How to by pass the starter relay??

Morning all,

i am trying to diagnose my starter relay and or starter. When i push the starter button i can hear the relay click but the starter wont turn. SO how do i by pass the starter relay to test if the starter itself??
Forgot to mention this is on a 1977 kz1000a

Post edited by: galaxian, at: 2007/07/25 09:08

Place the tip of a plastic handled screwdriver (preferably one you don't care about) on one of the solenoid terminals, then lower the screwdriver until it touches the other terminal. Be VERY careful to keep anything flammable away from this area, is it WILL shoot sparks! :woohoo:

Just a reminder, be sure you are in neutral when you do it,,,
Ride and wrench safe

The sparks will fly, that's for sure.
I had to comment since it reminded me of when my Jeep wouldn't start and I decided to test the starter. My dad suggested the screwdriver deal and me never having done this crawled under the Jeep, stuck the screwdriver up in there carelessly and holy ****!
You could have warned my dad!
The smile on his face after my reaction told me that I was set up.
Good Luck.

Guys so basically i want to lay the metal part of the screw driver across both terminals to make a path to the starter right??? Once i do will the starter activate automatically provided it works or will i need to push the starter button?? Now do i need to have ignition on or will the power be picked up from the battery thru the screw driver and to the starter??

Post edited by: galaxian, at: 2007/07/25 09:34

You got it right. You don't have to push the starter button and you don't have to have ignition on unless you want the bike to start.
Make sure the bike is in neutral.
You can also use a high amp battery charger to test the starter. Just connect the red clip to the starter where the cable from the solenoid and ground the black clip to the frame and flip it on for a moment.

A quicker test to see if the solenoid is actually working, use a test light, connect clip to ground, hold the light on the wire going to the starter, try to start it and see if the light lights, if it doesn't the solenoid is bad, if the does the wiring to the starter or the starter itself isn't doing its job. Have you checked all of the connections for the starte? Cables on battery, ground connection to the engine and frame, cables on the solenoid for corrosion and tightness.

Yeah, i check all of the connections but perhpaps i will revist them tonight. I will also check the relay and starter. Guys Thanks for all of the advice!!

Also, if your relay is shot (which has only been the problem for me a couple of times) you don't have to buy and expensive aftermarket relay or search on eBay hoping to find one that works.And relay with the same pin count and the same rating will do the job fine and usually for less money.

I have a small box of relays that I have used from Guzzi to Yamaha.

Well i did the whole screw driver across the relay thing. And i now need a new starter it looks like. The sparks did fly but the starter was dead. So how do i remove the starter now??

There are three connections on a solenoid. One where the battery connects. Another where the starter connects. Another where the trigger wire that closes the solenoid is soldered. You bypassed the trigger by using the screwdriver and didn't get the starter to turn. The starter MAY be bad. The way the starter is connected is that the hot is connected via the larger cable from the solenoid. The ground is through the case on the starter body. To remove the starter, you need to take the starter cover off... there are two 6mm bolts holding the cover in place. Remove them and the cover. It is far easier to remove the countershaft sprocket cover at this point which might require removing the shift lever and footpeg... not sure if this is necessary on your model but it often is. Note you can see the connecting cable at this point. You can probably also remove the stator cover. There is some oil in there so put a pan under it and do this on center stand. You can pull the starter away from the bike and pull out the starter clutch at this point. Once you have disengaged the starter shaft from the big gear on the crank (under the stator), the starter just lifts out. Note the cable is conencted on the bottom. I would retest the starter while holding the body against the frame or engine cases to ensure it wasn't just a ground issue that caused the starter to not work.

There are brushes inside the starter that can normally be replaced or you can buy another starter and just plug it in...

Excellent info thanks!! I will recheck the starter like you said.