[ebbtide]

So a few weeks ago i was riding to work and could hear a new noise that was abnormal. When i parked at the office, I went to turn the bike off (turned the key off) and heard that the starter motor was still engaged and turning the bike. I tried the kill switch, etc, but the starter was still turning. It did this until it killed the battery.

I thought it might just be a problem in the starter relay, as the inputs (ignition key, kick stand switch, clutch switch, etc) had no effect on stopping the motor. I swapped the relay, hooked up the jumpers, and it started right up no problem. I could however hear that the starter, once engaged, wouldn't stop turning. So I hit the kill switch and again it ran until the battery died.

I swapped the starter motor just in case. I pulled the bike near my car and with the ignition key off and the kill switch active (so not running), as soon as I touched the jumper cables to the battery on the bike it started kicking the starter motor on.

I can only think that the positive lead is somehow getting volts from the system, despite no obvious path. A short to ground shouldn't matter unless the positive is already engaged. But again i've already swapped the relay.

Any clues? have you seen this before?

2004 SV1k.

 

[Missing Link]

Mmmmm....curious....you pulled out each fuse one after the other to see if one of those circuits is doing it?
Pulling the main fuse kills it ?
You say the relay, meaning the starter solenoid under the seat has been swapped out? That probably the first choice for me.
While its spinning undo the cables form that.

 

[Jokester]

This happened on my virago 1100. Turned out there is a 6 or 8 plug pigtail that is ~4" long and ends in a square silicone or tar or rubber block - presumably to extend the wiring harness in case of a trailer or additional lights and accessories. That had a rubber plug that was slipped on it at the factory. That had come loose and the block that had nubs of wires sticking through it was shorting to the frame. When your starter runs while riding, you dont even feel it, and it destroys a bunch of stuff.
PS: In the wiring diagram it was referred to as a "diode".