starter solenoid?

[48lesco]

jlee - just checked my CB77 starter that I know is good. Anywhere from 3 ohms to dead short as I rotate the sprocket. I'll bet the gearbox is locked up. I have some parts for those if you need them.
-48

[jleewebb]

thanks for checking ohms for me 48...takes a load off my mind to know good starter can show no resistance...I'll be checking out gearbox end and let you know what I find out...I.m now hoping if I can just get it to rotate a bit it'll come unstuck...thanks, Lee

[rzgkane]

I would just bypass everything before it and hit the starter directly with 12V from the battery. If she turns, backpedal through the circuit. If not, you got a bad starter or the motor is locked.

[jleewebb]

I would just bypass everything before it and hit the starter directly with 12V from the battery. If she turns, backpedal through the circuit. If not, you got a bad starter or the motor is locked.

This was actually one of the two tests I did to determine it wasn't the starter solenoid...jumper cables from a freshly charged trolling motor battery...got some very impressive sparks but no turning of starter motor...thanks for the thought anyway.

So yesterday, reluctant wrencher that I am, I pulled off the sprocket cover and attempted to turn the starter motor by hand. It would turn in ccw direction but not clockwise. Hit the button and it turned over once, then appeared locked up again. So I resigned myself to pulling the starter and began by removing the cover on the clutch side with an impact driver. Those little screws were pretty tight and I didn't want to blow them out. So anyway, after pulling the cover, I hit the starter button again and it turned over. Wonderful. Tried another 20 or so times and it kept turning over every time. So I put the covers back on, let it sit for a few hours, took a 15 mile ride in the neighborhood later in the afternoon. Started multiple times. The stumble/miss I was originally trying to fix was pretty much gone too so I guess resetting the timing was the thing to do. (I'd already pulled and cleaned the pilot jets.)

So conclusions: I'm thinking that rotating the flywheel ccw in process of re-setting timing must have caused something to lock up somewhere in starter...maybe on the commutator end since that's where banging on it seemed to fix it. Given that the starter was expertly rebuilt a relatively short time ago and that it's working fine now (just checked it again this am), I'm just going to call it an anomoly and keep on truckin'. I did remove the band and blow out the brush/commutator area as recommended in the shop manual.

If starter hangs up again I now have much more confidence as far as pulling it apart and trying to figure out what's going on, but for now, it's not broke so why fix it?

Thanks for all the support. --Lee

[rzgkane]

I would just bypass everything before it and hit the starter directly with 12V from the battery. If she turns, backpedal through the circuit. If not, you got a bad starter or the motor is locked.

This was actually one of the two tests I did to determine it wasn't the starter solenoid...jumper cables from a freshly charged trolling motor battery...got some very impressive sparks but no turning of starter motor...thanks for the thought anyway.

Your prior posts did not mention you hitting the starter directly with 12V so that's why it was my first suggestion. All tests seemed to involve hitting a button.

Good luck. Hope she keeps on starting.

[mike in idaho]

First thing to do is a voltage drop test to see if the cables and the starter solenoid are ok. Using a digital voltmeter, hook one lead on the positive battery post and the other lead on the starter terminal, then push the start button. If the meter reads one volt or less the wires and the solenoid are probably good enough to work. Do the same thing on the ground side, connect one lead to the negative battery post and the other one to the engine block. Finally, hook another battery up to to the one in the bike with some jumper cables, if it cranks then you need to have the battery load tested.