GS300L, starter going out?

[Guest]

Hey guys - like the title says, I believe the starter is bad on the 300. It will not turn the engine over so I'm relegated to roll starting it at the moment. When it's running, I can see the headlight get brighter if I ease the idle up some, so that tells me it's charging(along with the fact that the stator and R/R are fairly new) okay. Battery is showing 11.36V - not optimal, but adequate. I jumped the starter relay and the starter still barely turns, so rule out the relay. But what really made me think the starter is bad was when I hit the starter button with the engine running - starter STILL barely turned and the load on the stator nearly killed the engine. Only other thing I can think of is the starter cable might have shorted itself in robust fashion.

Did I leave out any other possibilities? Thanks in advance.

[John Park]

Unless the battery is showing 12.6V it's either hooped or not fully charging. Find a car and test its battery; if it's 11.6 then your voltmeter is kooky and if it's 12.6 you have a battery or charging problem.

The fact that your headlight gets brighter when you rev it means that the voltage is rising but unless the battery is fully charged it won't turn the motor over.

Running the starter when the motor is running is a silly idea. It won't engage anyway but just put a big load on the stator. I don't know what is wrong with your bike for sure, but assuming that a new stator and regulator rule them out is unreasonable. Bad grounds, bad or boiled battery, lots of possibilities.

[Ric]

Okay. I'll find a car battery and jump it to the bike, then. If it starts, then I'll go with a bad battery - it's a 2 1/2-yr old AGM battery, never been on a tender or anything. So it's kinda suspect too.

[John Park]

You still should do a voltage check on the charging system. If you're [still] running the original shunt R/R then you could have an overcharging situation. In my experience, there is a huge difference in kindness to the battery and all the rest of the electrical components with the new series regulators. Finding room to put a Shindengen Sh775 on a twin is somewhat of a challenge, but if you are willing to give up the tool pouch on the right side you can fit one easily.

I did a thread on that mounting a while back, in the twins forum as I recall. The R/R goes from being a curse to a joy.

[Gorminrider]

Did I leave out any other possibilities?

No not really.... Yes, the brushes wear out in starters. Sometimes a takeapart and cleanup gives em new life, but if the brushes are badly worn, they need replacement. They are not hard to take apart but note positioning of endcaps of starter motor-use a felt marker to make "strikeup marks" for re-assembly if none are already obvious

I think they are about 30$US to replace the whole brush plate for this starter, given it's the same as mine..

[Ric]

You still should do a voltage check on the charging system. If you're [still] running the original shunt R/R then you could have an overcharging situation. In my experience, there is a huge difference in kindness to the battery and all the rest of the electrical components with the new series regulators. Finding room to put a Shindengen Sh775 on a twin is somewhat of a challenge, but if you are willing to give up the tool pouch on the right side you can fit one easily.

I did a thread on that mounting a while back, in the twins forum as I recall. The R/R goes from being a curse to a joy.

I actually have an R/R for a GR650 on it now. Still a shunt type, but it rectifies all three stator circuits instead of just one like the stock 300 R/R did. I do wanna make that swap when money allows - I like the idea of switching to LEDs, but that would overheat the current R/R since it'd be shunting more current if I remember correctly.

If Ihook a set of jumper cables to a known good car battery, clamp the black lead to the engine and then touch the switched side starter relay post with the hot lead, that'll isolate the starter and tell me the shape it's in, won't it?

[Ric]

Well I did the jumper cable trick - starter whirred like new. So the battery is gone. Now to find out WHY the battery is gone....

[hillsy]

it's a 2 1/2-yr old AGM battery, never been on a tender or anything. So it's kinda suspect too.

There's your answer.

[Ric]

Hilsy, I think I confused myself more by those off-the-wall ways of checking things. I'll check the voltage with it running to be certain, and get a new battery come payday.