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Poor old Connie ain't starting.

When I press the starter button, all I get is a single loud click from the starter solenoid and that's it. I called a couple of the local Kawasaki shops and described the situation and they all said it sounded like a duff battery. The battery had drained and was low of fluid, which I topped up with distilled water and placed on a charger, but still no luck. Got a replacement battery today and still no change.

I called the techs again and got some advice, told me to start going over everything starting with the starter button, strip it down and check the connections and all. Then work my way to the starter motor. Means stripping down a lot of plastic and possibly removing the starter motor.

I will also be rechecking the fuses, although they were fine when I first checked them and well strip down the solenoid connections and redo them after cleaning them up a bit, along with all the other lead, wires and connections I can get at.

However, tech did say that the brushes in the starter motor maybe worn out and need replacing. Trouble is, I am not even sure what I am looking for.

Any ideas or hints?

My guess is a guess so....

It sounds like some power is getting to the starting system, but not enough to spin the starter. I would do what the tech said, but start checking at the heavy wires to the starter, and working my way up to the starter button.

Since you are hearing the solenoid clicking, you can eliminate most of the usual suspects such as the starter button & pretty much everything in that line all the way to the starter solenoid.

If you are positive(no pun intended) that the battery is good and fully charged, then its really down to either the starter or the connection from the starter to the battery.

To check the starter, apply battery voltgage directly to the starter motor and see if it spins. If it doesn't, then the starter is no good. If it does spin, then it's either the starter relay switch or a poorly connected starter motor cable. If you hear the starter relay switch clicking when you hit the starter, then it's poor connection.

Thanks for all the advice. Putting off the work until my brother runs over a trouble light and volt meter. Both should help a lot in tracking down the fault. Plus the insurance expires tomorrow, so I am off the road anyways for a bit.

Make sure you pull the ground off the engine and clean all contacts there. Its the first place I'd look.

Pete

Pulled the plastic today, man there are a lot of screws and as an added bonus, found where they hid the radiator reservoir, up front, just under the oil cooler radiator, hidden under a small plastic cover the is a right cow to get at to either under screw or check the levels.

Anyways, looks like it is the starter motor, tried by-passing the solenoid by using jumper cables from the positive terminal of the battery to the positive lead off the the solenoid. All I hear was a very faint whining coming from the starter motor. As soon as baby bro arrives with a trouble light (so I can really see what I am doing), will go over the wiring one more time in detail and then pull the starter motor off and give it a look see.

Called another repair shop as well as I don't want to annoy the same one over and over again, he suggest hooking up the starter motor directly to the battery once it is pulled off and see if it spins.

These are the times when I wish all bikes still came with kick starts. Trying to push start a Concours is a right dogs.

pchast wrote:Make sure you pull the ground off the engine and clean all contacts there. Its the first place I'd look.

Pete

Shall do......once I find the silly thing. Even with the plastic off it a pain in the bum trying to find and get at things.

Yeah sounds like it is... Sorry to hear that bud. You're just not having the best of luck with bikes lately are you? Looks like you need something made in the last decade or so!

Wrider wrote:Yeah sounds like it is... Sorry to hear that bud. You're just not having the best of luck with bikes lately are you? Looks like you need something made in the last decade or so!

I guess one real good thing about the original Concours is that there should be plenty of used parts available as they made the bike for about 879 years without any changes.

HYPERR wrote:

Wrider wrote:Yeah sounds like it is... Sorry to hear that bud. You're just not having the best of luck with bikes lately are you? Looks like you need something made in the last decade or so!

I guess one real good thing about the original Concours is that there should be plenty of used parts available as they made the bike for about 879 years without any changes.

I have nothing to add. Just here for the jokes.