WRR won´t start in Bolivia

Hi all. Over the last 6 months i´ve been riding my 2008 Wr250R through South America. I´m currently in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where I now have this problem.

A few times before the fuel pump has crapped out when hot, in-line w/ the other failures experienced on ´08 model WRs. The bike would run fine after cooling and generally i´d forget about it. This problem seems different: I parked the bike for about 10 days and now cannot get it started again. The weather has been much cooler than normal (50´s to 70´s)

- The fuel pump does not turn on, nor is there a click from the relay (EDIT: on further inspection, the relay does click).
- The battery was showing just under 12V, but my tester is junk and now will not work either. I tried jumping from a car (desperate) but that didn´t do anything.
- Other electrics (Running lights, display, tail light etc) work fine.
- Tried starting it w/ kickstand down and up, in and out of neutral, and pulling or not pulling the clutch.
- Tried bump starting it just for fun although predictably it didn´t work.
- Checked all the fuses in-line w/ the shop manual (main fuse by the battery, and box of 6 fuses in front of the fuel tank on the left side). They all checked out.


About the bike:
- Running a relay for GPS and hot grips from the battery
- 22k miles or so on the clock
- Regularily changed oil and easy stuff but that´s about it.


It sounds like i´m having the same problem as this guy: https://wr250rforum.forumotion.com/what-broke-f20/wr250x-not-starting-electrical-issue-t1093.htm
so I even tried praying too...but nada

I really want to make it up to the Amazon before the rains start next month. Any help on this is greatly appreciated!

I would say you need a new fuel pump.
The 08's have a high failure rate on fuel pumps.

It sure sounds like the fuel pump... but, the following still comes to mind:

1. Did you check the fuses AFTER you tried to jump the bike from the car? That could have blown them.

2. Make sure all the kill switches aren't damaged. Check the kick-stand switch (easily damaged), clutch switch, and lastly the tip-over switch (under the seat).

3. I would say bad gas, but you say there is no clicking, no pump sounds, nothing, so that's probably not it.

Since you've had all the warning signs of a pump going bad, though, I'm kinda leaning toward that being the issue. Do you have access to a new pump down there?

EDIT: Hold on a second... why would a bad fuel pump prevent the starter from getting juice and/or cranking? If it's a bad fuel pump, you would crank, but it just wouldn't start, no? Am I missing something. No clicky starter usually means a bad battery (not in this case, since your lights work) OR no power to the starter for whatever reason. Am I not correct?

If the fuel pump is dead it won't whine or whir or make noise, nor will it pump fuel, it's plain and simply dead. You won't be able to bump start it when the pump is dead either. As for the relay, the only noise I get is from the fuel pump, not from the relay, so no clicky noise from there.

Right, but that's not what I'm trying to point out. Ok, if the fuel pump is bad, meaning it won't pump, run, whatever, OR if it's not getting power, the pump will make no noise at all. We agree on that...

... however. What I'm saying is that a bad fuel pump should NOT prevent the bike from cranking... am I wrong? Unless the fuel pump is hooked up to the starter relay somehow, those should be independent circuits and independent actions. So you flip the switch, the pump fails to prime the system, but you should still be able to hit the starter button and hear the engine TRY to start. See what I'm getting at?

If you get no starter action, and your battery is fine, doesn't that point the finger at something electrical that's NOT related to the pump?

I don't see anything in the first post saying that the starter isn't turning over.

Went over it again w/ a local mechanic:

- The starter relay does click
- The starter does not turn over. We wired the starter directly to the battery and it cranked that way.
- Checked the side stand kill switch. Will check the others this evening.
- After a good bit of wire shaking the fuel pump whirred to life, but the bike still wouldn´t run. Now the fuel pump will not run again. Everything seems grounded but I´ll keep fiddling with it.

The mechanic seems to think its the ECU; but the only bikes around here are the 150cc Chinese jobs, so he´s not too familiar with new bikes.

No access to the necessary parts here, will need to ship from the states which will take at least 3 weeks.

Also @ Mr.Metal (should have included in OP), I have been running 85 octane for at least 1000 kms. I cringe everytime I filled up with that crap, but no other options for most places here. There is premium gas in my current city and I`ll replace all the gas whenever she fires up.

The problem I had before with the pump was generally when it was hot the bike would stop running. The pump would still whirr, and sometimes it would fire again, but only for 100 yards or so before dying again. Sometimes just adding the spare gallon I have would get her going again. The last time ( a few days before arriving in my current location) it needed to sit all day before running again.

I appreciate all your help.

If the relay clicks and the starter doesn't turn over, that can't be caused by a bad fuel pump... can it? I really don't think so. However, all the other symptoms you describe DO sound like all the other examples of "bad fuel pumps" that we read about. So maybe it's more than one problem?

Could an ECU issue manifest itself like a bad starter AND a bad fuel pump? If I remember correctly, when HF's bike crapped out during his trip with his son, he tried swapping ECUs with another WRR and that didn't help at all. He then went after the fuel pump, the ambient temperature sensor, and the engine temperature sensor (I think). In the end, I don't think he ever figured out which of those was the culprit, but he changed all of them.

I don't know how much the ECU controls on these bikes. Does it control what happens when you press the starter button in terms of the starter turning?

f3joel: I think I read the starter issue in the other thread and got confused, but it sounds like the starter does not work in this case either. Well, it works, just doesn't want to turn when you press the button.

My 2 cents worth, I have a tw200 (02). If it sets for a while and the battery is not up to par (over 12volts) it will crank over, the lights look fine, the horn honks good but it will not fire a lick so make sure the battery is up, it and the wr have simialer igniters . Berwyn

Try draining the carbutetor bowl on your TW if it sits.
The gas goes stale quickly.

Come on guys, let's stay on topic. The O.P. has what sounds like fuel pump problems, but his bike will also not turn over at all. That sounds like two problems, possibly not related.

No one has verified that the battery is up to par. This is worth checking even if not considered on the subject by someone, you missed the point!

A good one at that. The bike won't crank over if the battery is low, yet everything else works. I had that happen when my battery was drained down a bit when someone screwed with the switches during an outing. I'd give the battery test a try, and replace that pump.

Heh, I feel like an idiot. The tail light wire I spliced into for heated grips was worn. Didn´t think that could manifest in shutting the works down but after adjusting the splice everythings back up and running. Don´t have the warm and fuzzies but I really want to hit the road again (sounds like a phrase thats easy to regret).
A big thanks to all who responded. Electrical problems can stem from so many different things its great to get everyones opinion. FWIW the bike has held up more than admirably for this trip. When I get some wi-fi i´ll post up some pics.

Many thanks again and hope to see you down the road,

- Mark

Glad you found it! Amazing that a light circuit would disable everything else... guess you coulda started pulling fuzes to isolate the faulty circuit... when you got the pump to run for a little while, that was a real clue to the real problem...?

Yeah, I'm curious for a slightly more technical explanation of what was happening and how it was diagnosed. I wouldn't think the light circuit could shut it all down like that, especially since you had the headlight working, etc. That's just... weird.

But I'm glad you're up and running! Sounds like you're on one hell of an adventure, and I wish you the best of luck

Mr.Metal wrote:

Yeah, I'm curious for a slightly more technical explanation of what was happening and how it was diagnosed. I wouldn't think the light circuit could shut it all down like that, especially since you had the headlight working, etc. That's just... weird.

But I'm glad you're up and running! Sounds like you're on one hell of an adventure, and I wish you the best of luck

I seem to be having the same problem...I took over the license plate holder and think I shorted the light to the license. I then proceeded to cut the wire and it shorted...probably blew the fuse. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Like the author I am not in the US... Central America....an island off of Honduras

clintroberts wrote:

I seem to be having the same problem...I took over the license plate holder and think I shorted the light to the license. I then proceeded to cut the wire and it shorted...probably blew the fuse. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Like the author I am not in the US... Central America....an island off of Honduras

Replace the 10A signal fuse. It powers the dash and without the dash the bike doesn't run.

Mr.Metal wrote:

Yeah, I'm curious for a slightly more technical explanation of what was happening and how it was diagnosed. I wouldn't think the light circuit could shut it all down like that, especially since you had the headlight working, etc. That's just... weird.

But I'm glad you're up and running! Sounds like you're on one hell of an adventure, and I wish you the best of luck

That tail light power circuit is actually the power circuit for most of the bike's systems (including the dash) with a lot of branches off the main wire after it runs through the fuse. If the heated grips were wired up between the fuse and the dash then the damaged wire wouldn't be letting power get through to the dash.

The headlight has a seperate fuse and circuit than the tail/brake/dash etc.