump start the bike.
Is it possible that there is a problem with the OP's charging system?

The reason I ask, a while ago whilst riding home the weather turned bad.
-2C and snowing, I rode for 9 miles at just over idle speed (not enough rpm to charge the battery) because the road was so slick. I had to leave my bike at a strangers house and walk the last few miles home.
I went back for the bike a day and a half later. It had been outside in freezing temperatures + my alarm had drained what little was left of the battery. As we all know batteries don't like the cold. On turning the ignition on it was dead.
I ran next to the bugger and popped it into second whilst jumping on it and letting the clutch out, after the third go it fired into life and ran perfectly.
Needles to say I was knackerd as I was in my full winter gear.

Nelly

 

[Andz]

I've only ever had to bump start my bike 3 times and all three times it was pretty easy. Turn the key, bike in second gear, get it rolling, bounce on the seat and drop the clutch, job done. As some have said, timing is everything.

 

[Motogiro]

I'm not entirely sold on having to unplug the light bulbs to jump start the bike.
Is it possible that there is a problem with the OP's charging system?

The reason I ask, a while ago whilst riding home the weather turned bad.
-2C and snowing, I rode for 9 miles at just over idle speed (not enough rpm to charge the battery) because the road was so slick. I had to leave my bike at a strangers house and walk the last few miles home.
I went back for the bike a day and a half later. It had been outside in freezing temperatures + my alarm had drained what little was left of the battery. As we all know batteries don't like the cold. On turning the ignition on it was dead.
I ran next to the bugger and popped it into second whilst jumping on it and letting the clutch out, after the third go it fired into life and ran perfectly.
Needles to say I was knackerd as I was in my full winter gear.

Nelly

I think he's saying that the battery was pretty discharged and when he was bump stating it he could see the headlamps flicker meaning the ECU was seeing the engine spin and kicking on the lights hence stealing current. When He disconnected the headlights it had enough to start.
Probably most cases there is enough residual charge left in the battery to do a normal bump start. In the case you can't get it started the two headlamp plugs are easy to unplug..

 

[DownrangeFuture]

I've never had an issue. Last time it was dead I just let the bike roll down my driveway, which isn't steep at all, and I let the clutch out and hit the throttle at the end of my driveway and rode off.

The first time I had it happen was just like the OP, except I was running back into work "real quick" which turned into 2 hours. I had my HIDs in at this point so the battery was toast. I didn't even have to run, just a brisk walk. Popped the clutch, threw my leg over and rode off like a pro.