Glad its sorted!
The corrosion may have been something to do with it but I have also heard that with a low battery voltage it keeps spinning the starter (but not fast enough/with enough RPM for it to switch off) so you would end up burning it out.
Factory XX cars maybe better but as a development car its the sort of thing they would have worked out!
We are having similar problems with a 1500cc 2021 SR3 XX (chassis 1434 I believe). I thought it would be best to add to this thread as it appears we have a similar problem.
Tried to start the car to warm up to change the oil. The solenoid would click on occasion. Later checked the side pod battery & found it was completely dead. Would not take a charge & would show malfuction signs on 2 battery chargers. Replaced the battery with a new one. Tried to restart and still nothing. Occasional clicks on from the solenoid. I started to check connections from the silver box (charge box for battery #2) and wires going into the AIM PDM. Suddenly while playing with the wires around the PDM the starter activated and would not stop. Keep in mind that only the Master switch was turned on and there was power to the dash. We did not press the ignition or start/stop buttons on the dash. We quickly turned off the Master power switch to stop the starter. It ran for ~5 seconds before we realized what was happening & got it shut off. At this point, anytime we turned on the Master switch, the starter would instantly turn on. No lights on dash panel. Next replaced the solenoid with a known good working one. Now, the starter does not turn on when we turn on the Master switch. However, now we can not get ANY power to the PDM or the dash, no signal to the solenoid, no lights in the PDM window. Basically no power to anything. Side pod was removed & no signs of a bad connection. The Master switch does send power to the PDM - that's where it stops though. We have power to the solenoid. Both batteries are holding good charge. Internal battery in PDM has 1.75v (not sure if this is a problem). No signs of burnt terminals in connections or on the circuit boards. I will test the starter but I don't think this is a problem as we are not able to get the solenoid to click. It appears that this dead battery and or solenoid has tripped something in the PDM or blown a fuse that we can't find. There is a large fuse next to the engine bay battery but it appears fine and has not blown.
Could this be a problem that has now transferred to the PDM? If so, who can look at this? Hoping to take the car to the track for a race in 4 days. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks, Chris
@roadracer28 oh dear that sounds horrid and far worse than my experience where all i had to do was replace the solenoid. It sounds like you've done all the sensible things anyone could do (i'm definitely not experienced enough on the electrical side to comment) - i would give Aim tech support a call immediately if in UK (not sure where you're based?) or try and PM @trailbrake who provided (not sure if he's still around) dealer support for Aim products and knew his stuff tech-wise and was US based, he was also active on the Totally Radical facebook group, his facebook profile name escapes me but if you do a keyword search within the group for 'Aim' or 'electrical', something like that, i'm sure posts from him will pop up.
Also James Scott who's radical's chief technical guy knows the Aim stuff inside out as you can probably imagine and he helped me recently reconfigure all functionality back on my steering wheel. Have you connected to the PDM with RS3 at all and if you can is it reading any sensors with the ignition on?
just realised your post was from 3 days ago, have you had any luck or still scrambling around trying to get the car sorted for race day?!
The rumors of my demise have great been exagerated! 🤣
It sounds like the input board might be damaged. The PDM would have to go back to AiM to get checked out. If you're in the US, it can go to VA or CA offices to get checked out and repaired. Addresses and info at https://aimsports.com/us/contacts-america.htm
If you're in the UK, it can go to AiMShop.
Thank you for the replies on this. We finally sorted out the issue with the assistance of Joshua Tidd (Radical USA Technical Support Engineer) and the team at Stradale.
Here is the history (after the steps in my previous post above): replaced both batteries (Odyssey PC545) and checked all connections, grounds, and pin outs. Replaced the used OEM solenoid with one from Amazon. Batteries are kept on a trickle charger and always topped off when starting the engine.
Sent the dead AIM PDM 32 to AIM in Virginia. They were not able to get it to turn on so they sent it to AIM Italy. Its been 6 weeks and we still have not seen it. Ugh!
Fortunately Stradale had a PDM in stock and we decided to give it a try. Prior to shipping this PDM, it was flashed with the latest firmware. After installing the new PDM, we were happy to see lights on the dash, PDM, and steering wheel. The motor started and ran for a bit and we were VERY excited. However, when we turned it off and went back to start it again, the starter would not deactivate. We quickly turned off the master switch. Then after that, if the master switch was turned on the starter would be activated. The biggest concern with the starter issue is sending 24v to the PDM and blowing it out just like the first one.
I was able to have a call with Joshua where we disconnected the starter and ran a number of tests. We found that we were getting 13v to the starter but it was not activating (perhaps very low amps). This was VERY strange. Swapped the power wires on the solenoid resolved this issue. Perhaps it was wired incorrectly prior to our ownership. Unfortunately we could not get power to the starter from the dash button. Next swapped the new Amazon solenoid for an old used OEM solenoid and BINGO!! It worked!! So in the end, it was 2 blown solenoids (one that came on the car (2021 XX) and a new one from Amazon).
I have ordered 2 new OEM Suzuki solenoids (one as a spare) and plan to replace the used one that is on the car now. My advice is not to go cheap on the solenoid.
Now that everything is working, I still have intermittent issues when I hit the starter button. Sometimes the signal is very short, other times it stays on longer than I would expect. I am scared that it will stick & not turn off. I suspect that when it sticks, this extended 24v going through the solenoid is causing it to stick. Perhaps this is what caused the 2nd battery to go bad (2x). Maybe all that was due to the solenoid power wires being swapped initially. At this point, we are going to keep a very close eye on the start/stop button and if it decides to stay open, we will be prepared to quickly turn off the master switch in an effort to save the PDM, solenoid, and side battery.
Hoping to have our first event this weekend with this car (weather permitting). If we have any issues, I will post it here.
Special thanks again for all the help from Joshua (Radical US) and Francesco (Stradale). Also special thanks to Charley Hoyt for hosting this amazing website!
Chris
very interesting - I never really had any issues after replacing the starter relay, but every once in a while, maybe 1 in every 20 starts, I would still experience the starter 'stuck on' cranking away and i'll quickly turn the master off, try again, and its fine. I haven't started the car in almost 2 years but will be next month.
I don't know how to test whether everything is workign with the starter as it should - to check that the second battery is pushing that extra voltage to the starter motor etc..i'll seek advise on what exactly i need to check.
Were you just pressing the starter and checking each part of the circuit with a voltmeter to see what was flowing through at each point? I guess there's 2 wires going to the starter motor and each should be delivering 12v so thats the first check i should make!
