Maxim won't start

Few weeks ago I went for a ride and part of that ride was down very bumpy highway. When we stopped for coffee on the way back home my Maxim would not start 8O . So we push started it and I limped it home. I took the battery to a local shop and they told me it was toast. Problem is that even with the new battery it will start only once in a while.

Today is that day when the bike will not start . I just hear ‘clicking’ noise coming from the left of the battery. I’m not sure what the name of that part is (solenoid?) but I believe the positive battery cable goes directly to it. It’s round and it seats in a rubber casing just left of the battery. I put screw driver to it shorting the positive with negative stems on it and still had no luck starting the bike. No cranking noise at all, just clicking. Any ideas :?:

 

Today I did some diagnosing and here are the results:

Test #1:
To make sure my ‘kill’ switch was working properly I pressed kill switch and then presses the start button. I got no clicking on the solenoid. Now, I disengaged the kill switch and when I pressed start the solenoid ‘clicked’. I’m no expert but since I got 2 different results I assumed the kill switch is working correctly.

Test #2
When I checked for continuity between the negative (ground) post on the solenoid and the frame of the bike I got no continuity showing on my multi meter. One wire from solenoid post goes to the negative post on the battery and the other goes to the starter body. I’m not sure why I got no continuity?

I then checked continuity between starter body ground post and solenoid negative (ground) post and I did have continuity. So, I know the cable should be good.

Test #3
So, at this point I remembered that sometimes car starters get ‘dead’ spots and if you hit them with a hammer the starter may engage. Obviously I don’t want to hit my starter with a hammer so I grabbed a rubber mallet and hit the starter few times on the flat surface on the left side of the bike. Then I pressed the start button and to my amazement it started cranking and eventually fired up!

After I ran the bike for about 10 min I shut it off and tried starting. Again I got nothing, just a click on the solenoid. Now I pressed and held the start button down and hit the starter with my rubber mallet. Eventually the starter started cranking over (slowly and dragging at first) and eventually again my Maxim fired up.

So, I think my starter is the source of my problems. Any other suggestions or ideas?

 

I will definitely clean before I disassemble. I got more suggestions from XJ owners:

#1
If you jumped the solenoid with no effect then tapped the starter motor with great effect, I think you tracked down the problem.

Often it's a simple fix involving disassembly of the starter motor and a good cleaning to get all the old carbon out, free up the brushes so they slide easily in their holders and polish the commutator (cleaning out the spaces between the contacts) for good electrical conductivity and insulation between the windings. Tapping with the rubber mallet probably vibrated the dirty brushes into contact. You may find it needs new brushes and you may find oil contamination from a leaky oil seal. It is very rare that a winding will be burned out and even rarer that a tap with a hammer would get a burned armature spinning again -- that generally can only happen if you turn the armature by hand to align an unburned winding contact with the brushes.

#2
If not the battery, then almost certainly the starter (as your tests have indicated). A starter that works after being whacked with a hammer is usually begging to have its commutator cleaned. Given the age of these bikes, it could also be worn brushes or even a broken wire in the windings. I don't know about repairing the windings, but cleaning the commutator and replacing brushes is pretty simple. Better to do it sooner than later, as repeated hammer bashing is likely to break something eventually, which will require a whole new starter motor.

#3
You can push start any motorcycle (as long as the engine will turn, you have sufficient traction (harder to do on slippery mud) within reason. You need a little bit of battery for spark in order to get the engine to fire. If the starter is not in place you can still start the bike, though I wouldn't run it for more than about two seconds as I imagine a lot of oil will slosh through the opening, at least on our XJs.

As far as removing the starter - you should be able to get away with just unhooking the main power lead, then remove the two bolts (one's about an inch and one half longer than the other) that hold it down to the transmission. Pull the starter straight back towards you, jiggling a little bit as you pull.

To disassemble the starter you'll locate the two screws (put a mark where the casings meet one another for easier realignment at reassembly) and remove them. Inside you'll find your brushes et. al. Reassembly can be tricky as the parts need to be aligned "just so".

My local bike shop (non-dealer) was able to order brushes for my girlfriend's X, and found a seal from an old starter that he had in the shop, as one of hers was not in the best of shape (non-waterproof).

 

What do I use to clean out the carbon, free up the brushes and their holders and polish the commutator?

Where can I get new brushes (if needed) and seals? What length are brand new brushes and what is the min length of old brushes?

 

I had the starter rebuilt by a local auto electric shop. They informed me that the brushes were almost completely worn out. Once I reinstalled the starter, my Maxim fired up on every try. More info in my blog at http://www.xjbikes.com/Blogs/mode=user/ ... eriff.html