cb 350 starter motor

[stu]

hey guys, i was hoping for some help with this.

i have run wires from a battery to the connection and the body of my starter motor and it turns fine.
when the starter is bolted up to the engine it wont turn the engine.

i have tried the following:
using an alternative starter
when the starter chain is removed the starter spins when connected to a battery
checked the brushes for tolerance specs.
cleaned the commutator.
the drive chain is removed.
tried connecting the starter and turning the alternator bolt to aid the starter.

the engine turns when i use the kick start.
i'm not sure about finding neutral but i have no drive train.

i feel like the starter isn't strong enough to turn the engine but i've read there's not much that can go wrong with them.

this bike hasn't been running in a long time, 10 years perhaps.

any help will be much appreciated.

thanks

 

[Big R]

When you said "no drive train" did you mean no transmission (I hope not) or no chain / sprockets? Also, what bike is it?

You will have to find neutral - push the shifter down repeatedly while spinning the front sprocket shaft by hand. Once you find 1st, pull the shifter up a little bit until the shaft spins freely.

Hope this helps!

 

[stu]

by no drive train i meant chain. ha ha.

thanks for the info on neutral.

the bike is a 1970 cb350. at least the engine is. i can't find a frame number. i know it should be on the stem.

thanks.

 

[Big R]

I'm not familiar with the 350 wiring (obviously) but double check the ignition switch and kill switch. And just curious, are you using the starter button while it's attached to the motor or jumping the wires? I doubt you are using the button but just wanted to double check.

Isn't there some way to actually check the power output of the starter? I only have a kickstart in case you haven't figured.

 

[Staffy]

Just another thought. What's the output of the battery and what voltage is it holding. It might have enough power to turn your starter freely but when it's under load there's not enough cranking amps to get ya going. Have you got a multimeter? Test your battery.

 

[stu]

i'm wiring directly from a deep cycle 4wd battery, freshly charged to the starter.

i'm only using light weight two core, stereo speaker wires tho.

i'm gunna give my jump leads a try.

 

[Staffy]

Yerp. Try that. If no luck that's me bailing out as i'm fresh outa ideas.

 

[rockcitycafe]

definitely check the voltage, if it's under 12.5 then there's a good chance the motor won't turn the engine

try taking the plugs out and cranking it over too, this will make turning the engine over easier, it's a good way to check if the starter clutch is gone

lastly, there's a lot of things that can go wrong with the 350 starter motor, it's a horrible design imho, the positive lead bolt is attached to a thin copper strip running back to the brushes, about .01" away from the rotor! I rebuilt two of these in hopes of getting a working one, both had that lead snapped and jamming the rotor...

 

[Wee Todd]

Starter motor issues,,,,,,really ;D I have two of them attached to rollers and a ford solenoid and light switch,,,,,and they spin the rear wheel on my 350 in third gear.........and starts its :..............because I don't have an electric start,,,or a kick start :-[

 

[Rocan]

Starter motor issues,,,,,,really ;D I have two of them attached to rollers and a ford solenoid and light switch,,,,,and they spin the rear wheel on my 350 in third gear.........and starts its :..............because I don't have an electric start,,,or a kick start :-[

bump start only bike?

 

[mixmaster]

Come on, speakers wires as jumper cables. They would not carry enough power to start a Cox .049. Use a real set of jumpers and that may do the trick. Also check all the grounds, battery volts standing and cranking the engine.(have you put some oil in the cyclinders??if so how much?) Good luck.

 

[stu]

i didn't get to the bike today.

i haven't put any oil in the cylinders. what sort? engine oil? how much should i put in?

i'll take the plugs out and try the jump leads tomorrow.

i'm prob gunna run kick start only eventually but i'd like the luxury of a starter while i get the bike running and tuned. nearly nothing was connected on the bike and it's gunna take me a while to sort out points, coils, carbs and tuning.

thanks for your thoughts guys.

 

[Big R]

More specifically - motorcycle engine oil. Doesn't need a lot, just enough to wet the rings / cylinder walls.

 

[djelliott]

Did you check to see if the little weights in the starter clutch behind the flywheel/magneto weren't binding?

 

[stu]

i,ve internet baron for a few days.

i very briefly tried jump leads but nothing happened.

is there an art to getting the flywheel/magneto (is that the alternator?) off. how do you stop it from spinning?

i'll be doing some exploration on sunday.

many heads are better than one.

thanks.

 

[djelliott]

i,ve internet baron for a few days.

i very briefly tried jump leads but nothing happened.

is there an art to getting the flywheel/magneto (is that the alternator?) off. how do you stop it from spinning?

i'll be doing some exploration on sunday.

many heads are better than one.

thanks.

You need a puller and an impact wrench. I made a puller out of an old Volvo motor mount bolt. I forget the actual size, but I can find out for you when I get home or you can get one of these.

http://powersport-superstore-inc.amazonwebstore.com/BikeMaster-FLYWHEEL-PULLER-10MM-150612MP10/M/B0012TWQCI.htm

 

[stu]

i've managed to get the starter motor to turn the motor but only with the plugs out and it's quite weak.

will changing the brushes make the starter motor stronger?

thanks.

 

[djelliott]

i've managed to get the starter motor to turn the motor but only with the plugs out and it's quite weak.

will changing the brushes make the starter motor stronger?

thanks.

Have you checked to see if your solenoid is OK?

 

[stu]

the solenoid is the barrel looking thing next to the battery?

it wasn't working but i pulled it apart and cleaned out some corrosion and now it does.

i've been moving forward the last few days with my electrics but no progress on the starter. i'm going to try and find some new brushes. then i can rule out the need to replace them.

any one have an idea where i'll find some for a CB 350 in Melbourne? maybe Oz?

i need a headlight globe too. why did honda use such a weird shape?

 

[interceptor]

The only way to really check your battery is with a load tester. You can check it all day long with a multimeter and have 12 volts, but if you can't carry a load (no amps), thats no good.
Get a new battery, clean terminals, and you should be good to go. My starter grounds out to the engine when it's bolted to it. Make sure you don't have paint or crap to stop it from grounding.
I had a bad battery hooked up to mine just last week, put a charger on it, went to crank mode and still had a weak starter. Put a new battery in, and it started right up. Hope this helps.