|
Post by motomartin on Mar 7, 2011 19:29:42 GMT -5
My starter motor seems to work fine when out of the bike. If I attempt to jump it with a cable from the + battery terminal directly to the post on the starter, when in the bike, I get sparks but it does not turn. It does not sound like it is binding or even trying to turn, am I missing something - it should turn correct?. ( The bike is in neutral, with the spark plug removed, I can turn the kickstarter with my hand) Also when all put together and trying to start with the start button, the wiring gets hot.
|
|
|
Post by steveuk on Mar 8, 2011 13:41:54 GMT -5
if the starter motor spins whilst out of the bike and the engine turns over freely with the kickstart then its either the starter solenoid or starter clutch, remove the starter motor from the engine and put your finger through the hole in the engine case and see if the idler gear spins one way and engages the other way, it might be that the idler gear is seized or jammed, at least you can check this without removing the clutch cover.
steve
|
|
|
Post by supersaki on Mar 8, 2011 15:40:54 GMT -5
Are you sure that your battery is in good condition and the leads are tight also do you have a good earth to the engine. Hope you get it sorted out. Roy
|
|
|
Post by motomartin on Mar 9, 2011 2:11:38 GMT -5
if the starter motor spins whilst out of the bike and the engine turns over freely with the kickstart then its either the starter solenoid or starter clutch, remove the starter motor from the engine and put your finger through the hole in the engine case and see if the idler gear spins one way and engages the other way, it might be that the idler gear is seized or jammed, at least you can check this without removing the clutch cover. steve Okay Steve, I have removed the starter motor and can spin the idler gear one way, but not the other. When I try to "jump" the starter motor - I bypass the starter solenoid so theoretically that would rule that out. (Still does not work) Do you think it is possible that the starter motor could be okay when not under load but when loaded does not work? However I would imagine that if this were the case it would make somekind of laboring or binding sound.
|
|
|
Post by steveuk on Mar 9, 2011 6:16:19 GMT -5
i know its a silly question but are you sure the engine is turning over and its not just the kickstart shaft turning.
make sure your battery is good and fully charged then run a positive cable directly from the battery to the starter motor and connect a good negative cable to the battery and touch the body of the starter motor with the other end of the neg cable only for a second this will rule out a bad earth.
|
|
|
Post by motomartin on Mar 10, 2011 3:42:16 GMT -5
i know its a silly question but are you sure the engine is turning over and its not just the kickstart shaft turning. make sure your battery is good and fully charged then run a positive cable directly from the battery to the starter motor and connect a good negative cable to the battery and touch the body of the starter motor with the other end of the neg cable only for a second this will rule out a bad earth. Yes, the motor is turning over, I have the spark plug removed and it is making "compressiony" blowing sounds as the motor rotates. I assume the above instructions are for when the starter is in the bike? (As I have already discovered it will run when off the bike). It seems as if I run a positive cable directly to the starter it will be arcing/sparking while I try to screw it on? Kind of hairy stuff.
|
|
|
Post by steveuk on Mar 10, 2011 8:49:49 GMT -5
yes with it in the bike, connect the + cable to the starter motor and the battery first then remove the - cable from the frame or engine case and connect it to the battery and touch the loose end of the - cable on the starter motor body that way you are only earthing the starter, see if that spins the engine.
when it was out of the engine and working was there a lot of torque on the stater motor it should be hard to keep a hold of when it spins
|
|
|
Post by redbug2 on Mar 10, 2011 9:04:13 GMT -5
Motomartin, If you run a positive cable directly to the starter from the battery, and the starter is grounded to the battery somehow, yes, it will probably arc, and I don't know how you could screw it on without melting the cable end while doing it. I believe steveuk is assuming that you would have the ground wire off of your battery.. That's probably a good way to do it...
I usually just run a jumper cable from the positive terminal directly to the starter lug while negative is grounded to the bike... Yes, I run a greater risk of touching the wire anywhere on the bike and getting sparks... Steveuk way is safer but will take a little more setup.
I have had starters spin fine out of a bike or car but fail under a load.
Have you ever tried jumping the battery with a set of jumper cables from your car or another known to be good battery? If you are getting a jump from a larger battery don't over test. I would just hook up a better/larger battery and then touch the starter. If it turned over fine I would then assume my bike battery is shot. I would then stop. If your pushing a lot more juice through your smaller system you could fry it up... Others might not agree with this idea... Or better yet, go get your battery tested.
I'm using a normal lawn tractor battery right now in the bike while I tune it up. A new battery came with my bike that was never used, I don't want put acid in that one until my bikes on the road. I read somewhere that the lawn tractor battery fit but was a little tight, they were right, its a little tight, it works and was only $20....
|
|
gerryggg
2nd Gear
I'm Lost In Thought, Please Send a Search Party.
Posts: 225
|
Post by gerryggg on Jun 19, 2011 12:59:29 GMT -5
It is possible the starter motor has an internal layer short that only occurs under load. The amperage draw is considerably higher when starting the bike than when in no load condition off the engine. If your leads get hot when you try to start it and the starter idler gears turns that it likely the problem unless your starter clutch is locking up, but I would think that would interfere with the kick-starting. It is normal for a starter clutch to turn one way and not the other when the engine is not running.
|
|
|
Post by motomartin on Jul 31, 2011 23:23:23 GMT -5
Update: After being busy with other projects, I'm looking at the RE5 again. I can get the starter to turn the bike over (plug removed) when attached directly to the battery. Although the wires get hot. When hooked up to the starter solenoid, etc. the starter button spring gets red hot, nothing else happens.
|
|
|
Post by jm0406 on Aug 1, 2011 15:05:44 GMT -5
I have an extra starter motor you could try and an in So Cal. also. PM me if you want some help. Jeff
|
|
didge
2nd Gear
Posts: 158
|
Post by didge on Aug 9, 2011 15:32:16 GMT -5
Is it worth looking at the type of Oil in the tranny, I had a similar problem and someone suggested I tried a thinner oil, I couldn't see how that would work, but it did.
it's something to do with the starter spragg getting stuck in the thick oil ?? I even used to carry a set of car jump start leads in a ruck sack because it gave the symptoms of a flat battery despite it being a new battery.
I eventually put a wet clutch ATF in and it starts every time.
|
|
|
Post by motomartin on Nov 28, 2011 1:43:37 GMT -5
I've finally got the bike to where the starter motor will spin when the starter button is pushed. ( I cleaned off all the electrical connectors and used the original starter solenoid) The bike sparks but has not fired yet. The motor seems to be spinning pretty slowly powered by the starter motor. What speed is it supposed to spin at? It only seems to be doing about one complete cycle per second.
|
|
|
Post by raychappo on Nov 28, 2011 3:53:23 GMT -5
It should spin over at 300rpm or mor I believe
|
|
|
Post by motomartin on Nov 28, 2011 15:25:32 GMT -5
Is it worth looking at the type of Oil in the tranny, I had a similar problem and someone suggested I tried a thinner oil, I couldn't see how that would work, but it did. it's something to do with the starter spragg getting stuck in the thick oil ?? I even used to carry a set of car jump start leads in a ruck sack because it gave the symptoms of a flat battery despite it being a new battery. I eventually put a wet clutch ATF in and it starts every time. I tried this, it still turns the motor very slowly. The battery is new and I have a charger clipped to the battery while trying to start it. I may try taking the starter motor apart again.
|
|