Bike ran to the restaurant, starter just clicked when I tried to leave....

[Taliesin]

There are lots of threads on clicking when trying to start, but it's possible I just don't understand enough to really know what's going on. I also wonder if a lot of the people who posted have bikes they've just acquired and the problems could be far-ranging.

My bike has a new battery, stator, rectifier/regulator unit, and has started consistently for months since changing the stator and r/r. I do need to check the wiring, I know, to make sure the charging system is doing ok, but I've not had problems with starting until last Thursday.

I rode about an hour to the restaurant to meet a friend, and when we went to leave, the starter just clicked when I tried to start. Lights came on, and the battery seemed ok, since after a couple tries, it eventually started. I told myself I just wouldn't turn it off so I could get the bike home.

So now I'm just bouncing some ideas around my friends, to see what people think is the culprit. I'll be able to wrench on the bike tonight, so I was wondering if people had some ideas as to what could be wrong. I've read that some people have had some success in cleaning the starting motor brushes, or replacing those brushes, but I see a lot of stuff where people recommending shorting across the solenoid posts to make sure there's not a wiring problem. I don't THINK this would be my issue, as nothing has changed in the wiring since I started the bike up, rode to the restaurant and ate lunch.

What do you all think? Never had this problem before Thursday, and the wiring hasn't really been touched since well before that. The battery is probably less than a month old, and the stator/rr units were replaced probably 5 months ago or so.

[gearhead13]

Have you checked running voltage to ensure that it is charging?
Check your main negative ground (should be to the engine) and positive wires to the solenoid and to the starter. Then I would take a look at the starter itself.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Make sure the starter is well-grounded to the crankcase. Make sure the positive wire from the solenoid to the starter has clean connections. Make sure the solenoid has a clean ground and all of its connections are clean.

Normally, if the solenoid clicks it is good. A decent replacement can be found at your local hardware, home goods, or lawn care store. Use a solenoid from a lawn tractor, they're about the same size. The starter itself may need to be cleaned up and new brushes installed. Check/clean the ground strap from the battery to the engine/frame. Check/clean the positive wire from the battery to the solenoid. More tips/suggestions here: *Electrical Odds and Ends*


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Big T]

One of 3 things is dirty:

1. Starter switch
2. Solenoid
3. Starter

Work backwards from hardest (starter) to switch

Short the solenoid. Starter turns over? Move to solenoid
Doesn't turn over? Check positive cable, ground, starter wire. No change, pull the starter, check the brushes and clean

Solenoid - push the starter button and see if the solenoid clicks
If consistant click, check wires and try again. Still no results, pull solenoid and clean

Starter button - you should just pull this anyway and clean all the contact surfaces. Warning- little parts!- put it in a baggie before you remove that screw!

A can of electrical contact cleaner and a bit of abrasive will go a long way here

[Taliesin]

Thank you all!

The problem appears to be a finicky ground of some sort. Neighbor jiggled the positive cable, which moved the battery, and now it starts consistently. Weird.

[tatu]

Best make sure you got room to take your neighbor and he has his own skid lid

[Taliesin]

Haha!

Well, pointing to a faulty ground just helps me nail down the rest of the process, along with the awesome responses here. Thanx again.

[GabrielGoes]

once again the G MEN bang out another problem lol, im saving this thread i know this is going to happen to me, good thing i got my kick start though and i could do the occasional push start

[spyug]

With old bikes, 99% of electrical problems result from bad grounds, corroded connectors and or bad batteries. Many of the Gurus on this and other boards always urge folks to check and clean all grounds first and foremost followed by all other connectors in due course. Very good advice in my experience.

The status of your charging system is also of key importance, especially if you are riding a distance since there is nothing worse than being stranded due to a non starter. As mentioned, do a static charging test every once in a while. Better, add a voltmeter to keep an eye on things as you ride along. There are many differnet types available from the old analog to digitals and they don't need to be pricey. For accuracy, the digitals are best but an old analog will work well enough to give you warning of potential problems. I usually buy the small 2" diameter auto type available at most autostores for between $10 and $20 ( or even less).

As the experts say, "To check is to know" so look into what caused your issues and sort them out before your next ride.

Good luck with it.

cheers,
Spyug

[argonsagas]

Thank you all!

The problem appears to be a finicky ground of some sort. Neighbor jiggled the positive cable, which moved the battery, and now it starts consistently. Weird.

Since this seemed to have removed your immediate problem, take another step and improve the connection between battery and cables. Remove both cables from the battery, scrape or file them clean with a fine-tooth file or even steel wool with a drop of oil on it. If using steel wool, be sure you clean ALL of it off the battery.

Do the same with the battery terminals, and before installing add a tiny bit of petroleum jelly. Doing all of this will help to keep away corrosion, maintain a good contact surface, and no, the jelly will not make any significant difference in electrical flow between the terminals/cable.

[Taliesin]

I'm definitely going to be doing that. The clutch cable busted on the same trip, and when replacing that, I discovered there was NO NUT holding the front sprocket on. That's right, the only thing holding the front sprocket on was the piece that holds on to the clutch cable on the engine side. A couple times I'd detected a weird vibration on the clutch cable, but it seemed normal...now that I know how the clutch works more, I won't make that mistake again.

Anyway, all of that to tell you that I have a bit of non-riding time while I wait for the nut and washer to ship, so I'll be checking out the electrical, and following the advice I see here.

Thank you all again.