starter button problems

[oldyam80sg]

I bought a new starter button on E-bay for my SG.Button went in no problem but now i go to start the bike today and doesn't want to start.Didn't do it before i replaced the button.Took housing off bike and cleaned area out and used some dielectric grease to lightly coat connections-still no change.Bike cranks slowly then shut it off and back on and hold button in and it will start.Everything inside housing looks new and no corrosion.Any ideas?Took side cover off and looked at connectors behind fuse block everything looks good.

[DGXSER]

First question perhaps is does the starter work fine if you jump across the solenoid, which is beside the fuse box under the right hand side cover on my SH.

Starter button only completes the ground of the curcuit. You culd try pulling the connector off the starter button and jumping from the blue-white (on my SH anyway) wire to ground. If it clears up the issue, then the button is still your problem. If not, then you may have a loose or dirty connector back at the solenoid?

[oldyam80sg]

Checked solenoid for corrosion - nothing as i had packed it a while ago with dielectric grease.

[DGXSER]

Sorry Yam, I think I edited while you were replying to add the first question. And what I menat there is if you jump the high side of the solenoid to eliminate the solenoid and the switches.

[oldyam80sg]

will try that.

[John]

Did you loosen/remove the ground wire for the switch assembly? It is a black wire. I think it should have been on the screw that holds the little clamp that holds the wires in place inside the switch housing.

[oldyam80sg]

Took it off to clean it and put it back on.It is tight.

[TopCatGr58]

I believe it was Randy, but might have been Geezer,

But dielectric grease is NOT a conductor, it's a sealant in that it repels water, and so helps prevent atmospheric corrosion from getting to connections ONCE those connections are put together, metal to metal.

But putting it on the metal parts BEFORE they are put together, or require to make intermittent contact, like a temporary push button, that it might actually cause a reduction in current flow thru the contact point IF the grease is there, or gets in between the metal contact points!

SO this is why I would be concerned about "packing" the solenoid, as well as slathering too much around the starter button contacts.

At one XS East rally Randy provided some different "stuff", copper inpregnated "grease", that is designed to actually enhance the conductivity of connections, but can cause "shorts" or unwanted conductivity IF it gets between wires that you want to keep separate.
T.C.

[oldyam80sg]

OK TC-i will take apart switch and clean and put together again minus grease.

[randy]

TC beat me to it, AGAIN! He's right, de-grease that button! First time I read your post I thought you wrote that you packed the solenoid with dielectric grease That would have been very bad, too.

dielectric
1. a substance or medium that can sustain a static electric field within it
2. a substance or body of very low electrical conductivity; insulator

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

[oldyam80sg]

Ok i did as TC and Randy told me i cleaned out the starter button area with electric cleaner and went through several points of interest in finding out why when i pushed the starter button it did not start.Found a kinked wire that connects to the starter solenoid.I fixed that problem and still had problems starting.Took button apart several more times and still no good.Took a multimeter and checked battery voltage.Low-10.50 volts.Put it on charger and had it on several minutes and started bike still no good.Finally got bike started and took a voltage reading-11.35 volts.When i turn throttle to 4000 rpms still battery voltage was 11.50 volts nothing higher.Shouldn't this have gone up?If a cell was dead would this cause a charging problem?I suspect the battery has lost a cell so i priced batteries at Walmart -$45.00.Rectifier is new,connections behind fuse block are not corroded,and the tach works.

[bikerphil]

Check your grounds. Cable between middle drive unit + frame, neg. battery cable to frame, & at the voltage regulator. Could be dirty or loose.

[bikerphil]

Oh, and a good battery is needed for the charging system to operate properly (unlike a car). Give your's a good charge and see if it'll hold over 12V. If it's questionable, replace it. Those Wal Mart batteries are ok for the money. They last me about 2-3 years.

[oldyam80sg]

Battery has been on charger since 6pm and has a green light that blinks when it is 80% charged.No light and it has been on for 2 hours.Checked all grounds-battery was only cranking at 10.5 volts.When it was running battery voltage was only 11.35 volts.Shouldn't this have gone up?

[bikerphil]

If the battery reads less than about 12.3V after sitting overnite after a full charge, then it's no good. The alternator should be working since you said the tach is working. Where did you get this new reg/rectifier? If it's a used one and the condition is unknown, there is a simple test to see if it's at fault.