Solenoid click, no start

[Guest]

Rewired the whole bike last year, 1978 GS1000. Rode fine. This season the bike just does one single click from the solenoid. All lights power. Put a brand new battery in, same thing. All fuses good, i replaced the glass fuses with a box and the blade fuses last summer. Solenoid's new. Rectifier is new. Wiring is new. Fuses/box are new. Stator is new. All Controls are new. Soooo is it the starter? I tried tapping on it once but no change. Motoblot is in a month. Gotta get it running smooth for the trip. Help? Thanks.

[tom203]

Make sure that the solenoid has a good solid ground to bike frame.
Bridge the two big posts on solenoid with pliers and see if starter kicks in.

[notronk]

So i am a diy novice. i touch the hot pole to the ground pole, with the ignition on or off? i did both, didnt die lol. but nothing changed.

[Redman]

Rewired the whole bike last year, .......

If solenoid clicks, it is probably well grounded, else most likley it would not do anything.
As a test add a ground wire from solenoid mounting bolt to the the frame or battery neg.

Did it ever do more than click after your rewire, or is this problem something new since then...?
Did your rewire involve the big ground cable to back of engine, and did it get put back?

Anyway:
Jumping the two big terminals will give you a a good idea that the problem isnt the solenoid.

Typical problem with starter is that the brushes are worn so short and so much brush dust in there that the brushes are not making contact with the commutator. SOmetimes rapping on the starter a few times hard, will rattle them loose so the the springs push them into place.

See Stocker Starters site.
You will need to get at your starter to see if it is the Matsuba (4 brush) or the Denso (2 brush) type before can order a brush kit.
Or if you dont want to fuss with rebuilding the starter, order a complete rebuilt starter.

[Redman]

Hey, Anybody, tell us why Stocker Starters doesnt list a starter (nor brush kit) for 78 GS1000 . . . . . .

[notronk]

i did all the wires except the ground to engine and the thicker guage hot lead from battery, as well as the leads to the starter and the coils. basically i did everything up to the the handlbars/lighting front and rear. fuses and new charge system.

this ran fine last year after my rewire. rode all summer. put away for winter, didnt do a good job with the battery because i have two bikes and one trickle charger died so could only do one. this is a new problem this year.

[Brendan W]

Solenoid is clicking means the coil has power and is grounded.
Take a jump lead from the crankcase to the battery negative and try crank. This bypasses the main earth/ground from the case to the battery.
If that makes no difference take the cover off the starter, run a negative jumper from case to the battery and touch a positive jumper on the motor pole.
Best do this with the battery out of the frame or with another battery.
Jumpers have a habit of not gripping well on the battery on the bike and the + could short to the frame.

[Gorminrider]

and beware of gas fumes. "Jumping" the starter can create pretty hot sparks....
(Solenoids are sealed for this reason...)

[notronk]

soo, pulled the starter completely out and hooked up to a battery. worked great! i did find a loose bolt lying in the cavity where the starter is (bonus!). also learned the bolts were different types on the starter mount. guess it's not original lol.

so put the starter back in and hooked back up and it still cranks. so i don't know what was causing the problem.

[Brendan W]

I suspect a problem with either the power feed or return cable and or the motor brushes.
Old brushes can get jammed in the slots and hang up off the commutator.
Disturbing the motor or giving a tap with stick can free them off.
Would also be a good time to check the condition of the return cable connection at the crankcase.

[notronk]

I suspect a problem with either the power feed or return cable and or the motor brushes.
Old brushes can get jammed in the slots and hang up off the commutator.
Disturbing the motor or giving a tap with stick can free them off.
Would also be a good time to check the condition of the return cable connection at the crankcase.

Return cable, you mean the ground from the motor?

also, thoughts on rebuild kit vs getting a complete starter?

[Brendan W]

Return cable, you mean the ground from the motor?

also, thoughts on rebuild kit vs getting a complete starter?

Yes. Back from the crankcase to the battery negative.
The starter is fairly robust, typical over-engineering.
They can generally be fixed up by cleaning or replacing the brushes and cleaning the commutator.
I haven't yet had to get a rebuild kit.

[hannibal]

I've had a relay click but not supply power. It turned out to be poorly grounded.