signs of a bad starter?

[dexter]

thanks guys.. will investigate

 

[Indy]

Indy- what does the seleniod look like and where is it roughly?

the solenoid or "starter relay" is mounted with a rubber band (really) to the throttle side of the battery box. It has wires running to it, including the battery. Since it has a rubber mount, it is easy for it to loose ground. It is #10 on the parts lists and diagram linked below.

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/partviewer/ ... SNOWMOBILE)/ELECTRICAL_2_(RX10RH_-_2003)

 

[dexter]

thanks indy.... link doesnt work for me. just went out and she started on first turn of key.... no dead spot like before. what the heck.

 

[maim]

take the ignition switch out. i am betting when you take it apart there will be a peice of plastic floating around in there that blocks the start terminal in the switch. had this happen to mine and drove us nuts finding it.

 

[Indy]

thanks indy.... link doesnt work for me. just went out and she started on first turn of key.... no dead spot like before. what the heck.

Now I am convinced. A faulty part is either working or not. But a hit and miss starting issue is almost always a ground issue. You cant miss the starter relay. Its just mounted on the non-clutch side of the battery box. It has copper looking bolts on the sides. It is just held on by a rubber band strap that slides off of the battery box. Find the wire that runs to the negative side of the battery and follow it back to the starter relay. Add another large gauge wire, (not as big as the battery cable) to this side and attach the other end to the frame anywhere. Even behind the ECU mounting bolts, or anywhere to the frame.

When mine did this I replaced everything! The problem remained. I installed a starter button. I called a copier tech/electrician/military trained friend of mine. He came over, drank a beer, he had already made the ground wire and had it in his pocket. Had me do the wrenching, 5 minutes later it started, ran, and has never had an electrical problem again.

 

[dexter]

take the ignition switch out. i am betting when you take it apart there will be a peice of plastic floating around in there that blocks the start terminal in the switch. had this happen to mine and drove us nuts finding it.

so maim, when you say apart you mean disconnect from back side and pull it from the cowl and shake it upside down? what was the plastic from? I will check this out as well as inspect the grounding area/relay that Indy speaks of..

thanks..

 

[dexter]

thanks indy.... link doesnt work for me. just went out and she started on first turn of key.... no dead spot like before. what the heck.

Now I am convinced. A faulty part is either working or not. But a hit and miss starting issue is almost always a ground issue. You cant miss the starter relay. Its just mounted on the non-clutch side of the battery box. It has copper looking bolts on the sides. It is just held on by a rubber band strap that slides off of the battery box. Find the wire that runs to the negative side of the battery and follow it back to the starter relay. Add another large gauge wire, (not as big as the battery cable) to this side and attach the other end to the frame anywhere. Even behind the ECU mounting bolts, or anywhere to the frame.

When mine did this I replaced everything! The problem remained. I installed a starter button. I called a copier tech/electrician/military trained friend of mine. He came over, drank a beer, he had already made the ground wire and had it in his pocket. Had me do the wrenching, 5 minutes later it started, ran, and has never had an electrical problem again.

I know exactly what your saying now... I will see if its loose and check Maims idea first to eliminate it. just to clarify... I add a wire to the ground coming out of the relay so now two wires and run it to the frame?? so this adds another ground right?

 

[Indy]

correct. I installed 2 ignition switch's, no luck.

 

[Boomer]

In the same vain as this thread, I would like to relate what happened to me this weekend. I just finished the build on my sled, see the link here: http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=114373
Anyways, I took the pictures and then started the sled up and let it run for less than 5 minutes and then drove it back into the garage. As I turned it off, smoke started coming out from under the hood. I lift the hood up and can see flames under the airbox. I yanked the airbox off and the starter relay and wiring around it are on fire. After numerous attempts to smother the fire, I doused it with water. I immediately disconnected the battery and started the inspection.

Well, the wiring harness is toast. Wires were melted throughout. I am in the process of replacing the whole harness and the starter. After wracking my brain for a couple days I finally gave my friend, Rockmeister a call. He confirmed my suspicions that this is another example of the starter staying engaged after starting. The wiring cannot handle the heat overload caused when this happens. So I will be installing the Starter Saver he sells. This is a really serious problem that Yamaha in my opinion should have handled via a recall. This very easily could have resulted in serious injury and/or damage. As this happened in my garage, had I not been able to put the fire out, I could easily have burned my house down, and all the hard work I put into the sled over the last couple months would have been destroyed too. Thankfully I found it quick and limited the damage. I was able to find a used starter and entire wiring harness locally for about $125.00, and hopefully that is all that was damaged The Starter Saver will at least alert me if this ever happens again and I can stop the sled before another episode.

My recommendation is for everyone to get the Starter Saver from Rock. This is only one of the issues you can experience with the Starter, but in my case was as serious as it can get. As Rock told me, others have had it happen when they are out on the trail and then you are screwed by being broke down and stranded. When the starter stays engaged there is no way to tell it is still engaged as there is no drag or noise at all.

 

[maim]

i have one on mine boomer and it works well. have not had to do the starter yet but it is peice of mind for me.

dexter- we actually took the switch itself apart after i had the new one in and found the problem. now i have a spare yamy ignition.

 

[dexter]

i have one on mine boomer and it works well. have not had to do the starter yet but it is peice of mind for me.

dexter- we actually took the switch itself apart after i had the new one in and found the problem. now i have a spare yamy ignition.

what did it seem to have come from? also, any tips on taking it apart or will it just kind of be easy to get into? thanks

 

[dexter]

so I check my batter and each of my terminal screws took about 1 full turn to tighten. would this be enough to cause the issue I had??

 

[Indy]

so I check my batter and each of my terminal screws took about 1 full turn to tighten. would this be enough to cause the issue I had??

If I was still a mod I would ban you for a month! You hadn't checked your battery cables, really?

 

[dexter]

see my original post Indy... I said that at the start and was getting info BEFORE dragging the sled into the garage.

thanks

 

[LAJAMA]

In the same vain as this thread, I would like to relate what happened to me this weekend. I just finished the build on my sled, see the link here: http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=114373
Anyways, I took the pictures and then started the sled up and let it run for less than 5 minutes and then drove it back into the garage. As I turned it off, smoke started coming out from under the hood. I lift the hood up and can see flames under the airbox. I yanked the airbox off and the starter relay and wiring around it are on fire. After numerous attempts to smother the fire, I doused it with water. I immediately disconnected the battery and started the inspection.

Well, the wiring harness is toast. Wires were melted throughout. I am in the process of replacing the whole harness and the starter. After wracking my brain for a couple days I finally gave my friend, Rockmeister a call. He confirmed my suspicions that this is another example of the starter staying engaged after starting. The wiring cannot handle the heat overload caused when this happens. So I will be installing the Starter Saver he sells. This is a really serious problem that Yamaha in my opinion should have handled via a recall. This very easily could have resulted in serious injury and/or damage. As this happened in my garage, had I not been able to put the fire out, I could easily have burned my house down, and all the hard work I put into the sled over the last couple months would have been destroyed too. Thankfully I found it quick and limited the damage. I was able to find a used starter and entire wiring harness locally for about $125.00, and hopefully that is all that was damaged The Starter Saver will at least alert me if this ever happens again and I can stop the sled before another episode.

My recommendation is for everyone to get the Starter Saver from Rock. This is only one of the issues you can experience with the Starter, but in my case was as serious as it can get. As Rock told me, others have had it happen when they are out on the trail and then you are screwed by being broke down and stranded. When the starter stays engaged there is no way to tell it is still engaged as there is no drag or noise at all.

Hi, Please clarify how I would go about getting more information on a Starter Saver? Thank you.