Electric start problems

Recently I've been having issues with the electric start on my 1977 kz650. When I press the button it sounds like it's trying to work, but barely spins if at all and makes a buzzing sound. I've tried hitting it with a hammer to see if it frees up and it made a slightly different sound but still won't work. If the starter motor is bad, do I have to split the case to swap it out? Or could it be a different problem like the starter clutch? The starter solenoid is brand new, so that isn't the problem. And my bike has a Kickstarter, but I've never been able to kickstart it cold, even with the choke on. Could a valve adjustment help it kickstart easier? Thanks

New battery? Valve adjustment should be done anyway.
Steve

Had exactly the same problem years ago - loosen your contact from battery on starter a tiny bit - move it around and try some different angles at connection trying the starter button each time.
Clean contacts from battery to starter with a bit of sandpaper. You dont need to split the cases to replace starter clutch setup - if needed but it is a farking tight fit to get your hands in there through the sump but very do able.. Maybe take the starter out and refit.Make sure it is sitting in solidly.
Put the hammer away in case you get a "boat anchor" one day.
My 2 cents

Well put. :woohoo:
Steve

So how did you go with the starter ??

It turned out to be a battery issue. The bike has a drain somewhere and the battery drained down to 1 Volt. Ive had a lot of strange electrical problems with it lately. Sometimes, it will lose all power as if it blew a fuse, but the fuse will stay intact, and there's small sparks when i pull or reconnect the fuse. I think that has something to do with a short or a problem with the ignition switch. I ended up taking my battery back to the store and they recharged it, because my trickle charger wouldn't even work on it. When I first put in the battery, the connectors kept arcing and the starter motor turned on, all while they key wasn't in the bike. This went away after I connected the terminals, and the bike fired right up shortly after. I guess I still have a few bugs to work out.

Besides the starter not kicking in properly i also had a similar prob to you, maybe 15 years ago - bike kept running with kill switch off and key off after 1 ride (had to disconnect battery to stop it) - did you take your starter switch block off and have a look - give it a good clean inside with something like Deoxit D5 and make sure there is no shit behind starter button. Had crap behind my button and that was my prob anyway - never did it again
Keep checking everything to do with starter circuit - how is your negative earth contact from battery to frame ?

How is it charging?
Steve

If it arcs when you don't have any accessories on, you have a short somewhere. Arcing means it's trying to draw power - if it sparks when you're connecting the battery, the battery will drain if you leave it there.

Everything should have a fuse, and should just blow in the case of a short. The exception to this rule is the starter solenoid, as that needs to handle a very large current. Might be worth checking that none of those wires have worn though and that he starter solenoid is working.

If you don't have any short but it is still sparking and draining the battery, it could be your regulator/recifier. With an alternator these contain a series of diodes to 'rectify' the charging voltage of an alternating current. If the diodes are a bit old and past it, they will leak a bit of current, and you may need a replacement. This applies to generators as well, as something needs to stop the current from running back through the generator when not running.

I put aftermarket bars on it and they caused a few problems originally because I had to run the wires externally. A few of the wires got pinched and it wouldn't start, but I took apart the controls and wrapped the wires, then it was fine. Ive never been very good with wiring, so I had a friend come to take a look and he thought it had to do with the brown wire going into the ignition switch, which I believe powers the dash lights. The bike is charging fine when its running and when my trickle charger is on it, it just wouldn't charge when the battery was completely drained. The main fuse is the one that arcs, and it also heats up when the key is in the on position, but it has never blown. Now the bike seems to be running on three cylinders because the header on cylinder one doesn't heat up as much as the others, but it has spark and compression. I'm planning on pulling the carbs to see if it's a clogged jet or other fueling issue.

JK a lot more to your problem than i thought - i would unravel those handlebar wires for a start and make sure none are exposed and touching and check harness, where you can see and get at it for exposure, breaks or wires melted together - may come down to checking entire harness for a start if you can before testing other components - got work shop manual ? Get yourself familiar with your harness and make sure it is exact model in WSM. A bit to get your head around but you will be happy when you do.
As to the carb check - how was is it actually running before - starting etc ?

I'd disconnect the Reg/Rect and try it with a charged battery. If the same, the battery is suspect.
Steve