inside a solenoid switch

[Guest]

i opened up a 1980 gs 1100 starter solenoid to check it out .i put everything in order on a rag,so i would be able to put it back together,i moved something that was in my way and it got caught on the rag and mixed up my solenoid parts .now i dont remember which way the parts go back together.would anyone have a diagram or pictures of the inside of the solenoid so i could see the way the parts are placed.thank you

[Steve]

I have not had one of them apart in a while, but the basics are all pretty much the same. There will be a coil of wire that is the magnet. There will be a metal rod with a disk on one end, that is your contact plate. There will be a spring that pushes the contact plate away from the magnet. When the coil is energized, it pulls the contact plate into place on the terminals, completing the connection.

If all this is too much, just go down to your lawn mower store, or the lawn mower section of Lowe's and get a new solenoid for a few bucks. Just take the old solenoid body in for comparison, and don't tell them it's for a motorcycle. They just won't understand.


.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Like Steve said just go to hardware store & get a soloniod for a lawn tractor maybe $12. IT is not worth the agravation trying to fix one. Or the problems it will cause if it sticks

[SPARKSS]

I'm grinning here recognizing a fellow tinkerer! I highly recommend that you take the time to figure it out and put it back together, then prove it working......I'll add to Steve's good description that there's 2 circuits you're looking at with those parts......the heavy current switch formed by the 2 large posts which are completed by the disc as Steve describes. The second circuit is the electromagnet, one side of which connects to the small terminal and the other side connected to the mounting plate or other means to chassis - This is obvious to anyone who knows but the relatively small current input to the magnet controls the heavy current needed for the starter (basic relay operation).

Two common areas of failure are a poor grounding of the solenoid switch mounting bracket or it's grounding terminal AND welding or other distortion of the heavy current contacts.

Having said all that, SqDancers concern about the problems an incorrect working solenoid switch can cause are valid and his advise sound. When you get to the point where you're confident with the theory, assembly and troubleshooting, AND/OR you're stuck for parts, then by all means give 'er a try on the bike!

[earlfor]

Go to Lowes. They have lawn tractor solenoids for $12. I have used them on the GS's many times. Same size as stock and even the mounting holes line up.

Earl

[gke84]

inside a solenoid switch

thank you for your comments,but i wonder if someone had one thats no good that they could take the casing apart and post a picture,of the insides.on the central plunger there is a round spring,a bakelite washer,a plastic washer with a small nib that fits into a copper plate,on the other side of the plate there is a flat spring washer,a round washer and a small circlip that holds every thing together.it is this flat spring washer that i dont know which way it goes on .it is sort of a u shape,does the u go towards the plastic cover or to wards the plunger.i have made new copper contacts so i really would like to try it out.thank you