Starter prob.

(RIP) pastyman

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Need a bit of advice guys. Went to start Bertha, my 100gs today. switched on, all lights OK and pushed the starter button, Starter turned ok but as I had forgotten to switch the petrol on she didnt start so I released the button .
The starter continued to operate even when I operated the kill switch and even switched the ignition off. I had to disconnect the battery before it stopped and as you can imagine it was all getting a bit warm by then, I was bloody dripping I can tell you, had visions of the whole lot going up.
Now what do the eggspurts think, starter, solenoid, relay, switch or is it the wrong oil:augie
 
My starter kicked in when I was riding goat tracks on my own a few years back, Checked the Solenoid, and changed the starter relay the second time it happened (the next day) turned out to be chaffed wire near the relay, every time I removed the tank to fix the problem I thought I had it with the part I worked on:(!
So go over the wiring first:thumb
 
i had a similar incident on mine a while back. same symptoms and lots of black smoke from under the tank. it turned out it was a chafed wire next to the ignition coils (where the main loom gos to the left of them) It had found a good earth and shorted out taking the wiring loom out :( so as bambam says its probably worth checking the loom under the tank :thumb
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. It did happen once before and I changed the relay but I will have to investigate a bit further methinks. Just hope it has'nt burnt out any other wires:blast
 
pastyman said:
The starter continued to operate even when I operated the kill switch and even switched the ignition off. I had to disconnect the battery before it stopped and as you can imagine it was all getting a bit warm by then, I was bloody dripping I can tell you, had visions of the whole lot going up.
Click to expand...

I had a landrover like that, eventually I just had the one battery clip loose on the terminal when it happened :blast

Could never find the problem even after I wired the thing directly to the battery from new :eek
 
Ok, hopefully sorted but others may well benefit from my experience.
No signs of any chaffing so disconnected all but the main feed wire to the starter. it still tried to start so obviously the starter at fault. took it off ( thank goodness I had replaced the bolts with allen head types so didnt have to get the airbox off. Valeo starter off and rang Proff. It was very dry on the bendix and the gear was stuck forward so a little tap and back she went. lubricated the shaft and everything seems to be ok.
I should add that I had tried to start the bike after being away for a couple of weeks and had probably not used it for at least three weeks before that so its likely that the battery was not fully charged so could have contributed to the problem.
Anyway, we live and learn.
 
Glad to hear you sorted it Tony, does that mean your coming out to play on Sunday :D.

Edit, ok Tony have just picked up on your pm.
 
:augie OOOOps, seems I spoke too soon. After putting it all back together and charging the battery, I tried to start it again. Starter is slow and not kicking the engine over like it should. Battery is fairly new so dont think thats a problem. Will have to go back to square one:blast
 
pastyman said:
Need a bit of advice guys. Went to start Bertha, my 100gs today. switched on, all lights OK and pushed the starter button, Starter turned ok but as I had forgotten to switch the petrol on she didnt start so I released the button .
The starter continued to operate even when I operated the kill switch and even switched the ignition off. I had to disconnect the battery before it stopped and as you can imagine it was all getting a bit warm by then, I was bloody dripping I can tell you, had visions of the whole lot going up.
Now what do the eggspurts think, starter, solenoid, relay, switch or is it the wrong oil:augie
Click to expand...

That's a strange one........it would be interesting to get to the bottom of what has happened.

Wiring on the ignition side....have a look at the wiring diagram....sounds like you have a faulty ignition switch, (barrel),.....the thing that you stick the ket into
 
Could it be the dreaded Valeo problem ? Magnets come loose on the armature ? That would slow down the starter !!!
 
Rigtht, Think Im a bit further. Stripped the solenoid from the starter. The "slug" was prety dirty and was sticking in the barrell. I cleaned this up as well as the starter shaft. Tried energising it again but it was not working properly so I decided to have a look at the starter itself. when I took the brush cover off I noticed it smelled strongly of having being burnt. One brush was badly burnt and the armeture was very stiff to turn so I recon its knackered. I will have another look tomorrow to see what has gone wrong.
Ive looked at costs of a new one from the usual sources, seems about £165 new or £105 reconditioned.. A search of the net shows one from Merica ,new at £113 and the throw in two oil filters and a set of plugs. seems pretty good but Ive asked them to state shipping costs. Will let you know how I get on.
 
Hi Pastyman,
I know you are a long way from E Anglia (lucky b***R), but there is a company in this area that will fully recon starters , (yes, even Valeos -they did mine for my 1150). Cost me around £75 , and that included a new bearing. Worked a treat - it was the loose magnets), and they also did a similar job for another 1150 owner I know.
If you are interested, drop me a PM, and I can pass on their details.

Also, when working out costs from the States, don't forget to factor in Duty, Shipping costs, VAT, and , as I had to pay on goods from Oz, a "Handling Charge" from Parcel Force.:blast
 
Just a thought, if its a bosch try your local supplier he may carry stock.

I had a quote from a company in Cardiff called Tanners 02920 225580 recently and I'm sure they had new stock of the bosch starters at a reasonable price.

If you call them have the pt/no of the starter handy.:thumb2
 
Thanks again for the replies. The mericans have quoted shipping cost of $45 sothe cost is now about £140 plus any duty I may have to pay so not looking like such a good deal. If they can get them from Europe for that price, and make a profit, how come we have to pay around £165 or so. Anyway It is the magnets that have come adrift so its either getting it rebuilt or a new one.
 
Ta again for the replies, Ive checked with a firm in plymouth and they can supply a genuine ,new Valeo for £130. so that seems to be the best way to go. Might then try repairing mine and have it as a spare.Get to save a bit off and have a Cptn Jaspers at the same time:augie
 
Yes saw those but postage is another £25 or so plus any import tax you could be hit with plus about a week to deliver... so the Plymouth one is a better bet I think
 
pastyman said:
Ta again for the replies, Ive checked with a firm in plymouth and they can supply a genuine ,new Valeo for £130. so that seems to be the best way to go. Might then try repairing mine and have it as a spare.Get to save a bit off and have a Cptn Jaspers at the same time:augie
Click to expand...
Ahhh...Cap'n Jaspers ....now that IS a good reason to go to Plymouth. Not thought about a Cap'n Jaspers for a few years now . :clap:clap:clap
Or, you could always sell-on the recon starter ? Bet someone will buy that in a moment.:thumb
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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