starter button issues

[madmax-im]

Old Swampgirl is getting a little grumpy of late...seems that if she is cold she'll start right up with no glitches...ride it somewhere and turn it off and upon restarting it the switch is dead unless I push it multiple times or try to pressure the switch slightyly off center...it then will engage the starter and start...but several times it has done this now...I'm fairly certain its dirty in ther and want to take it apart...a search for tech tips here did not yield any results...so before i just take it apart...what tips are there...do's dont's...? TIA

[phatts27]

Be careful removing the start button assembly from the housing that you don't dislodge the solders. It was easiest for me to remove the little brackets that keep the wires inline. There's not much wiggle room if you don't take off the screwed in tabs.

[3Phase]

Soak the entire assembly in Evapo-Rust.

Motoman and I did that for the right-hand control on his '81 Venturer and it not only removed the dirt and rust from all of the small parts without the tedious and meticulous cleaning, it cleaned up the colors too.

The control wasn't too seriously sun-baked but it was totally obvious that the Evapo-Rust removed the oxidation from the surfaces of the red and black plastics used for the kill switch lever and from the black paint on the housing. Neither one of us really understand why it worked because the paint and the plastic don't have any iron in them.

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[madmax-im]

Soak the entire assembly in Evapo-Rust.

Motoman and I did that for the right-hand control on his '81 Venturer and it not only removed the dirt and rust from all of the small parts without the tedious and meticulous cleaning, it cleaned up the colors too.

The control wasn't too seriously sun-baked but it was totally obvious that the Evapo-Rust removed the oxidation from the surfaces of the red and black plastics used for the kill switch lever and from the black paint on the housing. Neither one of us really understand why it worked because the paint and the plastic don't have any iron in them.

.

so that means i dont need to dis-assemble it internally,just remove it from the handle bars....how long did it soak?

[3Phase]

No, you don't have to take anything apart. Use some brake cleaner or your own favorite degreaser on the kill switch and start button parts to get rid of any old white grease that might still be in there from the factory, then just drop it in the Evapo-Rust.

Use the wires on the control to dunk it like a tea bag so fresh(er) solution will reach the rust and it won't take too long to get rid of the rust. Rinse out the assembly until no more black gunk that used to be rust will come out of it, then spray some new white grease in the kill switch and start button.

Motoman's control was soaked overnight but that was because we were doing other stuff to the bikes at the time and neither one of us wanted to fool with it at the time. I haven't tried it on my own controls yet so don't know how long it takes to clean the paint and the plastic parts but it's on the list of stuff I need to do when I get off my tail and get back to work on Columbo.

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[BA80]

I was having the same sort of issue with mine a while back and I thought it was the start button also. Turned out to be an issue with the starter solenoid.

[madmax-im]

No, you don't have to take anything apart. Use some brake cleaner or your own favorite degreaser on the kill switch and start button parts to get rid of any old white grease that might still be in there from the factory, then just drop it in the Evapo-Rust.

Use the wires on the control to dunk it like a tea bag so fresh(er) solution will reach the rust and it won't take too long to get rid of the rust. ,Rinse out the assembly until no more black gunk that used to be rust will come out of it then spray some new white grease in the kill switch and start button.
Motoman's control was soaked overnight but that was because we were doing other stuff to the bikes at the time and neither one of us wanted to fool with it at the time. I haven't tried it on my own controls yet so don't know how long it takes to clean the paint and the plastic parts but it's on the list of stuff I need to do when I get off my tail and get back to work on Columbo.

.

rinse with what? Spray white grease?

[madmax-im]

I was having the same sort of issue with mine a while back and I thought it was the start button also. Turned out to be an issue with the starter solenoid.

Hopefully it isnt that...first things first though

[3Phase]

I had a picture of the bad Start solenoid on Columbo that caused a maddening erratic start problem too. I can look for it if you want but one of the wires had broken off inside the solenoid at the solder joint and the broken wire made intermittent contact with the solder blob. It gradually arced a pit in the solder until it quit working because the pit got too deep and the wire couldn't touch the solder any more.


Have you ever worked with Evapo-Rust or any of the other brands that are pretty much all the same formula made under license? It's water soluble and you have to rinse it off, preferably with soap and warm water or it will leave a slight residue along with some black gunk that used to be rust but is now encapsulated iron trapped by the Evapo-Rust.

After you rinse the gunk out of the kill switch and Start button you can take everything apart, inspect and clean it some more or just dab some white grease on the moving parts by hand, then put it back together but you don't really need to do that.

White lithium grease comes in a can with a straw like WD-40 so before you put the control back on the handlebar just spray some grease into the kill switch and Start button parts inside the control housing. Don't spray too much grease or it'll make a sticky mess.

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[BA80]

Hopefully it isnt that...first things first though

Solenoid is a lot easier to swap out than screwing with that button.

[madmax-im]

pretty sure the solenoid is only 3 years old...but gotta ask Randy 'bout that...he did have starter issues a while back...

[madmax-im]

I had a picture of the bad Start solenoid on Columbo that caused a maddening erratic start problem too. I can look for it if you want but one of the wires had broken off inside the solenoid at the solder joint and the broken wire made intermittent contact with the solder blob. It gradually arced a pit in the solder until it quit working because the pit got too deep and the wire couldn't touch the solder any more.


Have you ever worked with Evapo-Rust or any of the other brands that are pretty much all the same formula made under license? It's water soluble and you have to rinse it off, preferably with soap and warm water or it will leave a slight residue along with some black gunk that used to be rust but is now encapsulated iron trapped by the Evapo-Rust.

After you rinse the gunk out of the kill switch and Start button you can take everything apart, inspect and clean it some more or just dab some white grease on the moving parts by hand, then put it back together but you don't really need to do that.

White lithium grease comes in a can with a straw like WD-40 so before you put the control back on the handlebar just spray some grease into the kill switch and Start button parts inside the control housing. Don't spray too much grease or it'll make a sticky mess.

.

alright... Thanks Scott....never used evapo-rust...seems to me that using water to rinse out the other stuff is counter productive to preventing further rust? I guess some compressed air would be a good way to dry the internals..no?

[3Phase]

alright... Thanks Scott....never used evapo-rust...seems to me that using water to rinse out the other stuff is counter productive to preventing further rust? I guess some compressed air would be a good way to dry the internals..no?

The control works in the rain, a little water to rinse out the Evapo-Rust and the gunk isn't going to hurt it.

You can let it air dry or use compressed air if you want to put it back together and go ride. The Start button spring might get a little flash rust but nothing serious before it gets greased.

.

[BowlingSS]

Where do you get Evapo-Rust? I have never used it.

Bill

[MPittma100]

Rust Remover

Where do you get Evapo-Rust? I have never used it.

Bill

There are two brands that have equal ability to remove rust to consider. Available at Amazon and most auto parts stores.

http://www.amazon.com/Workshop-Hero-...s=rust+remover

http://www.amazon.com/Evapo-Rust-ER0...s=rust+remover