[ducatimike]

Your starter relay stuck in the closed position. It happens occasionally. The quality of the relay is crap in my opinion. I put an Automotive one in my ST4.

Mike

 

[bjclay]

It seems to be a known problem because when it happened to my new 05 ST3 the dealer wasn't surprised. They put a new relay on it. Will see how long it will last.
Bruce

 

[dharhay]

It does happen every now and then. Many riders change the starter solenoid to an automotive version or a Yamaha version. I think the folks at CACyclewerks (sp) have or had one on their site.

Dave Harhay

 

[Desmo_Duc]

Cool...Thanks for the info!! If it happens a few more times, looks like I'll try swapping it out...

 

[couchflyer]

It happened to my ST3 once when I first got it. It hasn't happened since.

 

[Desmo_Duc]

Forgot to ask earlier, if it happens again...And I ride it, will it hurt the starter at all?

 

[jack]

Oh yeah, the starter generates a lot of heat if used excessively. I try not to run the starter for more than 10 seconds at a time and then let cool down for a few minutes if the motor didn't start after a couple of attempts. If the starter stays engaged with the motor running, the it'll overspin the starter motor while energized and may damage/wear on the starter sprag. I'll bet a the motor idles faster than a starter normal spins.

 

[Fariborz]

If the starter is not disengaging when you turn the ignition OFF, it also means that it is not disengaging when the ignition is ON. Running the engine when the starter is still engaged, can and will damage whole bunch of parts, including the starter, battery, starter relay and starter sprag clutch.

I had the same thing happen on my new ST4S when I first bought it. By the time I was able to remove the fairing to get to the battery terminals to disconnect them, the battery was completely dead. I recharged the battery and have not had the problem since (more than 2 years).

-Fariborz