Starter motor woes-1150 GSA 2003

[Roger Chatterton]

I know starter issues have been discussed before,but what I would like to know is;

a/. what current should a healthy starter motor pull ? (Valeo D6RA75)
I suspect mine is faulty,and have had 2 differing verdicts , both from local Bosh electrics,and an Auto electrics company,here in Cambridge.

I have removed the starter and taken to have it tested- one guy said it was trying to pull far more current than my BMW gel battery could provide, the other guy said he thought the current pull was acceptable !!

I suspect that my starter is faulty, and is pulling on the battery,which is really struggling to even turn engine over -I've cleaned up the shaft, bendix gear, solenoid bit , connections, battery terminals etc, but not fully stripped motor back to commutator and brushes etc -bit cautious of doing that-


b/. Bosh centre said they are unable to test Gel batteries- they are no longer permitted to bung on a dummy load (Health & Safety bless 'em)

So, how can I confirm that my battery is also OK reads 13 volts (no load). The battery is pretty new, and came on the bike when I bought it- June 2007 -allegedly new, but battery says do not install after April 2008. Vendor of bike has still not furnished me with receipt of purchase, so can't get BMW to replace under warranty, should that become necessary. Also, Cambridge is not really that close to a BMW dealer -SBW Herts or Balderstones in Peterboro .... and I can't even ride the bike there as an excuse for a trip !

Many thanks, and sorry if I am raising an already covered topic, but not had a lot of luck with this bike so far !!!

 

[Packer]

This is what I would do...

If you have a car available re-fit the starter but do not connect the heavy power lead or the solenoid supply spade.

Ensure that the bike is on the centre stand and in neutral.

Use a pair of jump leads, connect one to the bike engine and -ve terminal of the car battery then the other to the +ve of the car battery and then the terminal pin on the back of the bike stater motor.

Be careful as it will spark due to the high current draw, keep your eyes away from it or wear safey glasses

If the engine spins over OK you have eliminated the starter motor as a fault and then need to check all the connections in the circuit between battery and starter.

You can also try switching on the ignition (but not starting the bike), switching on all of the lights including brake light and then pressing the horn button. If the battery is weak or there are bad connections you will see significant dimming of the headlamps.

 

[Roger Chatterton]

Seems as though I needed a new starter,so had to take a trip to Moto-Bins today ;
no part-exchange (apparently Valeo don't do such a service), and new Valeo cost me around £170 More than I was expecting....

There aren't really any scrap yards around posh Cambridge that strip and re-furb parts as far as I could find- apparently not a viable business anymore, sir -no call for it nowadays -just buy a new one squire

However,at least I now have one with a years guarantee, and I can , I hope stop messing around, and get back on the bike...taken me forever to find anyone around Cambridge who knew anything worth knowing about starters!!! Thanks to Moto-Bins, who knew that a Valeo starter should no way pull around 100Amps ! They pull a lot less than a Bosch starter apparently,and that's one reason why they use Valeos -allegedly .....

 

[Noddy]

Roger you are a complete plonker. Why didn't you wait a bit for more info first. I have a recon starter here and have had a few rebuilt locally using all the correct Valeo (Fiat) parts for under £50.

Local saying. What are you like Bor.

PS. I found out about this a long time back after an even more expensive starter problem in the south of France.

 

[Roger Chatterton]

Roger you are a complete plonker. Why didn't you wait a bit for more info first. I have a recon starter here and have had a few rebuilt locally using all the correct Valeo (Fiat) parts for under £50.

Local saying. What are you like Bor.

PS. I found out about this a long time back after an even more expensive starter problem in the south of France.

Hi Noddy
-thanks for the info-I've already spent a good few days trying to sort out the whole starter v battery problem, and just wanted to try and get the bike up and running again. I was expecting to pay around £108 exchange !! Three lots of so called specialists, (including Moto-Bins) said that Valeos can't be rebuilt, and that you can't even purchase new armatures or bits , except brushes !!!
I've read up on quite a few posts here and not seen any mention of being able to repair, and there's not any scrap/re-cycle type places around Cambridge that I could find, so I did the only thing, and that was buy a new one -damn-wish I'd known

I've got a buggered Valeo if that's any use to anyone !!!!! This GS has cost me a load of dosh so far, and it aint finished yet -next thing will be a new rear disk at the next set of pads ( and I guess that wont be long off either ).