Put a new brush plate in and starter worked great for about 40 starts, then nothing. finally got a chance to pull it out tonight and tried bench test. Put power straight to the lead and it worked great. Never took it apart. Put it all back toghether; nothing. I hear the solenoid click when key is on and I try to start. Also, chekced the safety switch and same thing. i assume both these work because with safety off, I don't hear the solenoid click.

anyone else had lots of problems trying to get electric starter to work?Battery is new and works fine.

 

I had a similar problem when I was reinstalling my motor. What I found was the black ground wire that attaches to the motor on the right side was not tight. I tightened the bolt, and it worked great. Hope this helps.....

 

funny, my neighbor immediately suspected the ground. I tried running a jumper wire from negative battery post to a good, solid ground on my steel workbench, and that never helped. Are you talking about the main ground on the engine (I think it's somewhere on the right side near the plastic)? There doesn't appear to be any ground wire at all for the starter motor.

 

Yes, that is the ground that I was referring to. Mine was loosely installed and all I got was a clicking out of the relay. I tightened the ground bolt up and it has worked fine since.

 

Oh PUHLEEZ be that!! It would be so easy if you're right. I'll check tonight. Thanks for sharing this, sometimes it's the simplest thing, not the the most complicated. But in my case, it's usually the latter.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]:

 

I just checked ground and it seemed pretty tight. I'll take it apart and clean it, then do a little more trouble shooting. If I don't get the starter going plus the extra speed I think I should have (I've got the belt cover off), I'm going to take it to the dealer next week. Really can't afford the dealer though. That's why I post here.... the collective knowledge on this forum has really helped me, and saved me a ton. When you guys make it to Canada, I'll buy ya a beer....or two![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

confusedbuyer...i am having the same problem with my daughters lt80...
replaced the original relay with new one....$30.....worked for about 2 days...then began clicking again....replaced the battery....$45....didnt help a bit....then replaced the starter motor...$115.....no luck there either...these were suggestions from friends as to what the problem was...probably wouldve been cheaper to take to dealer to start with but you know how hardheaded we rednecks are

have checked the ground wire mentioned in the forum....seems tight enough...
can bypass relay (with jumper wire) and it starts...

what did you/dealer find was wrong with it....maybe i can finally get this one going again

 

my problem was relay. I wonder if you're relay isn't working again, if you can bypass it and it starts? that'd be my best guess. did you engage the the brake safety switch on the bottom right peg/footbrake area?

also, did you check your wiring on the handlebar/kill switch to make sure all that is working and letting you complete the circuit to the starter?

you could sand and clean ground, re-tighten.... just to be sure.

did you check the fuse? battery connections tight and clean?

BTW, I'm a cheap redneck too, nuthin wrong with that!

ALSO, invest in the pull-start if you don't have it. easy to install. ya might find a cheap one on ebay.never lets ya down.

 

HI CONFUSEDBUYER SORRY if you already answered this but have you bi passed the ignition w/the starter installed? Maybe the motor locked up on ypu. I hope thats not the cause, I've read alought of your threads and it sounds like you have bad luck with that thing. As for the pull starter there is one on ebay for 40.00 as of this morning. Also I noticed that you and LT 80 seem to chat alought so how do I get ahold of him. I've asked him but he hasn't been on as of late. anyway goodluck with your 80 and I live in western wash around Olympia look me up if you are in the hood maybe we go riding at capital forest.

 

my aunt used to live in PeEll (near Chehalis). went there every summer. likewise if you travel north, some decent riding areas around here.

my starter has been fine since i replaced the solenoid. best thing to do is send a PM to LT80. click on the padlock on one of his posts, and then send him a private message. I don't get automatically notified of my PMs, but when I come to the forum, the padlock icon on the top left corner tells me I've got messages. usually he's busy at the races over the weekend (i think).

ya, i've had lots of problems with mine. now it sounds even worse, like i'm headed for a complete tear down to possibly replace bearings and maybe con-rod.