C50 Starts intermittently

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0wn3d4life

New member
I have a problem with my relatively new bike. It's an '06 C50 but with only 3500 mi. I bought it new but can ride it only 2-3 times a month so it sit's alot. A week ago I'm coming from my girlfriends house about 2:30am and I need gas so I go to fill it up. I tried to top it off as much as possible because I have a ways to go. So I fill it up and try to start it immediately so the gas won't start leaking out of the gasket (i've had that happen before). I turn the key and get power but when I hit the starter everything goes dead. The display goes dark, so I can't get a diagnostic code or anything. I'm thinking maybe the battery, but after a couple minutes of turning the key back and forth, I get power again. But when I press the starter again, thump!...dead again. I can hear like a clicking sound when it dies. One click and dead. I turn the key off and then on again and get nothing. After about an hour and a half of this....I'm rolling it in neutral trying to sort of jump start it while it's moving. After 10 times of this if finally worked! The damn thing started and I made it home. I couldn't address the issue immediately, but two days ago I wanted to go a mile to the store and I'm expecting this problem and no issue. Everythings normal. I made it there and back with all mechanics functional. Today, I go to start it and again, I get electrical pwr but when I press the starter, thooomp!....everything dead. No lights, no display, no turning over, nothing. What could be the issue? And I can't take it to the dealer because I have no money. I have to fix this myself......Can someone give me a starting point? Thx
 
Yep. Also check the water in the battery too. If it is low, and it is not a sealed battery, only use distilled water.

My money would be on the starting system. I had a Ford Ranger that did the same thing. Hit on the starter with a hammer a couple of times and it would start. Replace the starter, and that was all it took. Same thing happened to my wife's Ford Ranger. It seemed to do it the most when it was hot.
 
:plus1: Also, inspect the battery closely and make sure you have no corrosion.

Also, just curious, what gasket do you leak fuel from? That is not something I would want going on either.
 
My guess: if you fill the tank up to the top when you pull it up off the sidestand gas will tend to come out of the filler because the filler is not the high point anymore...
 
Remember Suzuki had an ignition switch recall on the 05 and 06 model year c50s. I bet this is your problem. Dealer will fix it for free even if its out of warrenty.
 
Hey.....thanks for that ignition switch recall info! I checked the battery out yesterday and all of the connections were tight. And I tried to start it and got the same lights on, then hit the starter and everything dead. But I want to make sure it's not a dead or dying battery before I go into the dealer with this problem. You guys think I should get a new battery and try it, or a trickle charger. If I get a new battery and I get the same symptoms, maybe I can take it back to get my money. Then I can brace the dealer.
 
As far as I know a battery is either going to work, or not work, so I doubt if it your battery from what you described. I could be wrong, but so far I have never seen a battery be bad and just work sometimes.
 
If the charge is low due to low usage it can happen. I had the same issue with my truck battery because except for longer trips, it sits 95% of the time. Had the battery tested and it was only capable of holding less then 1/3 its capacity and it was only 2 years old. Bought a new battery, and throw it on a trickle charger once a month.
 
Ever get the issue fixed? Mine is having the same problems. Battery cables are tight and battery is in good condition. I can push start the bike and it runs just fine, just have to stay away from the starter button. Was told it was possibly some electronic module that could be the issue.
 
If the symptoms are indeed the same, you should not take any more advice from whoever told you that.

A corroded connection at one of the main cables OR a bad connection INSIDE the battery are about the only things that will cause real, total loss of power.......when the starter tries to run. It could be a main fuse too but that is a real long shot as an intermittant main fuse shouldn't act exactly like that.

Vistually checking the cables isn't good enough. That can be tight and still have a bad connection due to corrosion that you can't see........and that will most often show up under high current demands.....like running the starter.

And you can't be sure that the battery is "in good condition" without testing it. The best test is to have a meter ready when it fails and LEAVE IT IN THE FAILURE MODE long enough to test for voltage right on the battery posts.....and then on the cable lugs, etc. If you can do that, the problem should be fairly obvious.
 
I was having the same problem but at cruising speed. Everything would go dead for a second (running 75mph), instrument panel dead no power, but would come right back on. I was in the Keys when it started. Stopped doing it. Rode home to Indiana, no problem. Then 4 days later on the way home from work, started doing it again and completely died in the driveway (lucky me). The battery connections were tight. I disconnected the battery connections anyway, cleaned the wire connectors and the battery posts with sand paper. Reconnected, everything is good. This happened 10,000 miles ago and no problems since. Just because the connections are tight does not mean they are getting good connections. Corrosion builds up on battery posts/wire connectors and can keep the electrons from flowing.
 
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