Starter Button = Nothing

First off my tools and printed (real) service manuals are in another state while I try to sell my house/bikes, so my options are limited w/o buying more tools and/or the small oem tool kit.

My bike has been sitting for 2 years. I managed to start it last month. The carbs are stuck and leaking (not surprising). However, the start button now does nothing.

I have charged the batteries, checked the fuses and changed gears and moved the kickstand (in case the safety switches were stuck).

I do have a complete parts bike that I can swap out parts - just not the tools.

Should I try swapping out the starter button first or did I probably fry the starter it self tying to start it so many times unsuccessfully?

How hard is it to actually swap out the starter? Any post showing how? (No I didn't search yet).

It's alot easier selling a project bike that starts

Any help is appreciated.

 

A quick search suggested checking the switch for corrosion.

I opened the right controls. The insides look good.

Also pushing the button does dim the atari lights, and a small click is heard near battery, but Zero attempt for the starter to spin.

So dead starter? Is there another relay between button and starter itself?

How hard is it to remove and replace the starter? (I.e. pins/gears lining up with a tab)

 

Before you start worrying about the starter, I'd be thinking about:
1. Fuses that you may have blown (I blew a crucial one once and ended up thinking my TCI was blown...), including main fuse
2. Starter Relay.
3. Kickstand switch?

Personally, I'd try the ol' ugly-screwdriver-across-starter-relay-terminals gag.

 

Whoops sorry missed the fuse comment. The thing about the kickstand switch is that the switch itself can be messed up, so moving the kickstand may not do anything. You can short the switch to see if it's the fault. But I'd start with the screwdriver thing. If that works, it means the relay is not firing for some reason.

 

So arcing across the solenoid with the all metal oem pliers caused the starter to spin. What's the next diagnostic step?

 

get a voltmeter and check for 12V at your solenoid as well as the starter button (I assume you have a neutral light lit). the starter button supplied a ground (oh yes, check that ground) to the hot solenoid. the solenoid gets 12VDC when the ignition it on and the on/off switch is on and the starter cutout relay is activated by the neutral switch or the clutch switch. I forget how the kickstand switch works in there but could check tomorrow.

 

A very good troubleshooting guide for starter issues:

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/how-to-test-your-starter-circuit.7828/

So from this it appears the solenoid engages, but fails to apply power to the starter. Since the starter turned when you shorted the large terminals with the pliers, then time to swap out the solenoid. Step 3 in the how-to thread will verify this.

 

Thanks for the help so far. I grabbed a voltmeter, continuity tester and some wrenches/sockets while I was at the store. Now I can probably strip most of the bike if necessary/desired.