Starter Solenoid... I think?

After working on my bike I was unable to start it with the start button. The bike kicked over just fine. I took the switch apart and began checking the electrical system with a voltmeter. My problem appears to be the starter solenoid. I was able to start the bike by shorting out the solenoid with the ignition on. Is there a cheap replacement for the solenoid or can I just replace it with something that would work more reliably. Is this the same type of solenois that cars use?

My Clymers book isn't much help at all.

You say that after you worked on your bike the starter no longer worked. Exactely what kind of "work" did you do (spark plugs...new points/condensors...etc)?
I'm assuming it was working fine prior to that?

I'd suggest retracing EVERYTHING you did when you "worked" on it to see if the problem is as simple as a disconnected plug/wire or a wire grounding out.

I'm not sure if the thread is here or in the archives, but if you do a search on "starter solenoid", you should find a thread detailing how to take the solenoid apart and clean the magnet and contacts.

Good luck.

Check the circuit from the start botton to the solinoid. It would appear that you may have interrupted this circuit.

The way it works is the same as a car, both small wires are normally at zero volts, when you push the start button 12v is applied to one small wire putting 12v across the solenoid drawing the contacts together shorting the two large lugs together putting battery voltage to the starter. So you do need to make a couple checks. If 12v is being switched to one small wire and the other is firmly grounded, then the solenoid should switch on.

ive found that a ford remote selinoid is a great cheap alternative

The work I did on the bike was not related to the electrical system. I was riding the bike and shut it down. When I tried to restart it it would not work. The Solenoid doesn't do anything when you hit the start button. It gets power but does not switch on. If I can repair it I will but I need to know where I can get a replacement. Where do I get a ford remote solenoid?

I am not an electrical genius.

Thanks for the help.

napa autozone any auto parts store

fords solenoid is much larger than a bike solenoid

Before running off the autoparts store to buy Ford parts, I suggest there is about a 90 percent chance your solenoid is just peachy dandy fine. At least do some basic troubleshooting before deciding to replace any parts!

FIRST get a multimeter... put it in VDC scale. Open up your right hand switch gear housing (two 5mm phillips head screws) and turn your key on. Put the BLACK (neg) probe on a frame ground and the RED (pos) probe on the wire going into your kill switch. Should be 12 VDC. If there is no voltage here, then the problem is between the fuse box, OR your igntion switch. It is probably going to show 12VDC.

With the kill switch ON (and the key still on), move your RED probe to the wire coming OUT of the kill switch. If you have voltage, then move on... otherwise check the killswitch being ON. Otherwise, you have a bad killswitch connection.

If you have voltage coming OUT of the kill switch, note there is a wire going to the back of the button (soldered to a contact plate. Check voltage here. You could have a bad solder joint but most likely there WILL be voltage at this point.

Last, there is a wire coming off the button so that when the button is depressed, the power goes through the start button and to this wire. This wire becomes the trigger for your solenoid. PUSH THE START BUTTON with the igntion ON and check for power. If you have some, then the connector between the switchgear and main wiring harness will need to be checked (it can be loose) but most often is the button contact. It can be removed and cleaned with steel wool or emory board... less is better as you remove conductive material with a lot of cleaning. You can also spray it with contact cleaner. I don't like to use dielectic grease becuase it draws grit.

The problem is likely in the button contact OR the connector between the switchgear and harness along the right side of the steering neck...

Heck, you could try finding voltage on the trigger when the button is pushed first (probably a good idea) because if there is 12VDC on the solenoid where the small trigger wire comes in when the button is pushed with the igntion on, that would tell you the solenoid is bad hehe but I doubt the solenoid is bad and feel it is more like somewhere on the voltage path the trigger wiring follows.

Does your 650 have a safety switch on the clutch lever??
If that switch isnt operating it breaks the circuit to the solinoid and would cause a problem like the one you are having

One thing worth noting about the 650 solenoid (don´t know if the big bikes are similar) is that it is wired "backwards". There are two small wires coming out of the solenoid, a yellow/red and a black. Contrary to what you would think, the black wire is the positive (connects to the wire coming down from the clutch switch) and the yellow/red connects to ground - if the wires are reversed the solenoid will pull the wrong way and won´t complete the circuit to the starter motor. Testing is very simple: connect the black wire to the + terminal on the battery and the yellow/red to the - terminal - you should hear the solenoid click and should see continuity across the lug nuts.

If the solenoid is indeed defective and needs to be replaced, it´s generic to a lot of 70´s jap bikes, most of the Honda CBs use the same solenoid (not similar, but the very same), aftermarket replacements should be readily available.

I can't believe Kaw would use those colors on a 650 solenoid bwhahahaha That is almost criminal! On a KZ900/KZ1000 there are also two smaller wires. The black connects to the rectifier I think and is a ground... The other wire, can't recall the color, is hooked to the trigger from the start button. I use a Suzuki solenoid on one of my bikes and it doesn't have the ground wire... just the wire for connecting to the trigger so I just wrapped a black wire around the mount bolt for a ground and connected it to the rectifier.