Delayed start

Hi all. New member, first Maxim rebuild but my sixth early generation Japanese bike rebuild. 1982 Maxim 750. Bike is done except for a nagging starting issue. When I hit the Start button it can take anywhere from 3-30 seconds before the starter motor kicks over. It is very inconsistent, warm or cold. The only telltale is that the tach needle jumps slightly just before it starts to kick over. The bike came without the ignition cut off relay, which I have bypassed (R/W to R/W). Battery is fully charged. Voltage at the battery and solenoid drops slightly when the Start button is pushed, so something is happening but not enough to pop the start motor. I wired a momentary switch across the solenoid terminals and that switch seems to activate the starter pretty much right away. Although at a slower starter motor RPM. Thoughts on what to check out?? Thanks.

 

I think I'd start by pulling the starter for a cleaning and inspection of the brushes. Once that's nice and clean and the brushes are confirmed good or replaced I would look at the resistance of the power wire feeding the starter, followed by the solenoid. Does anything change if you manually activate the solenoid with the start button out of the equation? Could also be a dirty start button contact(s) or lack of good path to power or ground at the start button. I'm only a novice but that it where I would start

 

Replace start solenoid they are cheap ...my Seca 750 would do the same it was interment ....replaced and problem solved ( I tried rebuilding starter , checking wiring ,ohming wiring ...

 

This is where I would start. Mine had the same issue and it was dirty contacts in the switch at the bars. If jumping the solenoid (small negative terminal to ground, not bridging the large posts) causes is to start easily then it is most likely the push button or ground to the button.

 

Good call. Never even thought about the starter brushes. This bike sat in a damp shed for 12 years and the motor was locked up. No doubt the starter could be affected as well. Thanks.

 

Thanks. Yep I am with you, will probably replace regardless of the final fix.

 

I did recently clean the contacts at the bars. And I did purposely move my thumb around while depressing the switch, thinking that they might still be dirty or corroded. No difference. I will try your small negative terminal to ground method and see what happens. Thanks.

 

check your ground for the starter button. clean your battery cables at battery , could be the solinoid contacts are cooked corroded starter may also need rebuilding

 

If the bike pictured is the one in question I would throw some carbs on it.... just sayin'.

Yes to all that above ^^^^
Go a step further and clean, die-electric grease and verify tightness on all of your connections. Made a huge difference for my old 650.

 

LOL. Yes the pic was taken before it was done. It does have carbs on it now.

 

Got a new solenoid yesterday from Mike's. It was the solenoid. Of course, now the starter clutch isn't happy. How hard is it to rebuild the clutch?

 

Other than splitting the engine apart, and ripping the insides out--- not too bad. Just remember to leave the airbox in place.... you don't want to reinstall the engine just to find out that you have to pull it back out to get the airbox in again first-----

 

Thanks. I have been running 10W40 instead of the recommended 20W40. Would running a good quality 20W40 make a difference?