Hi all. I went to start my 2003 R50 this morning. I pushed in the clutch, turned the key, all dash lights lit, turned the key to start....nothing.

No click, nothing. All the dash lights went completely out and stayed out. I popped the hood and checked the battery cables. They were tight. Hopped back in and it fired right up. The clock and trip meter were both back to zero like I pulled the battery cables. I drove it to get tires put on and it did it again in the bay. i pulled the cables and cleaned them with sandpaper, though they had very little corrosion or oxidation on them. I plan on picking up a reamer set today and doing the posts and cable clamps thoroughly this afternoon. Is there a common problem I haven't read about yet?

 

Check the ground strap on the passenger's side that bridges the motor mount bracket and chassis.

 

I'll do that. Is it a common problem? Do they just corrode like the battery cables and posts? How hard are they to get to?

 

It's not too common, but check it anyway.

 

sometimes the grounding strap is not connected correctly after it has been disconnected if a pulley is done or a motor mount has been changed....one trick folks use is to jack the engine up to work on it...and folks can be in a rush to finish...
same goes for plugging in the computer on the passenger side by the airbox.

 

Well, I picked up a battery terminal brush at the local auto parts store for $3.99. I scuffed the posts on the battery and the clamps on the cable ends. There seemed to be more white dust than I expected. Anyway, I tightened up the clamps and motored home. I started it several times without a problem. The battery was replaced in February of 2012. I'll take it to a parts store and have them test it. I'm also going to check the ground strap. Thanks for the help!

 

Sounds a lot like the issue I had with the ignition switch. Car randomly powered down when turning the key. Would do it infrequently at first, then as the oxidation in the key switch contacts became worse, one day it finally quit transmitting power to the car. Took me awhile to track down the issue, but once I cleaned the key switch contacts, all has been well for years now. Here's my thread if you're still having issues:


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...on-switch.html