'81 GS650G Starting

[Spirit380]

When I try and start my GS, the igniter click and the engine will not turn over, there is plenty of batter power, 13.4 v. Any ideas?

Regards

Peter

 

[tom203]

You must mean the starter solenoid "clicks"....so you hear the click, but starter motor is not turning over the engine? Most batteries are about 12.5 volts at rest unless they have just come off a charging device. Does your battery look old?

Do dash lights work when you turn key to "on"?

Edit: if you attempt to boost your bike battery with another vehicle, mare sure other vehicle is NOT running.

 

[Guest]

Have you tried power directly to the starter bypassing the solenoid or crossing the solenoid terminals. If nothing after either try, you may want to pull the starter and see if it will turn over outside of the engine. You might have a bad contact between the brushes and armature in the starter or it just may be frozen. That's not usually the case unless the bike has been sitting for a long time.

One last thing, actually try it first, try tapping the solenoid a few times with the handle of a large screwdriver or something with a little weight to it. Sometimes the carbon build up in side the solenoid builds up from each time it makes contact. You'll still hear the click of the plated hitting the bottoms of the terminals, but there may not be good enough contacts for the current to travel. Hitting the solenoid sometimes knocks some of that loose and it will work again, but that also means you should replace it, as it will happen again.

You can also try this on the starter. An old timer trick of hitting the starter with a hammer on an old car or truck, often broke the frozen contact between the brushes and armature and wala it starts. I guess if you already know this trick, you may be an old timer.

 

[Spirit380]

GS Starting

GS Starting

You must mean the starter solenoid "clicks"....so you hear the click, but starter motor is not turning over the engine? Most batteries are about 12.5 volts at rest unless they have just come off a charging device. Does your battery look old?

Do dash lights work when you turn key to "on"?

Edit: if you attempt to boost your bike battery with another vehicle, mare sure other vehicle is NOT running.

No it is not the solenoid clicking, when I put my hand on the Igniter and push the starter button there is a click at the igniter which I can also feel and the starter does not turn over.

 

[Spirit380]

I have not tried bypassing the solenoid but as the clicking sound is coming from the igniter, I assumed it was the problem.

I have owned the GS for close to a year and rebuilt it and had it on the road for the last month, I went to start it yesterday and it would not start, checked the fuel and all as OK, checked spark at the plugs and the engine turned over and spark was weak, then the igniter started clicking each time I hit the start button and the engine would not turn over.

 

[Rijko]

just curious .. have you tried to push start the bike ?

 

[Steve]

I have not tried bypassing the solenoid but as the clicking sound is coming from the igniter, I assumed it was the problem.

This statement intrigues me. The ignitor is just a box of transistors that controls current flow through the coils. If it is making noise, you have some serious problems inside it and need to replace it.

HOWEVER, ... if there is a mistake in terminology and you are talking about the SOLENOID, it is supposed to click when you push the starter button.

Now, let's back up to the first post, where you say

When I try and start my GS, the igniter click and the engine will not turn over, there is plenty of batter power, 13.4 v. Any ideas?

First of all, for a batter[y] to have 13.4 volts, it must have JUST been disconnected from a charger or is still connected to one. Depending on the chemistry, the voltage of a fully-charged battery is 12.6 to 12.8 volts. Connect a meter to your battery and push the starter button again. What is the voltage while you are pushing the button? It is possible for a battery to be "fully charged", but have such a low capacity that it will not start the engine. You will see that by having the voltage drop well below 10 volts while trying to start it.

Use jumper cables to connect your bike to another vehicle that has a 12 volt battery (car, truck, lawn mower, etc.) but be sure the donor vehicle is NOT RUNNING while the cables are connected. That will ensure that you have a decent battery to try to start the engine.

.

 

[Rijko]

This statement intrigues me.

me too

HOWEVER, ... if there is a mistake in terminology and you are talking about the SOLENOID, it is supposed to click when you push the starter button.

maybe a piccie of the clicking component ?

 

[Spirit380]

This is where the clicking is coming from.

 

[Steve]

That is definitely the ignitor, I just have never heard one make any noise.

The only possible way that I can imagine any noise coming from there is if one of the transistors has physically blown apart and it's throwing some sparks around in there.

.

 

[Rijko]

i have seen non-functioning ignitors, but never one that clicked.
First time for everything

 

[tom203]

Call me skeptical.. unbolt ignitor from its mount and let it hang free...does it still click?

 

[Rijko]

Call me skeptical.. unbolt ignitor from its mount and let it hang free...does it still click?

scepticism is good, it should make ppl think and leads to proper troubleshooting

Sounds like there are 2 different symptoms that may or may not have a common cause.
The ignitor clicking, and the engine not turning over.

Maybe power supply from the kill switch to starter button / solenoid and igniter is low voltage ?
Wonder if the solenoid clicks ...

 

[Spirit380]

I have tried bypassing the solenoid but all I get is a spark as if it was shorting, same thing happens at the starter motor, does that mean the solenoid or starter motor is faulty? The solenoid does not click when I hit the starter button.
I also checked the voltage into the solenoid which is 12.8, but when I hit the starter button the voltage out of the solenoid is around 5 volts.

 

[Rijko]

old solenoids foul inside, which may cause bad connection on the large wires to starter motor and ground.
Tapping the solenoid may loosen up the fouling so it will work for a little while, but that means
it needs replacing.

If the small signal wire does provide 12.8 volt, at least the wiring looks fine for the starter circuit.
Voltage leaving the solenoid comes in through the large red wire from the battery and should be the same as the battery voltage. You could check for corrosion but most likely the solenoid is bad.

 

[tom203]

"The solenoid does not click when I hit the starter button."

What about that clicking from ignitor? Still there?? If yes, try unplugging ignitor and see if solenoid will click in when you press starter button.

 

[Rijko]

you only see 12.8 volt on the signal wire when pressing the starter button, right ... not all the time ?
Just checking ..

 

[Spirit380]

GS Starting

GS Starting

you only see 12.8 volt on the signal wire when pressing the starter button, right ... not all the time ?
Just checking ..

I have 12.8 volts at the signal wire, but it drops to around 3 volts when I hit and hold the starter button. The solenoid is now clicking with the igniter disconnected, I have tried tapping it with a small hammer, but no change, solenoid clicks and starter does not turn over.

Sounds like the solenoid is stuffed.

 

[tom203]

That drop to 3 volts when solenoid clicks in could also mean starter motor is drawing excess current causing battery to weaken. Have you tried "bridging" the big contacts on solenoid to see if starter motor will now turn? Current draw on normal starter is about 80 amps, so you'll see some sparking on your bridging device

 

[Steve]

It drops to three volts???? The obvious thing is that the battery can not supply what the starter is demanding. The not-so-obvious thing is that you still don't know if it's the battery or the starter at fault. The easiest way to determine which is at fault is to connect jumper cables to a NON-RUNNING vehicle and try again. If the voltage still drops below 10, your problem is likely the starter, but I'll put my money on the battery.

The suggestion to use jumper cables as a diagnostic tool has been suggested in posts #2 and #7, have not seen any results from that test. Until we see those results, anything else is just guessing.

.