My sons LT-80 has a weak battery which I have been charging every couple of weeks. Last night the bike wouldn't start (dead battery). So the bike was left outside in the rain all night. This morning, I charge the battery for about an hour. (the bike is still wet). After the charge up, I hit the starter, and the bike starts, but the starter hangs up & stays engaged. I killed the engine & turned off the key. The bike shut off, but the starter kept turning even with the key off. I eventually had to disconnect the battery to get it to stop. I tried the usual stuff, like tapping the starter with a small hammer, checked the starter button for moisture or poor spring back etc. I can find nothing that points to the cause.

Anyone have any ideas as to what caused this, or how I might fix the problem. I have an extra "parts bike" with a starter on it, but I don't want to change out the starter if thats not the problem. thanx

 

well,
for the next guy who might have this problem, here is how I fixed it.

The problem was the starter. I switched out my spare starter & this one was locked up tight due to rust & corrosion. Between the 2 starters, I was able to make one good starter. If you have an LT-80 and the starter fails, don't even call the bike shop. A new starter is 216.00! I would recommend an alternator repair shop that will be able to rebuild the starter at 1/4 the cost of new.

removing the starter on the LT-80 is a bit of a challenge. If anyone needs help with the removal, let me know.