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Scrap |
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Scrap L Plate Warrior
Joined: 14 May 2020 Karma :
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Posted: 20:14 - 15 Nov 2020 Post subject: Seized Starter Motor? |
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I've not been riding much over the last few cold and rainy months and my 2008 ER6 has started to have issues starting.
Key on, side stand up, neutral. Push starter button; “Click”. Starter motor doesn’t spin.
Keep pushing the starter, and each time I push, the starter relay clicks. Note, it’s a single click and not the rapid clicking which I’ve had before with a duff battery.
Eventually, after about a dozen presses of the start button, the starter turns and the bike fires up within a crank or two.
After stopping for a lunch break, the bike fires up again first time. But leave the bike to stand a day or two… “Click”
I’ve eliminated;
- Battery and charging system – Voltages are good, and the bike starts – eventually. I’ve had issues with the charging system recently and by now the stator, reg/rec, battery and all the wiring and connectors between have been replaced.
- Starter relay; works fine, sends voltage to the starter motor as expected when start button is pushed.
- Wiring and grounds, looks alright, at least from visual inspection.
- Clutch, side stand and kill switches, makes and breaks as expected, showing expected resistance when the switch is closed. Anyway, the starter relay shouldn’t even be clicking on if the side stand or clutch switches are stuck open or have overly high resistance.
Given this info, I’m thinking seized starter motor. I suppose this makes sense given the hardly-ridden-bike has been sat outside in the rain for a while.
I’m not particularly experienced with this sort of work, what are your thoughts?
Before I buy and fit a new starter motor, is there something else I should check? |
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WD Forte |
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WD Forte World Chat Champion
Joined: 17 Jun 2010 Karma :
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dynax |
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dynax Trackday Trickster
Joined: 06 May 2019 Karma :
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steve the grease |
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steve the grease Crazy Courier
Joined: 26 Jan 2018 Karma :
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Posted: 21:51 - 15 Nov 2020 Post subject: |
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dynax wrote: | Take it off, strip it down and clean it, have a look for a refurb kit for it, pointless buying a new one when they are perfectly serviceable |
If you dont fancy the job , every town has a place with - autoelectrics in the company name, they will strip, clean and re assemble it for beans. compared with a bus one , it's a walk in the park. That said they are straight forward to do yourself. If the picture has loaded , it shows what you might expect , note the stuck brush and lack of lube on the shaft ____________________ All the above is my personal opinion, you can see my lips move, but I'm talking out of my arse.
I've been riding, and fixing , bikes for 50 years, in that time the more I learn, the less I am absolutely sure of..... |
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davebike |
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davebike World Chat Champion
Joined: 15 Nov 2013 Karma :
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Posted: 09:15 - 16 Nov 2020 Post subject: |
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I expect either worn out or sticking brushes ! ____________________ Dave
NC750Xdct + others at work !
davebike1@gmail.com |
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Robby |
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Robby Dirty Old Man
Joined: 16 May 2002 Karma :
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Scrap |
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Scrap L Plate Warrior
Joined: 14 May 2020 Karma :
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Courier265 |
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Courier265 World Chat Champion
Joined: 01 Oct 2017 Karma :
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sickpup |
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sickpup Old Timer
Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :
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KiwiBob |
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KiwiBob Borekit Bruiser
Joined: 25 Jul 2020 Karma :
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Scrap |
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Scrap L Plate Warrior
Joined: 14 May 2020 Karma :
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Posted: 23:06 - 21 Nov 2020 Post subject: |
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Thanks again for all the comments. I serviced the starter motor and the bike is firing up first time again!
I took apart the starter motor down to the individual brushes and springs, pulled the armature out, and gave every surface a brush- and wipe-down to remove as much of the powdery build-up as I could. Smeared some bearing grease on the bronze bush on the rear cap and left the front cartridge bearing alone, doesn’t feel dry or crunchy. Commutator bars got a good scrub with electrical switch cleaner.
Nothing felt seized to me, all the brushes, springs, bearings, shaft etc moved normally. Brushes according to the Haynes manual start at 12mm and have a minimum spec of 6.5mm, I measured 10.8mm on the most-worn brush. With 55k on the clock and 20% wear on the brushes I wasn’t motivated enough to get the soldering iron out, so I left the existing brushes in.
Springs all felt good and there was a good amount of springiness putting the brush cap back on so I know the brush springs were doing their job.
I suppose the most likely cause of the non-start issue was the commutator contact surfaces becoming oxidised from inactivity.
Also, for future reference. The throttle body doesn’t need to come out on an ER6 to get the starter motor out, a UJ socket adapter helps. |
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steve the grease |
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steve the grease Crazy Courier
Joined: 26 Jan 2018 Karma :
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 3 years, 153 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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