Starting Woes

[RoyMember]

My 09 300 won’t start with the button. Press the button and all you get is the click from the relay thing beside the battery.

Things I’ve done.

Check battery. 12.6V standing and 12.1V when I press the button.

Battery charger says it’s fine too.

I put the multi meter on the + terminal of the starter and when I press the button I get 10.6 V there with the multi meter earthed on the frame.

Bike starts and runs fine with the kickstarter.

Any ideas. I don’t mind buying a new battery but don’t want to if that’s not the problem.

Thanks

[glennMember]

grab a can of contact cleaner and go to town Roy??dirty electric conections could be the problem :huh:

Boony

[drewMember]

doesn’t sound like the batt. is the prob.

if the + side of the starter is getting 10v, maybe check the earth side of the relay and the starter. see if you can find any bared or loose connections on any wires. loose connector on the relay maybe??

are the terminals on the batt. clean? not loose?

bout all i can think of that it could be.

[GregMember]

Sounds like the starter relay or starter motor its self. The clicking from the relay when the button is pushed seems to say the button is transferring voltage to the relay. If you kick it a little with the starter engaged does the starter continue cranking? Can you bridge the starter that would tell you if its the starter or the relay. (By bridged I mean power supplied straight from the battery to the large positive cable on the starter)
If it was the battery with a dropped cell or the likes it could still hold 12v or there abouts but when the button is pushed the voltage would drop right down and its not doing that so the battery should be OK

Boony and XY are right check all your connections and earths are clean and tight first.

With out knowing the system its a little hard, sorry hope that helps

TB

[RoyMember]

thanks for the tips. I have already cleaned all the terminals, just forgot to mention it. Will try the bridging thing.

[RoyMember]

I know this is a dumb question but the earth on the starter motor. I assume it is earthed through all the metal in the engine etc and does not have an earth wire back to the battery with connections I need to find and check.

[Jeffrey SmithMember]

I had a similar problem with a car battery once, the meter said over 12 volts but it wouldn’t turn over properly. Turns out it was a bad cell, the voltage will be there but the amperage is too low I was told. Cheap option is to buy one of those battery testers where you suck out some of the fluid and the float tells you the state of the cell. If you have a mate that lives near by try swapping batteries to see if it makes a difference.

[corey heatherMember]

I’m with TB on this and think the 12v relay sounds shot and they will click and nothing happens.

If you put jumper leads to it then you will know if it is a battery or not

[RoyMember]

The next level of investigation. Did the bridging thing. straight from bike battery to + terminal on starter. Nothing.

Removed starter from bike. Took off bridging cable, earthed starter out against pipe and hit button. Sometimes it went and most times it needed coaxing to get going. Once going would gradually build up speed.

Spun the starter by hand. Was expecting it to spin freely. Not the case. Sort of feels like a set of bearings with crap in them. Is this normal.

Writing this now I probably should have tried a different battery and the bridging thing with the starter out as well.

My summation so far is the starter is stuffed. Is this a fair assumption.

[Jason GreenMember]

Did you try hitting it with the bloody hammer sometimes starter moters need some persuasion

[drewMember]

with it out did you try a set of jumpers from a batt. you know is good?

i doubt a starter will spin freely by hand as the magnets and winding would generate resistance. when you spin an electric motor it will generate current.

depending on the size of the cable you used as the jumper from the bike batt. it may not have been able to carry enough current to turn the bike over.

did you try jumpers to the bike while the batt. and the starter in the bike? if that works could indicate the batt. in the bike is not up to scratch.

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