Slow cranking starter

[raz]

I guessed a bad starter solenoid, so swapped it out for a complete new one from Euromoto Electrics. No change in symptoms.

You could try overhauling your starter e.g. new brushes and bushes. If the bushes get too worn there is a possibility that the armature is rubbing somewhere. Starters are quite simple or just take it into an auto electrician.

OBND, did you replace just the solenoid? When I first read it I thought it was the whole starter. Roy is right and the Valeos are known to let go of glued permanent magnets, which will jam badly.

[Dan M]

OBND, did you replace just the solenoid? When I first read it I thought it was the whole starter. Roy is right and the Valeos are known to let go of glued permanent magnets, which will jam badly.

 

 

I thought he tried the solenoid first then changed the whole starter. It is not unheard of to have a bad one out of the box but certainly unlikely. I would think if it were tight the amp draw would be very high and cranking voltage very low.

[OldButNotDead]

I thought he tried the solenoid first then changed the whole starter. It is not unheard of to have a bad one out of the box but certainly unlikely. I would think if it were tight the amp draw would be very high and cranking voltage very low.

 

Dan's right; I tried just a solenoid first, then popped an entire new starter in. I'll rebuild the old one over the winter and have a spare.

 

I had the battery load tested today, and if we believe the man at Autozone - the battery is fine.

 

That leaves me with tricatcent's suggestion - cold thick oil. I orginially dismissed this, since I've had the bike six years and it's not happened before. Then I realized I moved to a 20W50 (Amsoil) this spring. Up until then I had been using a 15W50 (Silkolene) and was trying to save some $.

 

My last ride was at 36F (2.5C), so thick oil is sounding reasonable at this point. I'm guessing that the starter is going to spin a lot faster on a warm bike, but won't get to test that till the weekend.

 

In the meanwhile, I'm off to order some lighter oil...

[mznyc]

Very similar symptoms ,

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...c=13958&hl=

Take note of post #41.

Still have new Hawker sitting in closet for a year and have had no need to replace the original Spark battery as it starts with no problems

Michael

[OldButNotDead]

55F here today; lesson learned. 20W50 + near freezing = slow cranking. I'll finish this season out with a 5W40....

 

The warm weather sure did bring out the motorcycle fags...

[vuzzi]

Mine had been a bit slow cranking. Today however she wouldn't crank at all. I tried a couple of times, (click was there and all, could hear her trying), but couldn't get it going. All of a sudden, at the 10th try, she cranked like never before. I was so supprised I forgot to open the throtle, so no start there. Next tries were no success and I had to take my car #@%$&@^$^.

 

The whole situation indicates to me the bad solenoid.

 

I'd like to try a new starter, maybe a mishubishi, but I 'd need to know what type to take.

 

The ones from http://www.motoelekt.com/guzzistarter.htm are probably overpriced

It 's probably a standard one, like: http://www.allproducts.com/ee/dahkee/13-mitsubishi-l.jpg

However, no one seems to know what type to take

 

There are some ewn ones of unknown brands on ebay as well

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-PREMIUM...151610006r31476

http://cgi.ebay.nl/Anlasser-Moto-Guzzi-V10...=item27a8f327fa

 

Anyone has experience with those?

[gstallons]

Do you live near any members that would swap parts 'til it started correctly?

p.s. Check the battery connection bolts. Mine will loosen up and give me problems...........

[vuzzi]

tha battery connections are allright

 

I could try to fit the lucas starter of my v65.

 

Are there any more experiences with alternative starters?

[mznyc]

Vuzzi,May not be your problem,but I solved my symptoms by CLEANING my solenoid. Just be careful not to ground neg wire from battery to ECU when removing it.that's what fried my original solenoid when replacing original ECU to MG Ti ECU.

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...c=13958&hl=

[vuzzi]

Vuzzi,May not be your problem,but I solved my symptoms by CLEANING my solenoid. Just be careful not to ground neg wire from battery to ECU when removing it.that's what fried my original solenoid when replacing original ECU to MG Ti ECU.

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...c=13958&hl=

 

I took the starter off. Checked all the wires to the starter and starter relay. they seemed OK.

 

I put 12 V on the sollenoid using an old and weak battery, and the plunger quite strongly pulled the bendix forward.

Put 12 V on the starter engine, and it rotated nicely, though not as fast as i might have expected.

 

Then took the starter apart. The sollenoid was slightly black and greasy at some points which easy to whipe off.

The black and grease was not in a way that it would have made it hard to move, however, could if have some effect on electric properties?

 

I noticed some wear of the copper layer of the plunger.

Anybody knows if that can do any harm over time?

 

After geasing some of the rotating parts I reinstaled the whole thing and it starter as never before. Still not 100% sure that caused the slow cranking, but happy enough do be driving again.

[mznyc]

Wahoo Glad to see yer on the road again Vuzzi.

I didn't think removing a light coat of grime on the solenoid would solve my problem either,but a year + later and the original battery starts with no problems and the new Hawker sits on the shelf.