1200 starter having fits...

aebbern

aebbern

Senior member
Location
Calgary, Canada
I'm about half-way through a 4,000 km ride in the US on my 1200.  All is going well except for one bizarre incident.  When coming to a stop after a long part of the ride, my starter motor kicked in and wouldn't shut off.  The ignition was turned off when this happened, and I'm pretty certain that nothing had touched or bumped the starter button. 

Of course by the time I got all my luggage off and the side covers removed to disconnect the battery, the starter had done its job of draining my Odyssey battery.  Spent a while checking all the associated starter wiring and connections - found nothing unusual.  After an hour of this, I buttoned everything back together and it worked fine (amazed that the 9 yr old Odyssey still had enough juice to turn it over). 

If this happens again, what should I be looking for... is it likely the starter relay shorting internally, or the solenoid? 

Thanks,
Andy
 
yep - happened to mine, too. After the 5th time or so knocking on the housing of the relay, it stopped starting the engine...

replaced it 3 years ago, no issue ever since. Make sure it is a real solid relay, capable to deal with lots of Ah

best of luck
 
Thanks for the advice on the relay.  Off to find a moto or auto parts store for a possible replacement.  I did change out my starter relay a few years back, but can't remember what amperage I used for it's replacement.  A contributing factor to its demise might have been the 12" deep flooded roadway that we had to ride through on the first day of the trip.

Other than the starter, the only other issue is my tach thinking I'm on a MotoGP bike... video to be posted soon on Youtube :)

Cheers,
Andy
 
Mine did that about 25 years ago whilst in the middle of a tour through the Dolomites.  Gave it a clout and the contacts seperated.  Happened again twice on that trip, never again since... the very same relay is still on the bike and still works perfectly!

piet
 
Andy,
        A trip across the US from East to West on two wheels is on my "to do" list ( driven the other way on four wheels but not the same) .  Any pics of the trip so far ?

Ally
 
Jotally said:
Any pics of the trip so far ?
Click to expand...
Haven't snapped many photos, but did get a short video of my wonky tach.  This is the 3rd tach to give up the ghost on my bike... not sure what the solution is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sEgNMSWvCU
 
Were all 3 old ones or new?
By now even NOS ones damping can be suspect.

Try getting them rebuilt by a pro.
No problem with mine after buying a NOS one from Wolfgang that also went haywire.
Sent it to Max in Germany, came back perfect.
 
one of the contacts will have come off the end of its operating spring arm, and is lodged between the poles, giving a running starter at all times, since the main cables run from the battery direct to the starter with only the relay to interupt them.This will have been happening as you rode along, although you might not have been aware.

This also occurred years ago on TOG, and I removed the offending original factory item and discovered that it is just a cheapo 75amp Bosch relay, so I raided the local car factor and got a pattern part for a Rover Metro for about the cost of a pint and a half of warm beer, and fitted that under the battery tray.It is rated at 350amps, and has other usefull tags to power anything either with the ignition turned on or off and even a direct tag which is only live when the starter is actually cranking, Rover connected that one to give a voltage boost to the coil for starting.Its been on there for years and years, was cheap and is bomb proof
CLEM
 
aebbern said:
Jotally said:
Any pics of the trip so far ?
Click to expand...
Haven't snapped many photos, but did get a short video of my wonky tach.  This is the 3rd tach to give up the ghost on my bike... not sure what the solution is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sEgNMSWvCU
Click to expand...

Check condition of the drive cable first. (dry, kinked??)

Found ND instruments to be about the most reliable you could find.  But, as they are now approaching their 40th birthday, gremlins can be expected.  Have found worn worm drives in high mileage speedos that have then chewed up the drive in the front wheel.  

Reckon a re-grease of critical internal components while they're still working would increase their life expectancy almost indefinitely!

piet
 
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