Starter

[Guest]

1980 GS850. Tore it down to have frame powdercoated and Rebuild top end of engine as well. Now that its back together when I try to start it makes a moaning sound, so I shorted across the starter solenoid and that caused it to turn over but at a very slow pace. The battery is about a year old but was at full charge when I tried to start it. The engine can be cranked over by hand. Anyone run into this problem before?

[BigD_83]

Could your ground point been sufficiently powder coated such that it is now insulated?

[PeteRepete]

I'm fairly confident my ground is good as lights ect come on when turning on the bike. Unless that is not a good indicator of a bad ground.

[bwringer]

I'm fairly confident my ground is good as lights ect come on when turning on the bike. Unless that is not a good indicator of a bad ground.

It indicates there's enough of a ground connection to run the lights, but that doesn't imply there's a good enough connection to turn the starter.

The battery could very well be approaching demise. You said it was charged -- did the no-load voltage stay good after the starting attempts?

The other very common thing that happens in these projects is that the body of the solenoid is not sufficiently grounded to the mounting plate, and/or the mounting plate does not have a firm ground connection to the frame. Without a good solid ground, the solenoid might click, but can't maintain a good connection.

[PeteRepete]

I relocated the ground to a different place on the frame. Had battery hooked up to jump starter and then shorted across the starter solenoid. The starter is still turning over extremely slow. The starter is brand new so don't think thats the cause of the problem. My ground points are from engine to negative terminal of battery. From wiring harness to frame. Should I add another ground from engine to frame? Is there a way I can test to see what's going on with my wiring?

[Redman]

........... Is there a way I can test to see what's going on with my wiring?

Yes, and that would be called a "volt meter" or "multi meter".

If you are getting good battery voltage at the starter, well, then, no wiring problem, no bsattery problem, but a starter problem.

If battery voltage is dropping way down when running starter, well, then, battery problem.

Big Rapids !

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