Troubles with my Scrambler 400X and Triumph's inability to resolve them

The bike has had constant starting trouble since day 1 and I have already been to the service center at least 4 times

BHPian al90 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Backstory

So as of writing this my Scrambler 400 X has been with the Triumph service center in Chennai for the last 10 days, a day in between that the bike was with me. The service center is yet to figure out what's wrong with the bike.

The bike has had constant starting trouble since day 1 and I have already been to the service center at least 4 times for getting this resolved, and every single time all they have done (or so they have told me) is that they have cleaned the switches and tightened the wiring.

My ride would never start on the 1st ignition press, it would take at least 3 or more cranks to get the engine started since day 1, especially if the bike turns off while riding or immediately after a ride. I have faced this issue at times even when trying to start the bike early in the morning.

Repair Attempts
I have posted earlier on my thread about all the repair attempts the service center has made till date, if you want to read through, please see the link: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...er-review.html

I dropped off the bike at the service center specifically for this issue was on 30/07, on picking up the bike post service the next day, it started up twice instantly and I made a mistake of not checking it thoroughly by taking a ride and then testing it, the moment I got home the problem was back.

I called back the service center and showed them the issue on video call , they asked to bring the bike back, but since it was late i took it back only on 01/08 and since then my ride has been with them, they had promised to get to the bottom of the issue but it would take them a few days.

So I called them on Wednesday 07/08 and they told me it was ready and the issue has been fixed, reached the service center, lo and behold the SA couldn't get the bike started on the first attempt, it would only start after 3-4 cranks.

On asking what exactly they have done, they told me that all they have done is cleaned the contact points checked power supply to the starter motor and checked the switches, which is what they already claimed to do in the last 4 services, i had explicitly asked them to replace the starter motor and check, not sure why Triumph's service center is insisting on repair rather than replacement on a part under warranty. All service center's I have been to so far directly replace the faulty parts and check, they don't even bother individually checking each and every contact point and trying to fix it. The service center have officially wasted a week of my time and theirs sitting around and checking individual parts rather than replacing each part with a known working one and checking if the problem persists.

The Triumph service center have been polite and courteous enough to try and get the issue resolved, but the inability of the mechanics to diagnose an issue even after more than 2 weeks (counting the number of times the bike has gone in for the same issue) baffles me. Today I got a call again informing me that they still haven't diagnosed the issue, they now will check the engine compression and engine components and its going to take them another 3-4 days and I can expect and update only by Wednesday 14/08.

Am really vexed with what's happening with the bike, its been running fine aside from the starting trouble and I too have been patient for over 6 months now.

I would request any knowledgeable BHPians to help give me understand what might be wrong, the bike cranks but the engine wont start or just starts and dies immediately.

Also I do not understand why the Triumph service center is so reluctant to replace parts.

I hope Triumph can sort out their mess.

Here's what BHPian Beast21 replied:

I had similar problem in my Scrambler 400x. Mine even stopped getting started and had to towed to service center (Riya Triumph Ahmedabad)
However within 10 mins service manager was able to understand the problem. I remember it was with fuel injection part. They replaced in warranty and no charges.
I got my bike the same day

I think you can check fuel injector.

Here's what BHPian anilp replied:

Did they bother to check valve clearance so far? If not, please get them to check that.

Here's what BHPian Vignesh_N/A replied:

I was at Ashok Nagar Triumph showroom yesterday for Scrambler 400X test drive.

There was a new bike being delivered while I was there. It was all fine until the customer was about to leave the showroom. The bike was dead. I felt bad seeing the customer having issues the very first moment. While the Salesperson was frantically making calls and trying his best to start to the vehicle with battery from display bikes, I didn't know if he succeeded or not.

Not relevant to this post:

Meanwhile, my experience with 400X test ride was even worse. The bike had horrible vibrations beyond 4000 rpm (My Duke390 felt much smoother afterwards) and the front suspension had no damping at all. I dont remember it being this worse (it had 6000 kms on odo) when I test rode the same bike when it was new.

Here's what BHPian BullettuPaandi replied:

If the starter motor is the cause, it'll like make some unusual noise while cranking; same goes for starter relay and the fuel pump, which if faulty, can cause stalling as you mention. So, if you/mechanics aren't hearing any such noises, it's probably not the starter motor, relay or the fuel pump. Other than these, I think the following are the likely causes (in the order of easiness to check):

1. Fuse: Check if the respective fuse is rusted. This is likely depending on the conditions the bike was stored.
2. Engine Oil Level: Check with the dip stick; running too low on engine oil would cause this issue. Running too heavy or too old also would, but neither is likely on a new bike. Anyway, if you are even nearly due for the first oil change & nothing else has worked, change the oil.
3. Battery Health: Check with a multimeter if you're getting around 12.6V or higher.
4. Clutch disengagement: If the clutch isn't fully disengaged when you pull the lever, it can cause this issue. Check clutch lever play and smoothness.

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