starting problems?!?

[DaveRJulian]

i have a 96 ZX7R and i thought i had a bad starter because sometimes it would start and sometimes it wouldnt start and just make a clicking sound... the times it wouldnt start i would bang the side of the starter (figuring it had a dead spot) and then most of the time it would start right up... few days ago tried that and it wouldnt start even after banging the starter.. so today i pulled the starter out figuring it was completely dead and once it was out i hooked it up the battery with jumper cables and it spun fast and freely... so now im thinkin i dont have to spend the 80 bucks to get the starter rebuilt but i have no idea why its not starting ... any ideas?

[dirty13south]

Starter relay

[jjfx407]

I was having the same problem with my 99. It turned out to be the starter relay (magnetic switch). Try testing the relay with a light tester. You want to test the small wires on top of the relay. One wire will be constant power, another will be ground and the last one will be switch power (powers on when you hit the starter switch). The two bigger wires are 12v from battery and the other one goes to the starter.