WHAT TO DO IF THE STARTER WON'T TURN

Energy One
Threwithu

Threwithu

Member
Moespeeds said:
I happen to have a shiny new Ultima 2kw starter on my desk today, and lots of time to fuck off so I'll do a quick how-to. My Ipod charger will be standing in for a jumper wire.

So you try to start your Big Dog, and nothing happens, or maybe you hear a click, or a lot of clicks, or maybe it just grinds. If you're at home, you run to the computer and ask the question on a forum, but what if you're out riding, or in the middle of nowhere? Everyone should practice push starting their bike, just to get a feel for it, but here's some things you can do to get it to turn.



First some fast diagnostics. There is a little green wire with a blade connector going to a plastic plug on the top of the starter. If you have a voltage tester handy, pull that wire and test it for 12v when you hit the starter button. If you don't get any juice, or get a strange or low reading, then your problem is most likely further up the line. Dead battery, bad start button, bad EHC or relay. If you do get 12v, read on. While you have it pulled, press the start button again and listen at the compression releases on top of the motor, they should both click. On earlier models they will stay open as long as the start button is held, on later models they automatically release after a second or two.



First make sure your fat black ground wire is still attached up at the upper mounting bolt. Sometimes these break off.



The starter has a solenoid, and when you send a 12v signal to it, it pulls in a plunger type switch that opens a direct connection to the battery positive, giving the motor the battery's full cranking amps. This starter has a "slam button" on it, that allows you to manually force the plunger to make the connection. Everyone should have one of these, but I've never seen one that fits a DSSC starter.



If you are stuck somewhere, and want to force that starter to turn, just take off the 3 bolts on the cover and shove that plunger in. You can use your thumb, but I prefer the handle of a screwdriver. If the contacts are all in place, and the starter has a good connection to +/- on the battery, and the battery is good, and there isn't something physically jammed in the jackshaft, it will have no choice but to turn.







Alternatively, if you don't want to open up the starter, you can get the same result by jumping the two big lugs on the outside. Pull back the boots and use a piece of thick wire, 4ga is best, but I've done it with 6ga. You can use a screwdriver, but don't be timid or you may weld it to the contacts. You may have to bend the screwdriver to keep it from hitting the starter housing. Whatever you use, strap a set on and do it with conviction, don't be ginger. You've got around 300 amps flowing, and if the wire pops off or bounces around, you will end up with little arc strikes all over your shiny chrome. It's good to keep a piece of 4 or 6 ga wire in your toolkit for this purpose.



It's a good idea to open your starter up every season and clean those contacts up with some sandpaper. There is a thread on it somewhere here.

If your starter just grinds or whines, it's something mechanical at the jackshaft end. Make sure your mounting bolts are tight and in place. Next is to look inside the primary. I've seen a few jackshafts break off and found the gear laying in the bottom of the primary. Could also be that the gear stripped or the ring gear on the clutch basket stripped. Either way, before you just shove a new part in there, find the cause. Whether it's a loose clutch hub bolt, bad starter alignment, bad transmission shim, etc. Find the cause for the failure before you ruin another good part.
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Great write up..Thanks
 
M

Michael Greco

New Member
I have a similar starting problem with my 2001 Mastiff. I would hit the starter button and hear the ech relay but the bike wouldn't start. This would happen once in a while so I figured it was dirty selonid contacts. Pulled the starter ,cleaned the contacts and bench tested. Worked fine. Installed starter in the bike, hit the starter button and only hear a click from the ECH and now won't start at all. Checked the wire to the selonid when pushing the start button and voltage is there but only about 11.5 Volts., Maybe a resistance problem? I was thinking of bypassing and adding a separate starter switch and a slam button. If I jump the starter with a wire, it works fine. Have not tried jumping from a car. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
cdogg556

cdogg556

Guru
What is you battery voltage? If you are less that 12.75 volts it's too low, did you check all your connections and cables? I had some issues like this and bypassed my EHC and it did work but eventually other things went out on my EHC so I had to replace it with DOC's - ESC, and also my start switch pcb board went out so I replaced it also, hopefully it's just a bad cable or connection, check them first and your battery voltage, then go from there.
 
M

Michael Greco

New Member
Battery voltage is 13.2. This is an intermittent problem and after screwing around with it for a while and repeatedly hitting the starter button, it engaged and the starter functioned. I can hear the relay in the ehc operating and believe it is the contacts. This problem left me stranded once and I have since purchased a slam button and carry a short jumper cable I can connect to the selonid and touch to the battery terminal. I will have to research further and not sure if it is actually in the ehc or other wiring but suspecting the relay is the problem. Can these units be repaired and components be replaced? For now if anyone else is having this problem, I crimped a 1/4 inch female spade connector to a 6 " piece 12 GA wire and use this as a jumper which I now carry with me always.
Thanks so much for your response!
 
Th3InfamousI

Th3InfamousI

Administrator
Staff member
Michael Greco said:
Battery voltage is 13.2. This is an intermittent problem and after screwing around with it for a while and repeatedly hitting the starter button, it engaged and the starter functioned. I can hear the relay in the ehc operating and believe it is the contacts. This problem left me stranded once and I have since purchased a slam button and carry a short jumper cable I can connect to the selonid and touch to the battery terminal. I will have to research further and not sure if it is actually in the ehc or other wiring but suspecting the relay is the problem. Can these units be repaired and components be replaced? For now if anyone else is having this problem, I crimped a 1/4 inch female spade connector to a 6 " piece 12 GA wire and use this as a jumper which I now carry with me always.
Thanks so much for your response!
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If you can jump it off the solenoid its not the contacts that is the problem. Check your voltage to the solenoid contact when you hit start, I would suspect its not getting 12+ Volts thats why the jumper wire works. Check the relay like Dave said above.
 
cdogg556

cdogg556

Guru
If it's an intermittent problem I would check the run/start circuit board to see if it's bad, to check it remove the one from the left side and plug it into the right side, the button locations will be different but at least you will know if your pcb is bad or not, I also had it happening intermittently at first.
 
BWG56

BWG56

Guru
cdogg556 said:
If it's an intermittent problem I would check the run/start circuit board to see if it's bad, to check it remove the one from the left side and plug it into the right side, the button locations will be different but at least you will know if your pcb is bad or not, I also had it happening intermittently at first.
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I don't think he has a pcb in his 01'
 
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