piemuncher Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Hi all, Had my Yam 125 for 2 years now and aside from a set of new tyres and a few bulbs it has done the last 8,000 miles perfectly (taking it to the grand old age of 30,000 miles). Lately its been having a bit of a starter issue where when I press the starter button it just clicks near the battery seat area. I took the battery out at the weekend (thinking it might be a charge issue) and charged it and replaced it, though that hasn't solved anything - the clicking seems to come from this circular thing as per the photo below... Throughout my motor career of owning both rubbish cars and bikes I have always put starter issues to the alternator, battery or starter motor itself - though when I click the button the starter motor makes no noise and therefore (possibly wrongly) I have discounted it as a problem. Interestingly - if I put the bike in gear and rock it forwards and backwards whilst pressing the elec start button sometimes the starter motor fires out, spins up and starts the bike for me! I'm stumped..... Pie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirriePete Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 That circular thing is the starter solenoid (relay) - a quick check to locate the problem is to short the two big connections on the top of this with a screwdriver (preferably rubber or wood handle) with the ignition on. You should get a few big fat sparks and the starter motor should spin up. If the starter doesn't spin up then it's one of these: the motor itself, the battery or the connections. You say you've charged the battery, but is it holding that charge? Have you got another battery you can pop in (or take jump leads from) for a check? If that's OK, check the connections battery -ve/frame, battery +ve/solenoid, solenoid/starter and starter/earth are clean and tight, then check the continuity on the cables - an ohm-meter should read next to no resistance. If the leads check out OK, then the motor needs looking at, quite likely just a clean and maybe new brushes. If the motor spins up alright, then the problem is either the solenoid or the power to it. I don't think you have any issues with the sidestand/clutch switches as they would prevent the solenoid from clicking in the first place. My first target would be the battery - how old is it? Just a few ramblings, HTH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piemuncher Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Thanks, you make some very good points. The battery was put in brand new last June so I would be very surprised if it was that! You've given me a number of things to unbolt and play with at the weekend! Pie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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