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Starter motor problems

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travis119

travis119

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Well I'm not sure but I think my starter may have gone bad,It started kind of acting weird about a week ago and was kind of sluggish turning over the engine after you rode it for a while and things were hot so I just assumed it may be a battery problem and then yesterday I was out riding getting some things and after I parked it and came out to start it up it would just barely turn over,not enough to start.I found out luckily that you can push start the bike so at least I wasn,t stranded,you just have to put it in a fairly high gear.Anyway,when I got home and tried to start it after I shut it off same problem so I put a battery charger on it and it was still the same,This morning I tried it and it started right up so I'm pretty sure its the starter it does it when it's hot.I'm going to pull the starter today and see what it looks like.After looking around on the internet I saw that Kiwi had this same type of problem on his page.
 
Unfortunately all my magnets came unglued from the starter housing and were stuck to the commutator or armature or whatever you call that.I wonder if a good motor repair shop can fix this because none of the magnets look damaged and I know these starter motors are not cheap.
 

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Or,I was also wondering if anyone out there knows what is used to bond these magnets on in the first place or maybe something else that would work I could probably repair it myself,it's got to be something that can take quite a bit of heat.
 
Jb weld. Lay it on a little thin. Just, for the love of pete, mark the magnets and pay attention when you put them back.

I ruined a flywheel by flipping one magnet on accident when I jb welded them back in place.
 
keep in mind magnets that have been banged around could have a reduced strength. If you can check they all have fairly equal pull before gluing I think that would be a plus. Also, perhaps build a jig for proper placement of them. My .02, YMMV. Good luck!!
 
Thanks you guys I'll go ahead and try to fix it myself because everything still looks good and I think that's all they would do is glue the magnets back on if I took it somewhere.It's pretty easy to see where the magnets go and which way because they have a curve to them.I just wonder how often this happens.
 
Could you give more information. What year is your Bike?
How Many miles?
Did you buy it new?
You are right about the cost of a new starter motor about $485.
I checked EBay, no used ones.
You could contact a shop that rebuilds automotive starters/alternators and they would know what adhesive to use.
I'm going to check with a motorcycle junkyard to find a used starter and keep it on hand.
Let us know if you solved your problem.
 
Ya sure it's a 2007 Suzuki Bandit 1250 and it has about 24,000 miles on it,I bought it used and I think it had about 9,000 miles on it.I was going to use JB Weld which would probably work fine but I did some research on the internet and found out that Loctite has some good glue for bonding magnets so I'm going to try that,I ordered the 325 Loctite and some 7075 activator,I found some pretty good prices on E-bay.Here's a link to a magnet bonding guide I found with a lot of information,I'll let you guys know how it works out but it might be a week or so.It's got to be better than what they glued them on with when they assembled the thing.http://www.henkelna.com/us/content_data/237465_LT4914_with_web_links1486411.pdf
 
I would also get some oak trim or dowels and make wedges to go between the magnets to wedge them in place.

glued in magnets is the cheep way and it has caused problems with the generator rotors also.
 
That's a good idea,It really does look like a pretty flimsy way of assembling things.I guess you could try and drill holes and use some brass screws or something but I think there's to much of a risk of breaking the magnets.
 
Well I just wanted to let you guys know what happened,I got the glue and cleaned everything up and then I checked the which pole each magnet was with a compass so I would put them in correctly and had marked out where the were originally and glued them in using dowels as spacers like focus frenzy said which was a great idea and it worked perfectly.I just made one dumb mistake and I still don't know how because I was pretty careful about marking things out but was a little off and the magnets were just in the path of the screws that hold the two ends of the casing together, that glue is amazingly strong and you can't get the magnets loose now without breaking them,it's really shame because I'm sure it would have worked great.I guess I have about 3 choices now,look for magnets and I don't even know if you can get them,look for a used starter or just buy a new one,
 

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Ya,maybe,I'll sure look first but I think it will be pretty hard to dissolve that stuff,I think that if they would use that at assembly time we wouldn't get these problems.Thanks.
 
Travis119,
sorry to hear about the mounting bolts problem.
mounting bolts, dowels and Loctite for the rest of us to remember.
What was the working & curing time with the glue?
 
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FWIW... The blue locktite I use on an air compressor head bolts does not like heat. They make a special heat tolerant version but it's way expensive and has it's own temp limit, too. What does this have to do with an adhesive? It's just another polymer with similar properties and weaknesses. Have a butane torch?
 
_RG_ said:
FWIW... The blue locktite I use on an air compressor head bolts does not like heat. They make a special heat tolerant version but it's way expensive and has it's own temp limit, too. What does this have to do with an adhesive? It's just another polymer with similar properties and weaknesses. Have a butane torch?
Click to expand...

It should be noted that HEATING MAGNETS REDUCES MAGNETISM!! My .02, YMMV
Gud luk!
 
Thanks,Ya it's ok ,it's just kind of a bummer because everything was perfect until I did that,sometimes those things happen.The curing time for that glue is 3 minutes and it is extremely strong and heat resistant,I have no doubt that if the starter ever failed again it would have been for some other reason so at least we learned something.I had also thought about turning the center and putting it together in another position but it's notched and goes a certain way.I can play around with heat and see what happens,iv'e got nothing to lose.
 
the notch is for timing. the alignment of the magnets to the brushes sets the direction of rotation and the power of the motor.

arg! I didn't click at the time to tell you they had to go back in exactly where they originally were and in the right polarity.
 
Ya,I guess I'm learning more about this,I knew that the magnets had to alternate between North and South because there are 3 of each and I got that right because I checked them with a compass and I marked them But I never thought about them needing to be exactly where they were except for having clearance for the connecting bolts which I was a little off on anyway.
 
I just wanted to give you guys an update on my starter situation,I tried using heat to break the magnets free and found out that's not the answer because for the amount of heat you would need it just makes the magnets shatter and I miss not having my bike so I just broke down and bought one.I got it here because this is the best price I could find with free shipping. http://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d40945f8700230d8b4fc8e/starting-motor I have gotten other parts from him and his prices are pretty good.I'm sure if I would have positioned the magnets right my other starter would have been fine because that glue is amazing,hopefully this won't happen to anyone else but if it does I think they can fix it if their careful.I'm just glad to have my bike back.
 
Update, starter motors are now 517 bucks. I think my new to me 2016 with only 1700 miles needs one.
It acts just like yours Travis, and I have tried two new batt.
 
Bugs said:
Update, starter motors are now 517 bucks. I think my new to me 2016 with only 1700 miles needs one.
It acts just like yours Travis, and I have tried two new batt.
Click to expand...
$388.31 from Ron Ayers

Suzuki OEM Parts, Ron Ayers

Shop our large selection of Suzuki OEM parts, original equipment manufacturer parts and more online or call at 252-758-3084
www.ronayers.com www.ronayers.com
 
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