brand new 125cc youth atv. ran great and started great. owned it maybe a week and then my wife and son laid it down in the driveway (not a rollover, just one of those panicked moments right, left toppled on its side). everyone was mostly ok. i ran up and the atv was not running, i stood it back up on its tires and about 15 minutes later i tried to start it and all i got was a click. i left it overnight charging and the same thing the next day. i tried to jump it with car battery, same thing. i checked all the safety buttons, all the wires and made sure everything was firmly connected. i then replaced the solenoid, same thing. it clicks but nothing cranks.

if its not the battery and not the solenoid then it has to be the starter? i can get it to make different clicking/grinding noises by tapping on the starter while trying to fire it up. below is a video of the noise (new solenoid is just dangling because i just attached it). no way the engine seized from being tipped on its side while running right?

click:

grind:

 

Seems something has seized, if you are lucky it may be the starter, but could be the engine. Time to find out, remove the plug, it may have hydraulically locked but this is unlikely unless it is a 2 stroke. Remove a cover and see if you can turn the crank by hand, if so, the starter must be jammed, remove it and strip to find out why.

 

- what plug?

it is a 4 stroke. new starter is $12. will most likely just order a new one and see and while i am waiting i will try to investigate the engine further if i have time.

 

Laying on its side the oil could have drained to top of cyl for some reason.. Pull the spark plug and see it it turns over. You can also try a screwdriver across the contacts of the starter solenoid and see if it works.

 

oh the spark plug, right! tried the screwdriver across the contacts on the old solenoid and also replaced it with a new one. it was on its side for 10 seconds or less. going to feel real stupid if the engine seized.

 

for anyone coming back to this thread, new starter fixed the problem.

the broken starter was seized, i couldn't get it to turn at all before removing it.

 

ATV starters are mostly the permanent magnet type and the magnets are glued on, quality starters have a "tin can" inside the magnets to help keep them in place, but many don't and a jolt can loosen a magnet, which clamps itself onto the armature and jams the starter. I must have half a dozen Honda 420 starters that have done this, older Hondas have the tin can type starters and never jam up.

 

makes sense! i will probably take apart the old one just for fun.