EC 300 2018 starter problem

[Gasser Nate]

My friends bike started good for about 3 days and then the screw that holds the bearing on the worm gear backed out for the second time and bound up the starter. He has replaced almost every part related to the starting system and many of the parts have been replaced twice. Even with the help and discounts of his local dealer he has spent about $1,000 on starting system related parts and I can't even begin to guess how many hours. He is now looking at buying a TM or a Beta. I know another guy who's family has 3 of the same model GasGas 300 bikes and he hasn't had any trouble with the starters on any of them but he is on his 3rd complete top end on one of his bikes. I guess it's luck of the draw on these bikes whether you get a good one.

I really do not believe it to be a bad starter system, everything mechanical can obviously have faults and poorly designed or assembled components, but I think the issue here with a lot of people is that they are blindly throwing parts and money by the way to a problem without actually diagnosing what is wrong. I truly think that all the solutions to each and every starting issue can be found in these threads. It just takes a logical systematic approach to sort it out. Saying this there obviously is not enough competent mechanics at dealers who can help out in this regard which may be more of a failing than the starter motors. Perhaps I should do a list of the common things that go wrong and the associated fixed in a order based list so people can check them out?
Really it is not a complicated system and has been around since 2015 and I myself seeing many bikes with 2-300 hours on original components. Nocams here has a billion hours on his 2018 already...

 

[Skyrooster]

I really do not believe it to be a bad starter system, everything mechanical can obviously have faults and poorly designed or assembled components, but I think the issue here with a lot of people is that they are blindly throwing parts and money by the way to a problem without actually diagnosing what is wrong. I truly think that all the solutions to each and every starting issue can be found in these threads. It just takes a logical systematic approach to sort it out. Saying this there obviously is not enough competent mechanics at dealers who can help out in this regard which may be more of a failing than the starter motors. Perhaps I should do a list of the common things that go wrong and the associated fixed in a order based list so people can check them out?
Really it is not a complicated system and has been around since 2015 and I myself seeing many bikes with 2-300 hours on original components. Nocams here has a billion hours on his 2018 already...

I'm sure there's some truth to the but I'll give a short history of his problems.

2nd day he owned it it wouldn't start with the E-start. Dealer sent him a re-flashed ECU and a new battery. I worked for about 3 weeks and started making horrible noises. The small cover was excessively worn oblong which ruined the flywheel ring gear, the small gear and overheated the starter. Dealer sold him a starter, a small cover, the small gear that drives the flywheel, the small bearings, and gaskets. It then cranked over fast but had no spark while cranking but would immediately start with the kick starter. Dealer sent him a 2019 ECU and he bought a new wiring harness. Bike ran terrible with the 2019 ECU but started for 2 days with the new harness and the old ECU. after 2 days the bolt backed out of the small helical gear and locked up the starter and overheated it. He tightened the bolt and replaced the stater with a new one. It started for one week and the bolt backed out again. He tightened the bolt with lock tight again and it sometimes starts. He bought the bike new at the end of October 2018 and it's started properly for a sum total of about 3 weeks.

I get that there's a lot of bikes out there with no problems but I read through the multiple posts on this thread and he has had nearly every problem that everyone else has had. It might be because when it won't start the owners cranks longer trying to get it to start or trying to diagnose the problem and that taxes all the wear items and they fail quickly. In other words if the starter started the bike you wouldn't wear out the starter once a week.

 

[Nocams]

I really do not believe it to be a bad starter system, everything mechanical can obviously have faults and poorly designed or assembled components, but I think the issue here with a lot of people is that they are blindly throwing parts and money by the way to a problem without actually diagnosing what is wrong. I truly think that all the solutions to each and every starting issue can be found in these threads. It just takes a logical systematic approach to sort it out. Saying this there obviously is not enough competent mechanics at dealers who can help out in this regard which may be more of a failing than the starter motors. Perhaps I should do a list of the common things that go wrong and the associated fixed in a order based list so people can check them out?
Really it is not a complicated system and has been around since 2015 and I myself seeing many bikes with 2-300 hours on original components. Nocams here has a billion hours on his 2018 already...

233 hrs now Nate. Only replaced lower steering bearing,1x sidecover grommet and a worn out switch block!
Moving parts need lube!

 

[Skyrooster]

233 hrs now Nate. Only replaced lower steering bearing,1x sidecover grommet and a worn out switch block!
Moving parts need lube!

So if your starter has never worked for more that 3 weeks how often are you supposed to "lube" it?

Most of the time it hasn't worked it is because it had no spark while cranking. This isn't something maintenance is going to remedy... we are talking about a brand new bike that didn't start. 3 batteries, 3 ECUs, 3 starters, a wiring harness and nearly all the drive gears except the ones that were on back order and he couldn't buy. The lube is needed for the customers that get stuck with this lemon bike.

 

[Skyrooster]

Somehow we need to get spark at lower rpm, the rpm's that my starter gives at cranking should be enough to start the bike. I'm not willing to buy new starter, it seems pointless waste to me, if it's turning the engine with reasonable rpm, it's not starter's problem, but cdi or stator problem. In wireing, the circuits are independent, there is no difference to ecu, is it kickstarted, e-started or push started. I took all unnessesary off from the bike including light's, dash, nothing changes. If anyone has idea, what to do to get good spark at lower rpm, it would solve the problem at least for my bike.

What is different in wires on 2019 models? Are cdi's interchangeable? Flywheel the same?

This might sound crazy but check your ignition coil wire and plug boot. You might have a weak spark that turns into a no spark while cranking because the coil wire is bad but not so bad that it won't run at all.

 

[Lord_Muck]

Hi guys, just found where my problem was, seized shaft on the mechanism of the starter, if you go to the exploded manual, on the page where it shows the parts for the starter, the parts number 17 and 16 had given up.

The number 17 turns whit the stater motor but the 16 does not, i need to replace those but its a pain to take them out, tried last night with no success, i managed to take out the first bearing but this one is putting a fight.

cheers

Just confirmed this is what has happened to mine, it's at the dealer at the moment and they are going to sort it out.

Did you get yours sorted out Eralha? Did you get it working again?

 

[Duster]

This might sound crazy but check your ignition coil wire and plug boot. You might have a weak spark that turns into a no spark while cranking because the coil wire is bad but not so bad that it won't run at all.

I'll check wire, other coil and sparkplug cap i already tried.

 

[Neil E.]

Somewhere I've seen a picture of a GG flywheel that had a different length raised section on the flywheel. This raised section triggers the impulse coil (the black part outside of the flywheel).

I'm fairly sure that some bikes also needed a flywheel change as well as a CDI change before they would estart properly. I don't remember which year of the new bikes that this applied to. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Gez]

The dealer I'm getting my parts through wants me to send them my current flywheel and the cdi. He explained they send it to GG aus who swap the flywheel over to a machined one (window in the flywheel extended) and reflash the cdi. My bike is a '18 6 days, so it's a really early build and they were not rectified before delivery like the later '18s.
When i send mine I'll take some before and afters

 

[Duster]

The dealer I'm getting my parts through wants me to send them my current flywheel and the cdi. He explained they send it to GG aus who swap the flywheel over to a machined one (window in the flywheel extended) and reflash the cdi. My bike is a '18 6 days, so it's a really early build and they were not rectified before delivery like the later '18s.
When i send mine I'll take some before and afters

Would be very nice, if u can get part numbers also, mine ise alsu 2018 beginning model.

 

[Gez]

I'll def do it. Mine is a late '17 build date, super early haha. Gotta get me a puller first, I think it's a m27 lh

 

[shawbagga]

The dealer I'm getting my parts through wants me to send them my current flywheel and the cdi. He explained they send it to GG aus who swap the flywheel over to a machined one (window in the flywheel extended) and reflash the cdi. My bike is a '18 6 days, so it's a really early build and they were not rectified before delivery like the later '18s.
When i send mine I'll take some before and afters

My '18 XC250 is the same. Too far to take to the dealer & CBFed taking flywhee/CDI off & being without a bike
One day I might.

 

[Gez]

Does yours actually start on e-start at all? Mine won't spin cold and just spins over rapidly when hot but no fire.

 

[Jakobi]

My CDI is only a single punched one too....

 

[Gasser Nate]

I'll def do it. Mine is a late '17 build date, super early haha. Gotta get me a puller first, I think it's a m27 lh

Same puller as on the trials bikes.

 

[fred99999au]

If it is M27x1 LH, then it is also the same as most yamahas.

 

[Gasser Nate]

Of the top of my head it is not a left hand thread. It is not the same as the generic Yamaha 2T one. 99% sure it is a 27mm right hand thread. Send me a pm later on and I will check the garage when I get back from work.

 

[Jakobi]

Of the top of my head it is not a left hand thread. It is not the same as the generic Yamaha 2T one. 99% sure it is a 27mm right hand thread. Send me a pm later on and I will check the garage when I get back from work.

Have a double check Nate.

I'm 99% Sure up to 2013 was 27x1.0mm LH puller - kick start only models. I think the e-start with the ring gears required the 27x.10 RH puller, and use a bolt into the crank vs a nut on the crank. 2014 onwards for sure. I'm not certain about the 2011-2013 E start models.

 

[Neil E.]

2011 definitely uses M27x1 LH for the puller and has a nut on the crank end.

 

[Gasser Nate]

2015 on use the 27mm x 1.0mm rh thread puller same as the trials bikes. Early ones use the generic one. Just went out to the garage to confirm. I bought a RFX branded one which is a nice bit of kit.