starter armature?

Hello KZRIDER! I wanna start out by saying thanks, Ive gotten a lot of help from here and basically brought a bike back to life from this site lol. My next project will be to make a new fiberglass body to cafe this bike out Again got ideas from this website!
Ok, so here is my problem: My starter clicks every now and then, which indicates its on its way out. I read on some forum here that the engine may have been seized up or something along those lines and the fix was to put it in gear and push the bike backwards. This actually worked and got me around for a while. The amount of times that I would have to do this became more and more frequent and last night it just would not start up. I eventually gave up and roll started it home. So...from what I can gather from my research here and from dealerships is that the armature in the starter may be bad? Unfortunately they don't sell these anywhere so I have to buy a new starter which costs $300-400 new. I guess my question is...does that sound right or would a rebuilt motor be worth trying? Also, i found a working starter from a 2001 model with the exact same model number for only $60. Would that be a wise way to go since rebuilt kits are cheap enough in the future?
Thanks again,
-Broke biker

Starter Solenoid/Motor Checkout Procedure

Some simple steps to determine what is working and what's not:

1.Fully charge and test the battery(most bike shops can load test the battery, and then use a floating ball hydrometer to check specific gravity in the charged cells).

2.Clean all battery terminals of corrosion.

3.Tighten all starting related connections(Positive RED(+) battery terminal, Negative BLACK(-)terminal) and from the terminal to the engine case. All connections must be clean and tight. If the cables feel “Crunchy” when flexed, they may have corrosion inside the insulation, requiring replacement.

4.Clean the cable from the starter solenoid to the starter motor.

5.Clean and check the "bullet connectors" going to the coil side of the starter solenoid.

6.Try again to start the bike, keep in mind some Kawasaki’s have a clutch interlock to prevent cranking the engine while it’s in gear, so the clutch lever must be squeezed.

7.If no luck, go to step #8

8.Wearing eye protection, bridge with pliers or a screwdriver the two heavy duty(large)terminals on the solenoid. If the bike cranks, your solenoid may be bad.

9. If the starter won’t turn over, one of several things has happened; The starter motor has seized due to brushes binding up, lack of lubrication in the bushings of the motor, the battery is weak , the engine has seized or it could be a combination of any of the above. A website for starter motors is:

A. www.psep.biz/store/mitsuba_starter_motors_page_2.htm

B. www.nationsautoelectric.com/Kawasaki.html

C. www.whitedogbikes.com/cat--Kawasaki-Star...-Starter-Motors.html

D. www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/starters.php

E. www.dbelectrical.com/

10.The dealer may want $$$ for a new solenoid, but take your old one along and visit the nearest riding lawn mower shop. They have solenoids for about $15 that with a little work will fit. Be aware that the new solenoid from the lawn mower shop may require a ground wire for it to work.

11. I’d recommend upgrading from the existing battery cables to at least 6 gauge welding cables.
They are available in two colors(RED and BLACK) have more flexibility due to being constructed with finer conductors, and will fit in tighter areas.

12. The welding cable is sold by the foot, so take careful measurements or bring your old cables along. Most battery shops might be able to supply the cable too, so call to find out. The battery shop should be able to crimp/swage on the end of the welding cable the terminal ends or lugs using either a dedicated crimping machine or a tool that looks like a bolt cutter that has special dies to terminate the cable.

13. The starter motor rebuild shops may be able to help you, call around or ask at the motorcycle shops who does their starter motors.

Starter Motor Removal On "J" Engined Kawasaki Motorcycles

Looking at my shop manual it says to remove:

1.The fuel tank.

2.Carbs.

3.Cam chain tensioner cap and pull out the spring and push rod stop.

4. I’d disconnect the Negative(-) battery terminal to prevent accidental shorting.

5.Remove the shaft and reduction gear.

6.Remove the starter motor retaining bolts (2).

7.Pry the starter motor loose from the crankcase with a screwdriver.

8.Slide the starter motor off towards the right side of the engine and lift it upwards.

There's a note stating "DO NOT TAP ON THE STARTER MOTOR SHAFT OR BODY, TAPPING MAY DAMAGE THE SHAFT OR MOTOR.

9.Slide out the rubber cap, remove the starter motor terminal nut and lock washer, and take the lead off the motor.

This is the starter motor guy;


Paul Cashio Engineering
(504)393-2260
8391 Highway 23
Belle Chasse, LA 70037

Yeah, check out the solenoid and all associated wiring along your starter circuit (not much really) first before making assumptions about what parts to replace.

A good mechanic will perform many different tests and checks to determine which part is actuallu faulty, not just make an assumption based on a sound that could be many/multiple different things.

Good luck!

Rebuild or go new if you have to - NOT USED!

I had trouble with my starter also. The starter would barely turn the bike over. I thought I had a dead battery and charged it overnight but in the morning it would not crank. However the kicker got it gong right away. Battery was fine.

When I removed the starter and disassembled it I found the area around the brushes packed with carbon dust. I cleaned that out and took a very light cut on the commutator on my lathe. If you don't happen to have a lathe, clean the commutator with fine emory cloth and reassemble. Test the starter with the motor cycle battery before you reinstall it in the bike. New brushes are available at Z1E if you need them. I'll bet you this gets you going.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationPull your starter and make sure the armature is spinning freely by spinning the gear on the end of the starter. If everything feels right then inspect around the positive post that goes into the starter. If it looks black and charred around where that goes in its probably grounding out. Theres a guy on ebay that sells a rebuild kit for most 1000s. This kit includes all the parts that usually wear out. The bushings included in this kit were the wrong size for mine but all the other parts fit in perfect and my starter runs strong after a whole year of use. if you get this kit, only use the brushes/plate that they go in, insulators for the positive post, and the O-rings. the only problem my starter had when i pulled it apart was the insulators were cooked around that post and it was grounding out. I also recommend running the starter off of a battery or charger of some sort just to see what your dealing with. While you have it apart, wipe out all that black dust thats in there too. After your done, you should have a nice clean, working starter



Looks like this is the one for your bike. (ONLY GET THIS IF THE BUSHINGS ARE GOOD IN YOUR STARTER. OTHERWISE ITS A WASTE OF MONEY!!!)

Good luck,
KT

Also, with my bike all i had to do was remove the cover over the starter, unbolt the starter, and wiggle it out. it might be different on yours. i didnt have to remove anything else.

Thanks for all of the help everybody! Sorry for the very delayed response. Ok so i finally got a few minutes of free time to go play with my bike. All of the connections looked good and it didn't crank up when i jumped the two posts of my starter solenoid. I'm not sure if the stater button had to be pressed or not but i just had the key on. I then made a failed attempt at getting the starter out. I removed the two bolts from the cover and the two long bolts holding the motor in place but it didn't seem to want to come free. I started to pull the side cover off of the starter clutch and the whole gear assembly seemed to be coming out with it so I put the bolts back in. I thought maybe there was a retaining ring holding the starter in place but Kawi said there isn't. Ill try and pry on it a little bit tonight and see where were at with the starter.

The only thing that makes me weary is the fact that it would work sometimes and when it wouldn't work i could make it start by putting the bike in gear and rolling it backwards a bit. You could hear the motor wind backwards and then it would start up on the next attempt. It makes me thing there is something more going on than crusty cables or some o-rings in a rebuild kit. The mechanic at the kawi dealership told me it sounds like the armature. He never saw my bike, he was just giving advice over the phone. I personally dont have any starter experience other than just slapping a new one in lol. Never thought about rebuilding them cuz they used to be so cheap. I wish these police KZ's had a kick start

Ok so i feel like I already know how this is gonna go but...I took my starter apart and it looks like hell inside. The two brushes are worn (thought there were four??), the armature is scratched up and there is putty in between the commutators. Not sure what it is but it looks like someone slapped some mighty-mend-it in there. I get continuity between all of the commutators but not from the armature to the shaft. I'm not sure if I was supposed to check that or not. Oh well. So it it safe to say a rebuilt kit won't help? I know you guys said not to buy a used starter but really whats the harm if it works? The way i see it, it would be like buying a used bike...its gonna come with a used starter just hope it keeps working lol. If something does go wrong hopefully that one would be repairable. Either way i cant afford 200-400 for a new starter so my best bet is gonna be ebay.

Are you using a Service Manual for checking the Starter? It sounds like you, testing with an Ohm Meter for Continuity on the Commutator, and shorts to the Shaft, might be following the Manual. If it worked most of the time, but had a spot where it would not turn, and rocking it in gear made it spin again, it sounds like a bad contact on the commutator. How short were the brushes? Is there a Spot on the commutator that looks Burned, or is much dirtier/ lower in height, etc?
That Putty looks more like a Factory type of balancing maybe.
If the Armature checks out, then doing a good cleaning and a new set of brushes would probably get it working again. Getting a Used one, well that's a Gamble of course but may be fine.

Well the two brushes were completely different sizes. One was worm almost all the way down. I was going off of an older manual and advice from users but I don't have the correct Manual for my bike yet. I did change the cables to 6ga welding wire as suggested. I'm not sure....both sound like a gamble. New brushes or a used starter. The starter I found is working and pulled from a similar age bike (model numbers match), and it's pretty clean looking. Only $40.

The commutator didnt have any burrns that I noticed. Just a ton of carbon buildup. I did check it with an ohm tester and all of them have continuity between them. I cleaned the dust out of the ridges with a toothpick as well.