Starter motor
 

I have a scrambler 500, 2006, and about 6 months ago I replaced the starter motor (old one was kaput!) Also replaced spark plug. Everything worked as it should. About 3 months ago it started struggling to start and now it won't start off the ignition at all. The recoil starter usually gets it going. When I turn the key it sounds like the starter motor is struggling to turn, sometimes the solenoid makes a repeated clicking noise. I can't for the life of me figure out what's wrong. The battery is fine and i think the solenoid is fine (did a bench test using a YouTube video and it seemed to be ok) can anyone help me please
thanks

Have you checked battery connections? 1/8 turn can do it. Have you put meter on battery?

Thanks for replying! Yeah the battery is fine, 12.7V on meter, also getting the same reading on the starter side of the solenoid.

Is starter relay picking up? Jumper it? Jumper solenoid? Or hang meter on. I have not worked on these, just throwing out general ideas.

Im not sure what you mean!!

I jumped it and the same problem occurred.
ive taken the starter motor off, bench tested and it's fine (as in it turns) connected everything up, ignition switch, battery, solenoid and starter motor and tested that with the starter removed and it seems to all be working fine. The problem seems to be when the starter motor is in situ...but I have no idea now what's causing the problem!

Oem starter or aftermarket? If aftermarket, that could be the issue still. Remove the spark plug and see if it cranks ok with no compression. If it doesnt crank well, I would guess the starter. Next thought was compression release but there was no mention of it pulling over with the rope being very difficult, so I'm shying away from that.

Its an aftermarket! It seems to be fine when doing a bench test though! I'll try the spark plug removal and see what happens! Thanks for your feedback

I agree but testing a starter with "No Load" MAY not be good enough. There should only be one washer behind the bendix(did you even get inside the recoil?) I have seen people remove a bendix and the old washer stays stuck to the case and they install the new washer that comes with the bendix. Also I have seen people remove the recoil and get rid of the gasket and use sealer like some later models did. Doing that can cause an inteference fit on the bendix and ruin a starter quicker than normal. There again, dont know if you got into the recoil or not so this may be irrelevant to your issue.

So I've taken out the spark plug, and the starter motor turns over fine. Does this mean the spark plug is shot?
Thanks again, really appreciate the feedback