Cali rider
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2007
- Messages
- 1,328
- Reaction score
- 51
- Points
- 48
- Location
- Buena Park, California
Just thought I'd pass along an issue I had to deal with yesterday that might occur to someone else in the future.
As I went to start the FZ, the starter motor turned at a slower rate than usual, and the engine would not fire. I thought about the usual problems associated with this symptom and proceeded to:
- Check battery connections: OK
- Check battery voltage: 12.7V, down to 11.9 when cranking. OK, but I put it on the charger anyway as I looked for other issues.
- Checked fuses for Main, ignition, fuel injection: OK
- Checked ground connection on engine block: OK, no corrosion.
- Reconnected battery and jumped direct from battery to starter motor lead: Still sluggish speed.
At this point, I hooked up another battery to isolate it to either the battery or the starter motor. With another 12V battery it was still sluggish, just not enough to get it to fire. So....on to the starter motor. Removal is relatively easy, although you must remove the airbox and throttle bodies to get it out. Two screws, one lead from the starter relay and it's in my hands. Nothing obvious at this point so over to the bench to disassemble. Pulled the brush assembly and each brush, dressed them and reinstalled. Cleaned the commutator, lubed the rear bearing and put it back together. At this point I mounted the starter in a vise and hooked directly to a battery. Instant startup, low voltage drop and no heat told me that the motor was good.
I reinstalled the starter motor on the engine, put everything else back together, connected the battery and hit the starter. It spun up at normal speed and the engine came to life, idled away like nothing ever happened.
Conclusion to a long story: I'm not sure what I did to fix the problem!! It was either:
- A poor connection between the starter motor body and the engine block (No separate ground lead, it relies on mechanical contact between the two components)
-Or-
- One or both brushes were making poor contact with the commutator, although everything looked fine and the brushes have plenty of life left.
That is all, now back to regular programming..
As I went to start the FZ, the starter motor turned at a slower rate than usual, and the engine would not fire. I thought about the usual problems associated with this symptom and proceeded to:
- Check battery connections: OK
- Check battery voltage: 12.7V, down to 11.9 when cranking. OK, but I put it on the charger anyway as I looked for other issues.
- Checked fuses for Main, ignition, fuel injection: OK
- Checked ground connection on engine block: OK, no corrosion.
- Reconnected battery and jumped direct from battery to starter motor lead: Still sluggish speed.
At this point, I hooked up another battery to isolate it to either the battery or the starter motor. With another 12V battery it was still sluggish, just not enough to get it to fire. So....on to the starter motor. Removal is relatively easy, although you must remove the airbox and throttle bodies to get it out. Two screws, one lead from the starter relay and it's in my hands. Nothing obvious at this point so over to the bench to disassemble. Pulled the brush assembly and each brush, dressed them and reinstalled. Cleaned the commutator, lubed the rear bearing and put it back together. At this point I mounted the starter in a vise and hooked directly to a battery. Instant startup, low voltage drop and no heat told me that the motor was good.
I reinstalled the starter motor on the engine, put everything else back together, connected the battery and hit the starter. It spun up at normal speed and the engine came to life, idled away like nothing ever happened.
Conclusion to a long story: I'm not sure what I did to fix the problem!! It was either:
- A poor connection between the starter motor body and the engine block (No separate ground lead, it relies on mechanical contact between the two components)
-Or-
- One or both brushes were making poor contact with the commutator, although everything looked fine and the brushes have plenty of life left.
That is all, now back to regular programming..
