Hi everyone, I’ve got a sym quadlander 600 and a tgb blade 425, both farm quads both had faulty starter motors at different times but finally getting around to replacing them both. Now that I’ve replaced them the starter clutch behind the flywheel is now just spinning when the starters engaged and won’t turn the motor over, can it be a coincidence that both starter clutches had failed too? Or is there something I’m doing wrong while fitting them? It’s the type with two bolts in the back and the spline at the front that goes into the motor and into some reduction gears before hitting the flywheel. It can’t surely be a coincidence that I’ve replaced both starters on these bikes that before they failed were starting fine and now they both just “zing”
any help would be greatly appreciated cheers

 

Your new starters are spinning the wrong way round. Only two possibilities, either they are wrong for the model or they are wired backwards. I didn't think it was possible until someone brought in a Honda with the same problem. Fairly obvious they had just fitted a new starter, I found out some prawn had wired the earth lead for starter to the solenoid and the pos lead to the neg post. Same person must have then wired the leads up wrong at the starter end so they worked the previous starter. I would have expected things to short out but they didn't, just spun the new starter the wrong way. For you to have wired two up backwards is a weird thing. Check the neg lead from battery goes to earth on the starter.

Starters can be wrong for the model, Yamaha did two identical starters, except the brush holders were at different angles, fit the wrong brushes for your engine and they spun in the opposite direction.

 

The Sym starter is a genuine one and 100% wired correctly , and the tgb is an after
Market but I’ve pulled the side cover off and confirmed the clutch is free spinning both ways

 

If the clutch really does free spin both ways, it is shot. Strange that it should happen just when the old starter died. TGB 425s were a bit prone to eating starter clutches, not sure if ignition was a bit advanced or the decompressor feeble but the starter always sounds to be struggling to get over compression. Starter clutches don't usually go suddenly either, they scream as they slip for a while before not working at all. Looks like you have got two slipping starter clutches but the odds against two going at the same time, never mind both just as they needed new starters, are astronomical.