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Easy Peasy Solenoid Question - GS1100E

  • Thread starter Thread starter CCM911
  • Start date Start date
C

CCM911

Guest
Hello:

1983 GS-1100E. New battery, fully charged. I hit start and only hear a loud click. I put my multi meter on the terminal on the starter(grounded of course). When I hit the starter, my meter is showing onlt .5V at the terminal on the starter.

Can this be right?

Can a solenoid go bad? If mine is clicking loudly, can it still be bad?

I am sorry to be a bother, but I never have luck with search tools.

Have a great day!
 
Hi,

How old is your battery? Have you had it "load tested"? Yes, it is possible to have a solenoid go bad but it's not a common occurrence.

Try the troubleshooting tips HERE. Have you carefully cleaned all of the electrical connectors, grounds, battery terminals, etc, on the entire bike? Corrosion causes extra resistance and heat which kills insulation, connectors, and components.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Last edited:
Thanks, BassCliff!

Battery is brand new, and has been slow charged (2 amp - 12 Hours) before use.

I may try to check the terminals on the Solenoid to see what is going on here.
 
I just replaced the solenoid on my 750. My method of diagnosis was. With the ignition on short the poles on the solenoid with a screw driver. It fired right up. So time for a new solenoid.
Someone will recommend a cheap alternative to Suzuki's. Or do a search. There are recommendations on another thread. I just can't find it right now.
 
chef1366 said:
Probably the starter.
The clicking means it is working.
Click to expand...
NO ..he has not nearly enuff voltage on the starter!!

he said the voltage on the starter is .5 VOLTS..What is the Voltage on the battery ? I mean place your meter on the battery + and- and then hit the starter button.

if it goes way down or starts out way low then the bad is bad/dead.

if it is good meaning over 12V.....

next ( if the bat voltage is over 12)

place the + line of the meter on the solenoid where the + bat wire comes from the bat and test again . with that starter button pushed and when you get that CLICK... voltage should be within .5 volt of the Bat. if not then you have a bad/corroded connection on one or both ends of that wire..

if GOOD..


now place the + meter wire on the other big solenoid wire ..this is the one that comes OUT of the solenoid and test with starter button pushed.. that too should be within 1/2 volt of the bat.


I suspect you have
1. bad solenoid
or
2. bad wire from bat to solenoid
test test test..
 
You're right.
I need to read before posting.
Testing is the only way to find the solution.
 
CCM911 said:
Thanks, BassCliff!

Battery is brand new, and has been slow charged (2 amp - 12 Hours) before use.

I may try to check the terminals on the Solenoid to see what is going on here.
Click to expand...

2 amps is 4X too much - you may have cooked it
 
Thanks Guys!! I now know what my weekend will entail. I am not convinced I cooked the battery, as I have charged all of my batteries in this manner with no ill affects.

I will report back on Saturday.

This forum is a great source of knowledge!
 
Solenoids and relays can fail in two ways.

Energizing coil is faulted and not moving the contacts together.

Contact(s) is(are) eroded / burned and non-conductive despite the latching sound.
 
Correct. Most people do not know that a solenoid is an electro-mechanical device. When the start button is pushed, a coil is activated. This is the electrical part. It then causes a set of points to close. This is the mechanical part. If they get burned enough they will not pass enough power (voltage/current) to turn the starter.
Personally, I would replace it as a matter of course. Go to the garden tractor center of you local hardware store (I went to Lowes) and pick up a solenoid for a garden tractor. Around $15, and you will have another 30 years of service from it.
 
Oh boy, this just keeps getting better. So I made sure the battery was OK, and tried the starter again. All I got was a loud click from the solenoid. So I bridged the terminals on the solenoid(with a screwdriver) and got nothing but a spark shower. The final test was a direct wire from the positive terminal of the battery direct to the starter. Nothing!

So off came the side cover. And what did I see? I saw a thin metal washer jammed in between the gears. So I pulled it out, and then saw another in the bottom of the cover. So I put the cover back on and tested.

Now the starter spins, but the engine does not turn over.

Is this the Sprag Gear?

How do I fix? I saw a repair kit online.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks for reading.
 
UPDATE - I realized that the washers fell out when I went in to check last summer, so no mystery there.

Do I need a puller to get the rotor off?

Thanks.
 
Not sure what you are calling a "sprag" gear. :-k

There is a gear on the end of the start shaft. OK, so it's just teeth cut into the end of the shaft. It turns an idler gear, when then turns the starter clutch on the crankshaft. The washer(s) that you found are supposed to be on both sides of the idler gear, so it does not rub on the aluminum crankcase or the aluminum cover. The idler gear can fall out rather easily when the cover is removed, so that is somewhat 'normal', you just need to be sure that the washers are put back in place when replacing the gear.

Not sure if the idler gear will stand up to the stress of cranking the engine if the outer cover is not holding the outer part of its shaft, but you don't want to RUN the engine without the cover. You could activate the starter for a fraction of a second to see if the crank turns, though.

.
 
Steve - You are 100% with your assessment.

I did try to spin the starter without the cover, and yep, the idler gear was spinning and so was the gear behind the rotor.

By Sprag Gear, I mean starter clutch. It looks to be a spring and an engagement pin.

So my plan is to order a puller for the rotor and a repair kit for the starter clutch.

Does this sound correct?

Thanks so much.
 
Last edited:
CCM911 said:
Does this sound correct?
Click to expand...
Are we all on the same page here ? This is my Rotor / Start clutch

GS8.jpg
 
Yep!! And mine is totally loose! Once I get my new tool, I'll remove the rotor, and we'll be able to see what is actually going on.

Sorry to be such a pain on the tech terms. In close to forty years of riding, I have never had to go in this deep. On cars, yes, but with on bikes, I am still on a steep learning curve where mechanics are concerned.
 
Here is mine. I can move the starter clutch in and out. I am betting it is loose.
 
OK - I ordered a magneto puller from ebay....and it was the wrong size. I ordered a 35mm, but it was too big for the 1983 GS1100E. It seems to fit every model but mine!

Does anyone know where I can order the correct size puller(maybe 30mm?) for my bike?

Thanks so much.
 
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