Intermittent starter button not working

Sometimes when I hit the start button the starter engages, other times not so much. Does not seem to be related to warm, cold, running recently or sitting. When the button is pressed there is nothing. No click, no apparent drop in voltage (as evidenced by light brightness) no nothing.....

Battery new, good, fully charged.
Key on. All lights on, normal brightness.
Yamaha proprietarily awesome fuse box replaced with blade one.
Kickstand kill switch removed / bypassed as is clutch kill switch by PO (Me thinks this is an old issue I inherited)

Before I go through a troubleshooting sequence, is this a known issue. I searched the forum but no hits.

If this is not a known issue, I assume the sequence is.
1) Starter button bits working. Ohm meter across terminals and hit button multiple times.
2) Solenoid. Cross terminals multiple times.
3) Check brushes on starter motor for gunk or "flat" spots.
4) Then flakey kill switch hunt.

Thoughts or comments?

 

You can also check to make sure the starter switch assembly is grounded on the handlebars. If there is paint/oxidation on the handlebars the contact can be compromised.

 

I am having the same issue. Changed the brushes on the starter and all worked again...for a week. I have not had time to go through it yet (the bike is at my daughters house) but when I get to it I will be checking the kill switch, clutch saftey switch and the kickstand switch. The battery read 12.63v it's fully charged (and new). I get all power to everything except the solenoide. Jumping across the solenoide terminals does nothing, so mostlikely my problem is a bad ground, corosion (but all were cleaned a week ago) or broken wire/cable.

I think my bikes problem is my son-in-law hates all bikes unless the words Harley Davidson is printed somewhere on the bike... and the bike knows it so it wont start for him. :wink:

 

I had this exact same issue, it turned out to be the connector under the tank (Black connector if memory serves) Clean up those connectors and see if it helps any.

 

Had a similar dysfunction and it was the start switch contacts needed cleaning plus i added some silicon / dielectric grease to keep them clean. Its fiddly to do ... i put a little rubber block behind th switch to stop it flexing inwards too, it feels more positive in it's action.

 

Ditto with Bushy
Same situation, dirty switch contacts. Cleaned with a small brass wire brush and works like new.

 

Thanks guys. I love this place. Will do the trouble shooting thing this weekend adding the grounds as the first stop.

Only had a bit of time today so just did some cosmetic stuff. New bars (clubmans) double cafe tail lights and small signals. Looks great. I love the dinner plate headlight. The more I ride this bike the more I love it. It was supposed to be a short term ride until my girlfriend did her course and could ride it. I am thinking she is going to have to find her own bike. This one's mine.

 

I was recently having similar problems--sometimes it would start just fine, other times it would ignore the button, or maybe click. It seemed that if I rocked the bike in gear the starter would work after that.

Took the starter apart, cleaned it out, sanded the commutators and brushes with 500 emory and reinstalled. It has been working perfectly since.

 

GREMLINS!!!!! RUN!

Seems it is a gremlin. Turning the key off and then on again fixes the problem. The hunt continues.

Anyone know where I can get some ectoplasm?