Help me finish this year long rebuild, huge starting issue!

[tycrazyjohn]

Well I've got a little bit of an update. I've been cleaning all my connectors on the bike, then one of the battery cable ends was corroded pretty good so it got cleaned. Then the end on the other battery cable broke off so I'm remaking it. Also I disassembled the starter motor and a mountain of carbon dust fell out, so I went ahead an ordered the rebuild kit for it. However I watched the starter clutch fail with my own eyes so I'm pretty sure it's still to blame. I got the rotor bolt off (with a nice long cheater pipe) and I bought a bolt to use as a rotor puller. I hope it's the right size, if it is it was 1/3 of the price of an actual puller. If it does work then this weekend my plan is to pull the flywheel off and disassemble the starter clutch and see what I find. Some where online I found an article about a guy who took the long spring out of his failing starter clutch, cut it a bit shorter and re used it and that solved his problem. Anyone else heard of this?

[John Hopkins]

Originally Posted by tycrazyjohn

I found an article about a guy who took the long spring out of his failing starter clutch, cut it a bit shorter and re used it and that solved his problem. Anyone else heard of this?

It sounds wrong to me I think you are talking about a compression spring and he is talking about a tension spring..

A compression spring is used to push and a tension spring is used to pull..

John.

[tycrazyjohn]

Okay I really need some help again :/ The bolt I bought to use as a rotor puller worked perfectly, so I was able to examine my starter clutch finally. Trouble is, I can't find anything wrong. So here's where I'm at:

1.) Starter motor would spin, however the engine would only catch intermittently, so this lead me to the starter clutch.
2.) Starter clutch appears to be fine, spring is intact and seems to have good tension.
3.) I started looking at the other components around the clutch.
a.) The needle bearing under the starter driven gear works fine
b.) The starter driven gear itself is not worn and there are no missing teeth
c.) I attempted to measure the diameter of the outer piece of the starter clutch. This is where i'm kind of unsure, the standard measurement is supposed to be between "74.414mm" and "74.440" and the service limit is 74.50mm. My caliper read what looked like 75mm, but my caliper isn't accurate enough to pick up that small of difference, so it may still be fine.

I really need some advice on what to do next. Honda doesn't manufacture either the starter clutch inner or outer, so I'd have to buy a used set. There are a couple of auctions on eBay that have the entire rotor and clutch assembly for about $45, so I'm thinking about ordering one and seeing if that would work. Anyone have any suggestions? Am I missing something or am I going to have to start throwing parts at it until I find what's wrong?

[ernie12b]

since you have it open it would make sense to replace the rollers and springs in the starter clutch. then the rebuilt starter and new bat cable will most likely work.

[tycrazyjohn]

I'm just worried that any used set I buy will just be wore out like mine. I wish they still made the starter clutch for this model :/

[Bladerunner]

'86 vt700 here...
Mine had issues with the starter relay cutting in and out, may not be your problem, but might be another thing to look at when back together. I was able to jump across the bolts on the relay, and make it work for now. (ebay had one for 17 bux). BTW be VERY careful about charging the battery on your bike, the PO of mine did that, and fried the stator and regulator (that's one reason I got the bike for $500) I always remove and charge off bike.(2 amps max), might be able to take more, but I don't want to chance it.

[tycrazyjohn]

It might be giving me my new problem, I'm not sure if I rebuilt the starter wrong or I messed up wiring somewhere, but now when I go to start it I get one click from the solenoid and then nothing. I've got a lot of testing to do on it, but do you have any advice on how to easily get the rubber covers off the ends of the wires to jump the post?

Good point on the charging, I've never charged it while it's connected to the bike, it's not worth the risk. Especially with this old T-Battery


Sent from my iPhone using MO Free

[Bladerunner]

also was going to comment and forgot..considering the lack of mileage on the bike, it seems unlikely that the starter clutch is your problem, although it may be possible. I would lean more towards starter motor being misaligned, that being said, you seem to be approaching it from the right angle (measuring parts, examining for wear, misalignment etc. I couldn't hear the clunk you were talking about in the video, but clunks are bad! especially after teardown/rebuild... it usually means something didn't get tightened right, and massive damage can be happening. I could hear a tapping as the motor ran a bit, which may be valves, but really hard to diagnose from video.

[Bladerunner]

I just pulled them back, till I could see them plainly, had to pull relay up out of boot to hit them easier.. careful not to hit frame...what you are describing is what mine did before it did nothing. just hit for a second, then nothing. considering the corrosion you mentioned, this seems likely to be the case with yours as well.don't run the starter for extended periods, they are fragile and don't like it, if anything gets hot, check for something touching ground that shouldn't be. or it may need a rest.

[tycrazyjohn]

Hey again, I hope I can still get some help! I'm not sure if I need to post this in a new thread, let me know if that would be best. I finally got to do a bunch of work on the bike this past weekend...Turns out my starter and solenoid work fine, I just didn't have it hooked up right I ended up ordering a starter clutch set off eBay, and with a brand new battery cable it starts like it's brand new. (minus the extra convincing I had to give it the first time). The bike idles and revs, but I've still got some work before I can road-test it. My biggest issue is with the infamous three yellow wire stator connectors. Mine were shot when I got the bike, I disconnected them to pull the engine out and haven't needed to fix them until now. When I started the bike they were definitely getting power, they started smoking and heating up right away so hopefully my stator is still good. I know the best thing to do is solder them and be done with it, but where I'm working I don't have an outlet to plug in my soldering iron and I also would like to put new connectors on them for now since it'll probably have to come apart again soon. I've searched the other threads about this, but I can't find the one answer I need. I'm going to need to add some length to the wires before I can add connectors, and I need to know what gauge of wire to use. Also, does it matter what type of wire I use?