Starter selenoid problems TT600RE
 

After having some random starting problems where the bike wouldnt turn over then go back to it ten minutes later then it would or it would work for a couple of weeks then play up again finally packing in altogether I bought a new starter selenoid and it started fine after that. It was only four months ago I bought the new part and hadnt used the bike for pretty much three of them months and the damn thing has gone again and the bike has hardly been used has anybody else had this problem of the selenoids going this often or could something else be the problem or causing the problem ?

I could have an auto electrician have a look at it but the would cost even more money that I havent got and still have to pay £36.00 for a new one. :(

Do you hear a "clic" from somewhere just in front of the battery?

In that case I'd say it's related to the starter relay.
If the starter relay is acting up you should be able to start the bike by shortcircuting the relay.

That's what happened to my XT.

NOTE: I'm not entirely shure its the same with TT's.

Are you SURE it's the relay. Like suggested, there are tests you can do on the relay to see.

Have you got a multimeter ??

It is possible the starter motor is below par, sometime a segment on the rotor goes open circuit and it needs to turn a smidge before it will run. In that condition it takes more power than it should.
However the simplest thing is to ensure all the power feeds from battery to the relay, and to the starter motor plus the earths for the battery and motor are clean and snug. Check also that the battery acid level is correct.

If in doubt try a couple of jumpstarts from a known good battery.

Poor connections anywhere in the starter circuit can lead to arcing in the starter relay making it unreliable by damaging the contacts.

There is no click and the ignition light doesnt even go dim when I press the starter button, the strange thing is I have tried arcing the relay and the bike turns over healthily but doesnt start the bike or even makes it fire, I always thought that method would start the bike ? I checked the connecter block underneath the seat as well as the one plugging into the relay and one terminal under the seat wasnt so clean so I cleaned it but its still the same ??


Well last time I was presuming it was the relay and when I fitted the new one it was fine up until the other day. but they shouldnt be breaking so often so Ive arranged for a good auto electrician to come over next week to check the bike over and for him to have a poke around with that magic powered screwdriver of his that finds faults quite quickly, I'm sure something else maybe the problem or causing the relays not to work properly ? I dont have a multimeter now and wasnt really so good with them anyway.

The battery and the starter motor actually seem fine because I arced the relay last night and the engine spun quickly but didnt start which I thought strange but maybe a clue for the auto electrician ?

Thanks for the replies.

Sounds like you have more problems than just the relay to be honest !!

Let us know what the AE says !

In that case it may be that the bike thinks it is in gear. This will prevent the starter motor from working. Just check out the neutral switch and make sure it isn't shorted or open circuit.

But as Ted says, maybe a whole can of worms, generally speaking though the more mystifying the symptoms the simpler is the fault.

Yeah I'm thinking that myself I didnt want to just pay £36 for another relay only for it to go on me again.
Yes I will deffo post on here what the AE says, he's an old friend of mine and I see him as a bit of a genius with electrics and finds the faults in completly different areas from where I have been looking in the past on my various bikes and classic cars.

Yeah the previous time it happened when it was being random for a few weeks before finally giving up I did investigate the neutral switch ... well I actually broke that plunger thing investigating it but managed to fix it again :) I'm hoping when the AE checks it out it isnt the relay at all maybe some dodgy wire thats causing my problem and hopefully wont need to buy another relay.

hi - dunno how relevant this could be, but on my TT600RE (2003 reg) I had problems with very similar symptoms, twice, a while ago.
once it was electrical: the coil connection was faulty... and another time it was due to carb connectors being loose (therefore some air was entering the carbs).

hope this helps... good luck and keep us posted!

Update :)
 

The Auto Electrician has been and the problem with the starter turned out to be a dodgy connector under the clocks at the front but strangely the bike then never fired when we tried starting it like it never fired when I shorted the selenoid the other day and that turned out again to be a dodgy connector under the seat the same one I spotted and tried to clean up but he squashed the terminals a bit for better connection. Cant believe there was an ignition fault waiting for me too which fortunetly shown itself while the AE was here rather than letting me down when out.


I had an intermittant back light on this when I bought it till I replaced the cheap plastic bulb holder with a metal one and put petroleum jelly on the connector and had no problems since so I am going to pack all the connectors tomorrow with petroleum jelly and hope for the best. I am convinced and have been since buying it four year ago this bike is more low quality Italian than Japanese, I still really like it though :)

I got a spare selenoid now :)