Yamaha XJ 600 N Starting problem : tic

[tibo]

Hi there,

recently my XJ 600 did not start.

I thought :"it's winter" so i changed the battery.

Once the new battery in, all i hear is "tic" (same with the old battery)

I can start easily by pushing the bike down the road, but i guess there is a problem with my electric start.

any idea?

thanks a lot for your help!

Tibo

[Dave C]

sounds like starter selonoid, you could try shorting the connections with a screwdriver and if this operates the starter it will either be a bad connection or a new selonoid is required.

[Aquila]

sounds like starter selonoid, you could try shorting the connections with a screwdriver and if this operates the starter it will either be a bad connection or a new selonoid is required.

I'm not too au fait with motorbike electrics, but I have built and driven a couple of rally cars, so how different can it be?

I think that the 'tic' you are hearing is the relay operated by the starter button doing its stuff, which is nice... the problem thus exists beyond this point. This relay operates a solenoid that either drags the starter pinion out to mesh with the starter gear on the flywheel or operates a clutch into a lay-shaft in the gearbox. The most likely problem is a corroded connector on the solenoid that just needs a bit of a clean-up. Other things to watch out for surround 'hanging the starter' in which the starter circuit is still carrying full current after the engine has fired. This causes the starter circuit to turn into a dynamo that feeds current back through itself and will fry the engagement solenoid and/or boil all of the solder from the starter-motor commutator. I hope that this is of some help but if not, post some pix of the bits and I will try to come up with a further diagnosis...