New starter problem (gears?)

[brianedonovan]

I had problems with starter only turning engine over every 5th time.
I removed the starter to rebuild and replace brushes. Bench tested and it ran great. I installed in bike and it turned over a bunch of times seemed fine. then it stopped turning over.
I can hear the starter turning but only on release.
I removed stator cover to discover that the starter gear was not re-engaging with with starter motor gear. i wiggle it in, and it turns the motor over. but the gear will not return to original position on its own.
The gears look clean. No marring.
Was there a spring that put this gear back that I am missing? All I have is a double gear and 2 thrust washers riding on a metal rod. the cover has a relief for the floating rod.
Any suggestions would be helpful!
Thank you!
Brian

[tom203]

The starter motor spins an intermediate gear (the double one) which then spins the large gear on flywheel rotor which then engages a starter clutch which locks up and actually spins crank. (go to Alpha-Sports.com, look for parts diagrams- starter clutch). The clutch has 3 rollers in it that get wedged in a ramp to lock up and then release when engine fires. Put your bike model/year in your signature.

[brianedonovan]

Thanks!

Brian Donovan
1979 Suzuki GS550E

[brianedonovan]

Everything is there..

Everything is there and where it should be.
The starter moves the engine "slightly", maybe 2 degrees then stops.
When I release the starter switch the motor goes back the 2 deg it moved.
I can turn the motor freely by hand. And when I do turn the motor one revolution the starter will spin it around a few times and stop.
I am doing all of this with no plugs in so there is no pressure.
Starter clutch? I have no idea how this works.
Any ideas on this would be great.

Brian
1979 Suzuki GS550E

[chef1366]

Can you turn the engine itself?

[tom203]

quote "Everything is there and where it should be"

Apparently not! any chance you got starter motor turning clockwise with your rebuild? Best to pull it to check- should spin counter clockwise looking at drive end.

[brianedonovan]

That's it!

It has to be it. That's the kind of answer I was looking for!
I will check in am.....makes sense, don't know if or how I did it yet but it makes sense.

Thank you,
Brian
1979 Suzuki GS550E

[cableguy]

Subscribed. I'm having a similar issue and eagerly await replies.

[cableguy]

quote "Everything is there and where it should be"

Apparently not! any chance you got starter motor turning clockwise with your rebuild? Best to pull it to check- should spin counter clockwise looking at drive end.

How would this happen?

[chef1366]

Not sure how you could reverse polarity. Jim said he hooked a starter up to jumper cables backwards and it still spun the same direction.

[tom203]

Not sure how you could reverse polarity. Jim said he hooked a starter up to jumper cables backwards and it still spun the same direction.

DC motors with brushes will reverse rotation if you reverse polarity- this is how your portable drill works along with countless other devices. Since I have yet to take one of these starter motors apart, I'm unsure of how a rebuilding error would cause this, but basically the brush is biased on the commutator to cause the magnetic field to pull the rotor in the desired direction. P.S. I checked my spare starter and it goes both ways!

[chef1366]

DC motors with brushes will reverse rotation if you reverse polarity- this is how your portable drill works along with countless other devices. Since I have yet to take one of these starter motors apart, I'm unsure of how a rebuilding error would cause this, but basically the brush is biased on the commutator to cause the magnetic field to pull the rotor in the desired direction. P.S. I checked my spare starter and it goes both ways!

Maybe he was high or something. JK!
I didn't do the test myself.