Trouble hot starting

Sbikerbud · Post by **Sbikerbud** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:19 am

Hi all.

Need some advice (again).
Got my storm a few months back and the first few trips out i had trouble with it not starting after stopping for petrol, button pressed it would do almost nothing, it would try to turn over but fail miserably (had to get the missus to jump start from her car) the battery was the original so i changed it and cleaned the terminals/leads, the next time i tried to start it the engine was cold and it started so i thought the prob was solved.

Upon my next trip out it happened again and i had to get a nice mechanic to bump it (i am in awe of how he did it), i rode home and checked the charging with a multimeter and it was 14.5 at idle and 14.9 when revved (or something over 14.5 anyway, i forget now) so i considered the charging to be ok.

looking through the forum i spotted the threads on the starter motor cable so checked that and it was corroded on the starter motor itself, so i changed the starter, cleaned and lubed the cable and all seemed well.

UNTIL friday, went for an MOT and the tester had trouble starting it, same thing, sounds as tho it wants to turn over but just can't muster up the strength. A few presses of the button and it started, as though it was easing over compression with each little press before spinning up.

So....as it stands at the moment, new battery (yuasa or however its spelt direct from honda so correct fitment), charging system seems ok, starter motor replaced, starter cable cleaned + lubed and still i'm having trouble starting the damn thing

I'm planning on a scotland trip in a month or two and the thought of it not starting in the middle of nowhere with no mobile signal is giving me sleepless nights (2.18am and counting)

Are these bikes just bad starters? is there something else i should be looking at? would a larger (larger amperage/ cranking amps) battery help? Should i have brought the VFR750FL i was offered for half the price of this bike? does anyone want to buy a lightly used storm off me?

StormingHonda · Post by **StormingHonda** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:30 am

Personally I would check all the earths, but it doesnt sound like an earth problem, but somewhere to start.

edds11 · Post by **edds11** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:41 am

agree with storming, when its cold the compression is not as high so less stress for the starter, when hot up goes compression, up goes stress for the starter, if it the electricary isnt getting back to the battery (proper full circuit) then the starter is weakened which sounds exactly what your saying. Check fuses and holder for corrosion aswell.

StormingHonda · Post by **StormingHonda** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:50 am

also might be worth checking spark plug leads.

lloydie · Post by **lloydie** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:01 am

edds11 wrote:agree with storming, when its cold the compression is not as high so less stress for the starter, when hot up goes compression, up goes stress for the starter, if it the electricary isnt getting back to the battery (proper full circuit) then the starter is weakened which sounds exactly what your saying. Check fuses and holder for corrosion aswell.

i thought compression was grater when cold

.
i would change the starter solenoid .

StormingHonda · Post by **StormingHonda** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:04 am

lloydiecbr wrote:
edds11 wrote:agree with storming, when its cold the compression is not as high so less stress for the starter, when hot up goes compression, up goes stress for the starter, if it the electricary isnt getting back to the battery (proper full circuit) then the starter is weakened which sounds exactly what your saying. Check fuses and holder for corrosion aswell.
i thought compression was grater when cold .
i would change the starter solenoid .

I agree, change starter solenoid, check earths and spark plug leads. inexpensive good places to start.

edds11 · Post by **edds11** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:11 am

colder air helps in 'compression' ( more dense/more oxygen), but mechanically when an engine is cold all the parts have contracted (smaller) therefore larger gaps in all the bits,(piston/bore) therefore not as much compression as when hot

Post by **sirch345** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:32 am

When you go out next time take a jump lead with you and the multi-meter. When it won't start check the battery voltage. When you get it started again also check the charging rate right away. The rate you had before is fine (it should be between 13.5 and 15.5v), but not sure if you checked this right after the problem, or when it was started from cold.

Another thing worth trying is using the jump lead direct from the battery live (+) terminal to the connection on the starter motor, you only need to hold it on the starter motor bolt to turn it over, but beware the clamp can get very hot

Does your bike have a non finned rectifier fitted

No they are not normally bad starters. Compared to the VFR the Storm is a lot easier to work on. Some do fit a larger amp hour battery which does help in starting, especially in the winter, but at this warmer time of the year that shouldn't be a problem.

Chris.

AMCQ46 · Post by **AMCQ46** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:44 pm

.? Mine has just started doing a similar thing! When cold it cranks over and fires no problem, and most times when hot it is ok too, but 2 times today it did similar to your problem.

Press starter button, the LCD part of the clocks goes blank indicating that the voltage is being dragged down low, but the starter isn't doing anything, no clicks, no noise nothing. I turn everything off, cycle the ignition, try again and it cranks and fires!
All the rest of the time the bike cranks fast and healthy.

The rec/reg is finned R6 unit, and the charging voltage checks out. The battery is not that new, but there is no problem starting from cold. I have also checked the starter terminal, and the battery terminals and the are clean and tight, but something else doesn't like getting hot.

Looks like we will have to work through this together!

StormingHonda · Post by **StormingHonda** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:55 pm

Be interesting to find out what the problem is for Future referance, might be good to have a thread with things that go wrong and what the symptons are and causes.

lloydie · Post by **lloydie** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:11 pm

Have you tried some wd40 in the ignition switch it might be worth a try

Sbikerbud · Post by **Sbikerbud** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:31 pm

thank u all for your suggestions, i guess i know what i'll be doing next weekend. Hope yours gets sorted too mate. I'll keep u up to date if find a resolution.

bucklandswifty · Post by **bucklandswifty** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 1:30 pm

I know you don't mention anything about cct's, but when I fitted and over tightened manual cct's the result was exactly as you describe. Do you have manual ccts's?

AMCQ46 · Post by **AMCQ46** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 2:27 pm

bucklandswifty wrote:I know you don't mention anything about cct's, but when I fitted and over tightened manual cct's the result was exactly as you describe. Do you have manual ccts's?

that is a good observation, as to much tension on the chain gets worse when hot, and with no oil in the cam bearings the friction is very high at start up..this is usually accompanied by a screech noise.

I have never see it stop the engine turning before, and as I have autos fitted with stoppers, I know that it is not a problem on mine, but it is something for sbikerbudd to check for.

VTRDark · Post by **VTRDark** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 4:45 pm

I know you don't mention anything about cct's, but when I fitted and over tightened manual cct's the result was exactly as you describe. Do you have manual ccts's?

That thought did occur to me earlier on in the thread. But because there was no mention of squeaching/squeaking I thought not.

Al, did you work out what was going on with your one? I hate trying to solve intermittent problems, it's tedious. But a good buzz when you beat it.

(:-})

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