Fussy startup issues

[Semi-retired]

Yes, it's still kinda early in the riding season (not really, I know, but I have a garden, too! LOL) so it's only now that I'm running into this issue after about 5 rides in:
My ignition switch (on the '03 Midnight) has been a little feisty for a couple of years now...meaning when I just try to turn it to on from off, it tends to "run into a roadblock" so I've been depressing it slightly while turning...and, Bob's your uncle. No problem starting, ever.
Yesterday, however, after turning the bike off to speak to someone in a parking lot, when I went to restart, the "dash" lights came on, just like normal, but when I hit the start button, I heard a single, distinct CLICK that sounded as though it came from under the seat/(battery shelf location).
The guy I was talking to was actually a friendly parking security guy and he immediately turned to his vehicle and popped out one of those portable jumper devices. He said he'd heard the click, too, and proudly announced, "Your battery's dead!"
I said, "I don't think so; maybe loose, but not dead; it's been starting and running like a champ for a couple of weeks."
Nonetheless, between his attaching his wonder-device, and my "fooling with" both the ignition switch AND the kill switch.....after a couple of different combinations and flicking back and forth of BOTH of these items, it finally did start.
I drove home and parked outside my closed garage.
When I went to start it and bring it inside for the night......NO JOY. Couldn't even get lights on.
This morning....went out...turned the key, lights on, hit the start button.......CLICK. DEAD.
No amount of turning or fiddling could get .......oh, wait a minute...yes, after I go to the trouble of digging out the multi-meter and the charger....(battery shows 12.3, so it's not her).......suddenly, after coaxing through the Acc position to On, I finally see lights.....hit the Start button and.........CLICK. All dead again.
So, IS there a fast, inexpensive solution for that ignition switch? (Which I'm 90% thinking is the cause....unless you guys have "less expensive" opinions, which I'm ALWAYS willing to try!
Thanks, as always.

[RDawson]

Check battery cables and cables on the start relay. But probably the switch. 

[BlueSky]

I had a bad battery in my Kawasaki that checked full voltage but would not supply a load.  I finally removed it and took it to an Autozone for load testing and it failed miserably.  A new battery fixed er up.

On my 07 Venture, I was having problems getting the key to turn and I switched to the other key that looked like it had never been used and it worked just fine??????

[Semi-retired]

13 hours ago, BlueSky said:

I had a bad battery in my Kawasaki that checked full voltage but would not supply a load.  I finally removed it and took it to an Autozone for load testing and it failed miserably.  A new battery fixed er up.

On my 07 Venture, I was having problems getting the key to turn and I switched to the other key that looked like it had never been used and it worked just fine??????

TWO EXCELLENT IDEAS I'd not likely have thought of.....especially that SECOND KEY thingy.....which I DO believe I have had sitting in a "key box" by the front door for about 20 years!! LOL
I'll try both of these, thanks, bud.

 

[Semi-retired]

15 hours ago, RDawson said:

Check battery cables and cables on the start relay. But probably the switch. 

Trust me...I'll now check the relay cables, which I hadn't thought of....but makes sense since that's where the "click" is coming from.....but, pessimist that I am.....if it DOES turn out to be the switch, is there any way these things can be "tuned up"? Like given a good bath in contact cleaner and/or lubricated with something and makes them "glide like new".....but doesn't SHORT everything out?
I think I've seen lots of reports from guys who've REPLACED them....but was that because "money was no object" and it was the easier route to go? Or because it was the ONLY thing that would work because the old ones become JUNK?
 

[RDawson]

9 hours ago, Semi-retired said:

Trust me...I'll now check the relay cables, which I hadn't thought of....but makes sense since that's where the "click" is coming from.....but, pessimist that I am.....if it DOES turn out to be the switch, is there any way these things can be "tuned up"? Like given a good bath in contact cleaner and/or lubricated with something and makes them "glide like new".....but doesn't SHORT everything out?
I think I've seen lots of reports from guys who've REPLACED them....but was that because "money was no object" and it was the easier route to go? Or because it was the ONLY thing that would work because the old ones become JUNK?
 

You can sometimes take it apart and clean up the contacts to make it work again. I think instructions are in the read only library. Look in the sale items, a member (can’t remember who) sells or sold a bypass kit that took the load off the switch and ran everything through a relay. The instructions are here somewhere to make your own, pretty simple. I built one for my 07 several years ago.