Hi. The starter relay has burned out on my daughters 1998 LT80 ATV. I'm pretty sure the relay is bad, because if I jumper the 12v constant and the 12v switched to the starter at the relay connector, the starter will turn over. I have already ordered a new relay and a brush kit for the OEM starter I have in a box. The ATV has a Chinese made starter installed now, and I don't know what condition it is in, other than it turns when I apply 12v as explained above. It was working fine before the relay burned out, but I don't know if that is what caused it to burn out or something else. Now, I should add that before the relay burned out, I was having issues with the ATV not starting, and it very well could be that I killed it by holding the starter on too long. But I think it wouldn't start because I left it out in the rain for about 20 mins, and for now I am more concerned about the relay wiring.

The relay will not be here until next week, and what I want to do is wire in a regular automotive 30 amp relay until the new one gets here. I will leave the connector intact and I have already made 4 male-female jumper wires. What I need to know is which wire goes where on the 5 pin relay, seeing as how the old one is not marked. Typically, the constant 12v goes to terminal 30, the push-button start wire should go to 86, the output starter wire goes to 87 and I am left with one more wire, which is the white/black tracer from the engine stop switch. I don't know where to connect this, and I also don't know if I need to hook up a ground to terminal 85.

Any help with this would be ideal. I am pretty good with wiring, but it's been awhile since I've played around with relays, and I would rather have some advice before continuing. Also, the optional pull starter is not installed on her ATV, and if anyone knows where I could find one, new or used, reasonably priced, that would be nice too. Preferably in Canada. Thanks.

 

Bit of a puzzle as all the LT80 diagrams I have show a four pin relay. White with black tracer from stop switch is earthed when you press the start button. Orange is live from ignition switch, red/white to starter circuit breaker, and red from battery positive. Just one point, you do know about the circuit breaker? As I have had LT80s sent to me for repair when all that is wrong is the breaker tripped out.

 

Yes, I am aware of the circuit breaker. Sorry, I think I may have confused you. The original relay from the ATV is a 4 pin relay, the one I am trying to use until the new one arrives is a 5 pin.

The white/black tracer wire is the only one I couldn't figure out, but I assumed it was a ground, because that is normally all the kill switch does. But I forgot about having to push the starter button to make it ground, I think that's where I got confused. So knowing that, I should be able to hook the white/black tracer up to either terminal 85 or 86, and all of the other wires as I described in my original post.

Thanks for your help!

 

So the new relay works, but something is causing the relay to stick and the starter to turn slowly, it doesn't sound normal, and the battery is fully charged. Eventually, the circuit breaker snapped and it stopped current to the starter. My hand was not on the starter button when this happened, and I have taken it apart and checked it. All is well inside the switch.

Could bad or worn brushes in the starter cause this to happen? As I said before, it is a cheap Chinese replacement and not an OEM starter. Luckily I do have the OEM starter in a box, the dealer is going to replace the brushes in it when the new starter relay comes in.

 

Firstly check that you haven't filled the engine with fuel by removing the spark plug and spinning the engine over, don't have the plug lead near the cylinder head when you do this, I set one on fire when the fountain of fuel from the cylinder "caught" a spark. Even OEM starters on the LT80 are rather poor quality, and it may be worth checking inside yours to see if there is a loose wire etc, they are not the easiest to get the brushes back in place though.

 

"Firstly check that you haven't filled the engine with fuel"
We're thinking that fuel went by the float needle and flooded the motor causing it to not start.
I had one on fire too.

 

Well, the weird thing is, it started and drove about 30 feet before it sputtered and died on me. Now, admittedly, it had been sitting in the rain for 20 mins or so; I was in the process of washing it and ran out of Mr. Clean erasers (that and any auto soap works fantastic on white plastics, BTW). By the time I got back from the hardware store, it was lightly raining, which I knew they had forecast. Now, my daughter has taken this ATV through some 8" and 10" deep puddles, actually the throttle was pinned when she went through (she loves water and mudholes LOL!) and that has never caused any issues. So when it died, at first I didn't think it had anything to do with the rain. But honestly, I'm not sure what caused the no-start issue. Whether it was the rain, or something else, I don't know. Up until that, it ran great when she had it out around the yard about two weeks earlier. And I'm the type of person that is **** about shutting the fuel petcock off after every ride (someone installed a second fuel shutoff on this ATV, presumably not understanding how the original works).

So what is the easiest way to get the fuel out of the crankcase if it is full? Remove the fuel tank and roll it over so the plug hole is facing down? I'm thinking I should start the process of removing the starter motor, but maybe I should try removing the fuel first. The last owner told me the starter was quite new, might have 20-30 starts on it, aside from me trying to get it to start after it died. Mind you, it is Chinese made and I doubt I helped it any by running it like I did. Suggestions on my next step? Thanks.

 

I've just told you, take the plug out and spin the motor over, it acts like a pump, OK fuel goes everywhere, but there is no easier way to get fuel out of the case and cylinder.

If the engine is full of fuel, your petcock and float needle must both have stuck open, this is quite common and there are lots of posts on here about it. If fuel doesn't fly from the plug hole, you know that this isn't the cause of your starter running slow.

 

Merryman, remember that the starter won't turn fast enough to pump the fuel out as you are suggesting. Anyway, I pulled the plug, tipped the bike on its side with a drainpan below the cylinder head, and nothing came out. If the starter would turn fast enough to try it that way, I would give it a shot. But it won't.

I'm pretty sure that the starter brushes are burned out, so I'm going to start the process of removing it. The carb has to come off in the process so I will give it a good inspection and cleaning while its off. I really wish I had a pull starter, but used ones are rare, and a new one will be $150 by the time it is shipped to the house. Looks like I'll have to wait for those parts to come in at the dealer.

 

I just removed the starter, took it apart and I'm pretty sure its the problem. The brushes are not completely worn out, but this starter was definitely not waterproof. I took the OEM apart and it was nothing like this mess inside. Took some pics in the process of disassembly. Have a look and see if you agree.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/912ftnw9n...BbY76wbFa?dl=0