TOPIC:

No, your battery negative goes to the motor. Make sure all connections and the wire itself are sound. The starter grounds to the motor through its housing. When you say you bench tested it did you ground the chassis and apply battery 12v to the terminal and have a secure hold on that torquey little sumbitch?

I'm dealing with the same issue on a 2003 Subaru Rattletrap. The things got more grounds than I have fingers. I hate these cars.

With a passion

Yep. I bench tested that lil bastard with the negative on the starter body and my shoe securing the whole thing. The output shaft spun.

When you say "it has more grounds than fingers", what do you mean? My understanding is that the entire electrical system is grounded to the engine/frame. How can there be multiple grounds? When I observed zero ohms between the starter body and negative battery post, I would assume this indicates a well functioning grounding of the starter motor.

The resistance between starter body and positive terminal was 10 mega-ohms, which seems reasonable given the resistance of the starter motor.

Sorry, didn't mean to confuse the issue, was referring to the car. Has the bike started at all since this problem?

Also, have you checked the battery to engine wire and connection?

Sometimes corrosion will eat at the wire itself and will increase the resistance.

I do need to give the wiring a thorough examination. I'll also search for a replacement starter.

I get that sense from perusing this forum that other folks with kz440s have had this issue, but never is a definitive diagnosis given. I'll post any progress. I'm hoping there is a way to fix aside from buying another starter that will also crap out eventually.

Fingers crossed. It would be a bummer to throw in the towel on this bike over a bad starter.

That will be the easiest wire you'll check. It's the negative side of the battery to the engine. Take it off, check the connections a nd the wire itself. Copper wires take on a whole new color of they are toast. I'll post a few pics tomorrow.

Way overdue for a concluding post here, but better late than never.

When I originally "overhauled" the starter, I didn't replace the brush assembly because I was concerned about the fitment of an aftermarket part. Also, the starter motor bench tested fine.

I eventually did replace the brush assembly, and it has worked great ever since. I'm not sure why the starter would consistently work fine with bench tests, but then fail to work under operating conditions. I suppose the lesson here is that it is best to be thorough when overhauling, as part failure may not be apparent from testing.

You should do a voltage drop test on the wires to the starter.