My starter works great now!

[rosco]

That Shorai battery shouldn't be bad already. Make sure you use a low amp charger when charging it. I had a buddy hook one up to a high amp charger and smoked it. The battery damn near caught on fire.

 

[iamovru]

So the good news is that the starter works when jumping off my car. The bad news is that it wont crank over with the bikes battery. So I am going to be riding in the next week or so and what I am hoping is that the bike will crank over once the battery has been charged and the bike is warmed up. I am crossing my fingers and toes

 

[Neil E.]

Use a battery tender to get it fully charged before the ride. Start it with the kickstarter when the engine is cold. The estart should work OK when the bike is warm.

 

[iamovru]

That's what I am thinking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Weird Rooster]

2012 EC300 with about 65hrs/2,200km. Just did a service/clean of the starter motor and bendix. All look in mint condition. If you've done the wet mod, check the rubber grommet at the top of the case near the LHS radiator. I used fork oil as the lubricant and it has caused the rubber to swell. Any suggestions re a lubricant that won't swell the rubber? Also, does anyone know the part number for the grommet? It doesn't appear in the parts list.

 

[n_green]

2012 EC300 with about 65hrs/2,200km. Just did a service/clean of the starter motor and bendix. All look in mint condition. If you've done the wet mod, check the rubber grommet at the top of the case near the LHS radiator. I used fork oil as the lubricant and it has caused the rubber to swell. Any suggestions re a lubricant that won't swell the rubber?

Would the swelling be from using synthetic fork oil? (What brand/type did you use?)

I used home brand baby oil in my '11 with nil problems, but for the '14 have gone with ATF. Only been in there 10 hrs so not able to tell if it is doing anything to the rubber yet.

 

[Weird Rooster]

Would the swelling be from using synthetic fork oil? (What brand/type did you use?)

I used home brand baby oil in my '11 with nil problems, but for the '14 have gone with ATF. Only been in there 10 hrs so not able to tell if it is doing anything to the rubber yet.

Motorex 5w. You might want to check it just in case. I would imagine that if it swells too much it may let water and crud in there. Did you pull the cover after having used the baby oil for a good while? I'm guessing if you did then you didn't have the same problem cause you would have noticed it. I'm thinking I'm going to have a wait for the grommet given it is not appearing on the parts list

 

[Tom250]

my starter also didnt work on my ?13 model, so i larged the spring out. quite a lot i have to say, but this resolved the major problem. the starter works for 95% now, no matter if cold or hot. i never kickstarted the bike, i always fire it up with the electric one.
what i also did, filled the ignition case with about 150ml oil, i used castrol 10w50 engineoil. nothing swelling or leaking. i have this done about 250hours ago and the starter still works very well. last week i had a look inside, taked it apart, no wear to see. looks like the oil is doing a good job.

 

[iamovru]

If you do the wet mod, you dont want to put more than a couple ounces of oil. Any more seems to make quite a mess.

 

[mikeg]

bad starter

I have 2013 xc300 with low hours on it. starter is junk, have they change the design of them in the last couple of years. I pulled mind apart, and it didn't have the thin round spring in it, the very small one.

 

[mikeg]

starter

I found the spring

 

[Jim Cook]

I guess that I'm going to have to do the starter modification soon.
Today, when "riding in" some brand new trail I've been cutting, the starter was hanging up when I used it. The bendix was hanging and staying connected to the flywheel after the engine started.
I was able to get it to let go each time by revving the engine. I didn't like that.


.

 

[Neil E.]

Pull the cover and have a look. Lift the bendix out of it's cavity and see that it extends smoothly. If it looks good, put on a thicker cover gasket or use two gaskets. Hanging up is normally from gearing that is meshing too tightly. The cover gasket compresses about .005" and that's enough to make the gearing tight if it was snug to begin with.

 

[Jim Cook]

Pull the cover and have a look. Lift the bendix out of it's cavity and see that it extends smoothly. If it looks good, put on a thicker cover gasket or use two gaskets. Hanging up is normally from gearing that is meshing too tightly. The cover gasket compresses about .005" and that's enough to make the gearing tight if it was snug to begin with.

Thanks Neil! I will get a gasket headed this way and do as you suggest.

 

[Jim Cook]

Neil,
Exactly which gasket is that you're speaking of? Looking at the parts diagram page, I don't see a gasket, except for the ignition cover gasket (and the rubber gasket that seems to be part of the bendix cover).

Thanks again,
Jim

.

 

[Neil E.]

It's the ignition cover gasket we're talking about. Keep in mind that the starter assembly is mounted to the ignition cover. Thus the gasket thickness can change the "bendix pinion to flywheel ring gear" clearance.

Another variable is crankshaft location which can change if the bottom end gets rebuilt. The flywheel can go in or out a bit and then the spacing will need to be adjusted. There are ring gear shims available to move the gear out if the clearance is too large. If the clearance is too small then thicker cover gaskets are used.

The horizontal bendix on the new bikes should avoid all of this spacing issue. These operate like the bendix starters we had on automobiles (prior to the adoption of shift fork type starters).

If you look back through the large estart threads you will find my comments about taping the bendix open and installing the cover to feel for the amount of backlash. This is the gear clearance we are referring to. The most helpful mod is Roscoe's spring stretching. Past that is the wet mod which helps to keep the gears clean and working smoothly.

Another forum member has pointed out that the lower bendix shaft hole in the ignition cover can wear oval and mess up the gear clearance. This is something else to keep an eye on. Some machine work is then required to open the hole up for the installation of an oil impregnated bronze bushing.

 

[Jim Cook]

Thanks Neil!
I have that gasket in my stock.

 

[stuart]

i've got a 2014 ec300r , it's now done about 1100 miles .

since the bike was new 9 times out of 10 the 1st time i press the start button i can hear the starter spin but not turn the engine then when i press the start button the 2nd time it works & starts the engine .

today i've had to press the start button 10 - 20 times then it might work other times i've had to kick it to start it .

i've not read all the previous posts , is there a easy fix or do i need a new starter ?

i'd like to think it will get changed under warranty if it needs to be changed .

stuart .

 

[Neil E.]

That is the typical problem, the gearing fails to engage. The fix is to remove the bendix and stretch the spring. Do some reading, the repair is well documented in the estart threads.

 

[Jim Cook]

I sprayed a small amount of white lithium grease on my bendix and it is now working great.

I've read this whole thread, and filed away all the input, so I will be ready when it comes time to do a real repair.
Damn! Who would have thought I would ever get hooked on electric start?