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TOPIC: Re:Firing on one cylinder
#1023604
ctkog (User)
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Re:Firing on one cylinder 4 Months, 2 Weeks ago  
Paladin wrote:
On the road again....... Don't know what it was but I got it up and running again. I did every test everyone has mentioned and it passed all of them with flying colors. Even tried jumping it straight from the battery to the starter and nothing happened. I finally just took the starter off to see if it was bound up and it wasn't, it turned freely. Hooked it up direct to a spare battery I had and it worked fine. I went ahead and took it apart and cleaned it up real good anyway (even though I had just done that a few months ago and it wasn't dirty at all), put it back together, in the bike, and hit the starter button. Lo and behold it fired right up. Tried it several times and it worked fine each time. Took it for a little test ride, came back, shut it off, and started it back up, started just fine. It's a bit of a mystery as to what happened or why it happened all of a sudden like it did when it quit, but does seem like maybe it was something to do with the starter..... or maybe just a combination of everything. Anyway, thanks everyone for the help!

Good for you Palandin. Hope it continues, but it's likely going to show its ugly head again. Sounds like it could be a dead spot on the starter commutator. The electrical section of the armature that contacts the brushes can get dirty and worn down, or the brushes sometimes wear out but not normally. If the starter motor armature just happens to stop on a "bad spot" the circuit is open and the starter won't turn. Sometimes you can "rock" the engine by moving the bike forward and backward real hard in gear. If it starts after that your hunch might be right.
 
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---------- NOTHING STRAIGHTENS MY HEAD OUT BETTER THAN AN ENTIRELY CROOKED ROAD-----------
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#1023704
Paladin (User)
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Gender: Male cwayneb.com Location: Lexington, KY Birthdate: 1954-10-09
Re:Firing on one cylinder 4 Months, 2 Weeks ago  
Thanks I'll have to remember that. The starter motor won't turn when it's not engaged by rocking the bike though, right?? So I'm assuming you have to try and bump the starter while you're rocking the bike?

Anyway, I have three starters but two of them are crap. Years ago when I was having all the starting problems I tried two Ultima Thunderfire 1.75kW starters and they were absolute junk. So if anyone reading this message is thinking about buying one...DON'T!! On one of them, the manufacturer didn't bother to put gaskets around the starter post so it filled up with rain water. On the other one, the magnets ended up falling out of the starter housing. Neither lasted for over 6 months. Both ate up brushes like crazy and were constantly dirty on the inside. Opened up the one that filled with rain water and it was like mud inside it with the water and carbon dust. And on top of everything, neither of them started the bike any better than the stock starter which is much less powerful. That experience resulted in nothing but a huge waste of money.
 
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#1023705
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Re:Firing on one cylinder 4 Months, 2 Weeks ago  
The starter motor will engage if the bike is rocked backwards while in gear. Same as that little spin one hears when the engine is shut off and compression forces a piston back down.
 
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#1023707
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Re:Firing on one cylinder 4 Months, 2 Weeks ago  
texasscott1 wrote:
The starter motor will engage if the bike is rocked backwards while in gear. Same as that little spin one hears when the engine is shut off and compression forces a piston back down.


Good to know, thanks!
 
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#1023708
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Re:Firing on one cylinder 4 Months, 2 Weeks ago  
IF I end up having to replace the starter (and hopefully I won't) has anyone had any experience with the $99 starters you can find on eBay?
 
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#1023717
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Re:Firing on one cylinder 4 Months, 2 Weeks ago  
Paladin wrote:
IF I end up having to replace the starter (and hopefully I won't) has anyone had any experience with the $99 starters you can find on eBay?

Before jumping to any conclusions and worrying about a $99 ebay starter why don't you get a volt meter and do a couple test? Simply check for voltage at the starter when you push the start button. If you have "GOOD" voltage (10v or more) there while pushing the starter button then you have a starter issue, If no voltage check that you have "GOOD" voltage on both sides of the starter relay when pushing the button, if voltage only on 1 side replace the relay. If you find less than 10v at either location while pushing the starter button then the battery is bad. Guessing without testing will get you no where.
 
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#1023748
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Re:Firing on one cylinder 4 Months, 2 Weeks ago  
davej wrote:
Paladin wrote:
IF I end up having to replace the starter (and hopefully I won't) has anyone had any experience with the $99 starters you can find on eBay?

Before jumping to any conclusions and worrying about a $99 ebay starter why don't you get a volt meter and do a couple test? Simply check for voltage at the starter when you push the start button. If you have "GOOD" voltage (10v or more) there while pushing the starter button then you have a starter issue, If no voltage check that you have "GOOD" voltage on both sides of the starter relay when pushing the button, if voltage only on 1 side replace the relay. If you find less than 10v at either location while pushing the starter button then the battery is bad. Guessing without testing will get you no where.


Sorry, already did that and meter shows 12.49 volts at the starter. The starter is also working just fine after I took it apart and cleaned it up (although it wasn't very dirty since I had just done that a few months ago). The reason I was asking about the eBay starter is that it has been suggested a few posts back that the commutator on my current one may have dead spots on it and may need to be replaced. Thanks for the input though.
 
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#1023750
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Re:Firing on one cylinder 4 Months, 2 Weeks ago  
If a commutator had a dead spot simply cleaning it wouldn't fix it. It would still have a dead spot, it would just be a clean dead spot.
 
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Last Edit: 2017/10/10 09:01 By davej.
 
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#1023779
Paladin (User)
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Re:Firing on one cylinder 4 Months, 2 Weeks ago  
My point is that it may still have a dead spot I'll land on one of these days . If that happens, I rock the bike while it's in gear as suggested, and it starts, I'll know it's the commutator and need to get a new starter.
 
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Last Edit: 2017/10/10 23:47 By Paladin.
 
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