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Starter motor or solenoid?


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Seems like lately it's been one thing after another with my bike.....but I'm learning every time and I guess that's what matters.

A few times recently when starting the bike (97 ZX6R) it would click once or twice and then the starter motor would spin and start the bike. It doesn't do it every time, but it's new and hasn't done it before. I want to get it fixed before it leaves me somewhere stranded. The starter motor new is $400 and the solenoid relay is like $60. Is the solenoid relay the same as the solenoid? Both seem easy enough to fix myself....just need to diagnose what is wrong.

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Seems like lately it's been one thing after another with my bike.....but I'm learning every time and I guess that's what matters.

A few times recently when starting the bike (97 ZX6R) it would click once or twice and then the starter motor would spin and start the bike. It doesn't do it every time, but it's new and hasn't done it before. I want to get it fixed before it leaves me somewhere stranded. The starter motor new is $400 and the solenoid relay is like $60. Is the solenoid relay the same as the solenoid? Both seem easy enough to fix myself....just need to diagnose what is wrong.

When does it seem to do it, is there any pattern? I too would check the battery and connections really good, they can act very strange at times.

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When does it seem to do it, is there any pattern? I too would check the battery and connections really good, they can act very strange at times.

Seems to do it after the bike has been sitting overnight or for the first start of the day. Battery kind of makes sense for that reason now that I think about it.

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Seems to do it after the bike has been sitting overnight or for the first start of the day. Battery kind of makes sense for that reason now that I think about it.

K.I.S.S.....keep it simple stupid to start out with.;)

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Didn't notice it spinning up a bit slower lately? Yeep, check battery condition and connections first. Including the battery ground at the frame. Notorious for corrosion sometimes.

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If it were the battery, would that explain why it seems to lack power above 70 mph for the first 10 minutes after riding? Almost like the battery isn't providing enough spark until the alternator charges it..... Cause that's another symptom, but I thought it was a separate issue.

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i would doubt it, but you never know...bad battery can cause all kinds of issues

what someone told me before that is simple and makes a bunch of sense: don't try to diagnose something else until you fix the problem you absolutely know of.

get a new battery and then if its still acting up, start to diagnose it

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I've had engines cut out at high rpm from poor battery. But that's rather extreme. You should notice a very dim headlight when that happens.

Also a symptom of bad alternator output. But high rpm problems could be a lot of things.

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when you do the volt meter check we want the numbers from it when it it's off just sitting there, what it drops to when you are cranking it and when it is running while reved up to about the grand

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idk how powerful bike alternators are, but with my car, i accidentally pulled off my positive terminal when jumping somebody. it ran fine, idled fine, no symptoms.

i only found out when i turned the motor off, and all the electronics died instantly.

but... on the bike, that's probably not the case.

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but... on the bike, that's probably not the case.

Depends on the bike. Mine quit on me at 70 mph on the freeway because of a bad connection at the battery. Kaw cruisers are famous for cutting out due to bad batteries or connections. Many of them run higher voltage batteries....the charging system feeds the amps but it needs the higher volts from the battery to keep the ECU working correctly.

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Depends on the bike. Mine quit on me at 70 mph on the freeway because of a bad connection at the battery. Kaw cruisers are famous for cutting out due to bad batteries or connections. Many of them run higher voltage batteries....the charging system feeds the amps but it needs the higher volts from the battery to keep the ECU working correctly.

Mine, being carbureted, it doesn't have an ECU. Right? Either I'm going to buy a voltmeter or take the battery to the Honda shop down the road and have them test it. I'll post what I find out.

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Mine, being carbureted, it doesn't have an ECU. Right? Either I'm going to buy a voltmeter or take the battery to the Honda shop down the road and have them test it. I'll post what I find out.

Correct, no ECU for you!! You can probably borrow a volt meter at the local auto parts store. Most of them loan on many of those tools.

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