Triumph thunderbird Sport

charlieo

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Joined
Dec 14, 2012
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Location
Livonia
My Ride
1998 Triumph TBS
1998 TBS, started and ran good and went to gas station, filled up, turn key ignition to on, no headlight, neutral, oil light and won't start. The turn signals are the only thing that works. Checked fuses, they are all good and all connections are plugged in. Battery is showing 13.25 volts. Service manual says there is an inline fuse but unable to locate. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
Last edited:
A little hard to diagnose from a distance, but I would suspect one of the safety switches did not make up. Either the kickstand, or the neutral safety switch. Kickstand switches get a little sticky with road grime a such. Or could just be operator error [that one happens to all of us]…J.D.
 
Checked clutch and kickstand switches and both are working, will check the neutral switch forgot that one. Thanks
 
this is not my original, can't remember who 1st wrote it but it's sound.-
The Igniter is an (inclusive) OR gate - either one OR both wires must be earthed for the engine to run. The starter relay will NOT activate unless the bike is in neutral OR the clutch is pulled in.


Problem Solving:

The starter relay activates (engine turns over) but no spark? This indicates a lack of earth at the Igniter

Grey/White wire - this can be caused by:
a) broken wire (open circuit). Test for earth at Igniter Grey/White wire.
b) alarm connector block fault (open circuit).
c) faulty sidestand switch.

The starter relay DOES NOT activate (engine will NOT turn over). This indicates a fault in the Neutral

supply to the Starter Relay (Green/Yellow wire) and can be caused by:
a) broken wire (open circuit). Test for earth at Starter Relay negative terminal.
b) faulty clutch switch (open circuit)
........but will activate when clutch pulled in - faulty neutral switch.

This of course assumes that the starter relay is fully functional!

Good luck
43860
 
Hi there,

I’m new to the site, just bought my first Triumph - a 2000 TBS - yesterday. Just wondering if you ever figured out the problem you were having, because I’m having the EXACT same issue.

I got a great deal on it from a dealer in Virginiabecause the guy who owned it previously traded it in to them and told them it had a gremlin that was killing batteries if he didn’t ride it everyday. They didn’t want to deal with an electrical issue, so they passed it on as is. It was running a week ago when they got it, but the battery was dead when I picked it up

When I put a new battery in it today and turned the key, however, no headlight, brake lights, neutral, oil light - nothing. I tried the turn signals/hazard lights and they worked fine. All fuses are good, and the battery has a charge of 12.8V.

When I searched the problem and saw your post, it sounded identical to my issue, so I’m hoping you might have figured it out. Any advice at all would be great, haven’t received my service manual yet.

Thanks!


1998 TBS, started and ran good and went to gas station, filled up, turn key ignition to on, no headlight, neutral, oil light and won't start. The turn signals are the only thing that works. Checked fuses, they are all good and all connections are plugged in. Battery is showing 13.25 volts. Service manual says there is an inline fuse but unable to locate. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
Welcome! I hope we hear back from the original poster, because it is always nice hear what the fix was and learn from it.
 
Thanks! Yeah, it sounds like the exact same issue, so it would be great to know if he solved it. If anyone else has any ideas, I’m happy to hear them. I checked the kickstand And clutch switches, not sure how to check the neutral switch. I think they’re ok, but guess there could be a short. Thanks again!
 
b) faulty clutch switch (open circuit)
........but will activate when clutch pulled in - faulty neutral switch.

And clutch switches, not sure how to check the neutral switch.

It appears you test the neutral switch by putting the bike in neutral, with clutch released, and try starting. If it doesn't start. pull in the clutch and try again; it it starts it is the neutral switch.
 
It appears you test the neutral switch by putting the bike in neutral, with clutch released, and try starting. If it doesn't start. pull in the clutch and try again; it it starts it is the neutral switch.
My Tiger 800 will not start unless the clutch lever is pulled in no matter if it is neutral or in gear.
 
I had the same problem with my 2000 Thunderbird and searched all over the witing harnesses and connectors for a short to ground and didn't find any. Fuses all good including "in line", located near main fuse box below right side airbox snorkel (see photo). Checked clutch, neutral and sidestand switch and all were OK. Battery checked out at just 12 volts, but solenoid didn't switch or motor crank. Thought it might be a problem with amperage not voltage so I hooked up jumpers to my truck battery. OK, its a start. I installed a new battery and the Thunderbird starts fine. Good luck with yours.
 

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