Intermittent Starter Problem

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Thylanes

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Jul 25, 2014
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Lucan, Ontario
:help:

I posted earlier about the problems I was having with my starter, and thought I'd go into a bit more detail to see if anyone has any suggestions.

I ride an '83 Wing Interstate 1100, which is (mostly) stock. A few bits and pieces of lighting have been added over the years, but thats about all.

Anyway, I am starting to have problems with my starter, but pretty much ONLY when the engine is hot. Example being yesterday. Went out (it was cool out, maybe 65°) and she fired up right away. Took the wife for a cruise, say 45 min or so, on secondary highways, so never got up over 60 mph. We stopped at a gas station to fuel, and when I tried to start again, there was pretty much nothing...no click, no buzz, nothing. Rolled forward about a foot and popped the clutch to rotate the starter a bit, but still nothing.

I took the side panels off (as you can see, this has happened before) to get good air circulation going, and waited about 10 minutes, and sure enough, she started up again immediately. So............................any ideas? Is it the starter giving me that 'final warning'? Or could it be something else that I haven't considered? :Doh2:
 
I'm not certain because I haven't actually had this tested, but I believe what happens with these starters is the exhaust heat breaks down the field winding insulation over time.
When they are hot, the insulation properties are worsened which basically short circuits the windings. Honda added a heat shield plate in 84 for a reason.
You could try rebuilding it by cleaning it up real good inside, dress the armature and put new brushes in.
 
When you say "no click, no buzz, nothing" do you not even hear the starter relay click? If the starter is bad, the relay should still click. If no relay click, you have a relay, wiring, or switch issue.
 
Yeah...the solenoid should at least click, even if the starter is fried. Does the headlight go off when you press the start button when it doesn't start?
I'm thinking the same thing as Steve....solenoid, start switch, or possibly even the ignition switch. You say you have added some lights along the way. Do they all run thru a relay? If not, the added amperage thru the ignition switch could cause it to cause problems, but that usually would also cause a "no lights" situation, too.
I'd be looking at the solenoid connections first, then check grounds. Have you changed the main fuse(dogbone fuse) over yet? That can also cause strange problems like this.
 
Normally when starters won't start when hot I find it is because they are polling out ( armature hits the field poles) which is normally caused by worn bushes. As stated before you need a new or reconditioned starter IMHO
 
These are all possibilities. Heat increases the resistance in wire, and also causes expansion. As Dan said, the exhaust runs right next to the starter, so any minor issue in a cold starter will be a major one when it's hot. There is minimum heat at the relay, so it shouldn't be an issue. Check everything!
 
I've been having this same problem lately, and today my starter motor just up and died.
Luckily a friendly Veteran gave me a push start and I had a spare starter motor at home (already installed).
This is, however, the fourth or fifth starter motor I've put on this bike and I was wondering if it's worth it to switch up to a more expensive starter motor (found an Arrowhead Starter for $150 and there's one on Rick's Motorsports for $219) but if the exhaust is just going to cook them anyway I'll stick to the $70-$80 starters and keep spares around.
 
Get a good quality one and you won't have any further dramas for ages. Just make sure that you are getting enough current and voltage to the starter as any starter will fails with low supply rates. :yes:
 
I read through all this with great interest because you're symptoms matched mine. I rebuilt the starter, switched out the solenoid, cleaned the ignition button, put in a new battery...still the same problem. I was about to buy a new starter when someone said make sure you cleaned the ground contact between the engine and starter cases. So I did that and haven't had an issue since.....just my experience. I suspect the heat expansion affects the contact area.
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=185022#p185022:1595u4sp said:
joedrum » Sun Dec 18, 2016 1:24 am[/url]":1595u4sp]
that was me and i was just about to post that ...seems to be one of the biggest starter problems....
Low voltage- high current. :head bang:
With dc both positive and negative supply paths contribute to voltage drop at the device. Shorter run, heavier cable and good connections ( including solenoid/switches) make for efficient, happy dc circuits. You still need to supply plenty of power from a good battery etc. :yes:
 
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