[Fred600]

Hi guys iv had my zx7r off the road for four months as I was servicing and refurbishing her. Went to start her today and all I got was a clicking from the starter relay. I tried the old screwdriver across the relay terminals rick and nothing just clicking. I'm thinking it's the starter motor but before I tackle that is there anything else I should check first cheers. Forgot to mention it's a new battery fully charged.

 

[KevA]

If you 100% sure the Battery is good ? As Fully charged doesn't mean it has enough juice under load to turn the Motor.
Have you got a Multi Meter ?
If so select 20v DC on the Meter and hold the Probes onto the Battery terminals
Red Meter Lead to +
Black Meter Lead to -
3 Readings we're after:-

1. Battery Voltage with Ignition off.
2. Battery Voltage with Ignition on.
3. Battery Voltage when you press the Start Button.

Post results.

 

[Fred600]

14.36 ignition off
13.82 ignition on
13.61 start button on

 

[KevA]

Thanks that looks like the the Starter isn't drawing any current.
Last check:-
Meter on 20V DC again.
Black Probe on Battery -
Red Probe on Starter Motor side of Starter Solenoid (The lead that goes to the starter Motor)
Post reading when you press start button with Ignition on.

 

[Fred600]

It reads 0.01 volts with the starter pressed

 

[KevA]

OK
Not last check lol
Ignition off.
Meter set to 20vdc
Black Probe Battery -
Red Probe to Battery lead side of the Starter Solenoid (The lead that comes from the Battery and connects to the Solenoid)
Post reading.
Then Ignition on.
Leave Black probe on Battery.
Red probe on the Yellow/Red Wire that goes into the Starter Solenoid, Press Starter Button and post reading.

 

[Fred600]

12.67 ignition off
6.13 starter button on.

 

[Blainethemono]

Starter solenoids are cheap. Buy one to test. if you cannot arc it to spin the starter, it may be a stuck or burned out

 

[Fred600]

I can hear the solenoid clicking so I am assuming it's good although fir the sake if a couple of quid I might stick a new one in to see if it works.

 

[lilbludvl]

The internal plate and contacts of the solenoid may be corroded. I've pulled a few apart and managed to clean the contacts and that worked. Depending on cost of solenoid, either replace it or try cleaning the internal contacts. Another thing to test/try is to see if you can nudge/spin the starters shaft just a bit to get it onto other contacts of the commutator. Could be worn brushes and or commutator. If you get to this point you can pull the starter apart and lightly sand the brushes and possibly the commutator to clear off any gunk that has settled on the contact edges.

 

[Fred600]

Thanks for the reply yes I think the next thing to do is pull the starter motor and have a look at it. I. I was hoping it was only the relay as its a bit of a faff to get the starter motor out.

 

[Fred600]

Iv been doing a bit of research on the forum and iv noticed a lot of starting issues were caused by the clutch switch I'm going to check mine to see if it's working properly. Iv heard you can bypass it using a paperclip or a piece of wire.anyone know how to do that ?

 

[lilbludvl]

Not sure which one of these would be accurate for your bike, but it looks like it's a yellow wire with a green chaser that goes to the clutch switch. It looks like it connects to ground when you pull the clutch in. Not sure if this will help if you're in neutral. It should bypass that switch while the bike is in neutral. Here are the schematics that I could find:
https://i2.wp.com/www.cmelectronica.com.ar/wiring-diagram/imagenes/kawasaki-zxr750j_l.jpg (bottom middle is where the switch is)
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d3/2d/d8/d32dd83cfb7c2c7eea6a1d359fc80a9c.jpg (lower left is where you'll see the switch)
Hope that helps.

 

[lilbludvl]

Not sure how comfortable you are with doing this, but one way I tested starters while in the bike was to use car jumper cables and a car battery. Connect the black to a good ground source the tap the red cable to the starter side of the solenoid. Do not connect for longer than a couple seconds, just enough to see if the starter will spin. If it spins your starter should be good. Have the battery load tested. One of your replies says the battery dropped to around 6 volts when you pressed the start button. It could be just a very weak battery.

 

[Fred600]

Thanks for the reply I will give that a try tomorrow

 

[SPAZ99zx7r]

Hi guys iv had my zx7r off the road for four months as I was servicing and refurbishing her. Went to start her today and all I got was a clicking from the starter relay. I tried the old screwdriver across the relay terminals rick and nothing just clicking. I'm thinking it's the starter motor but before I tackle that is there anything else I should check first cheers. Forgot to mention it's a new battery fully charged.

It’s probably the little black box under the seat that house the fuses. There a junk that your fist or back of a screwdriver and whack it. It has a resister or soldered relay or whatever you want to call it that sticks. I was mad and hit it and the bike started up. I did this repeatedly until I bought a new one. Also if your stater stays in gaged even when the bike is turned off hit that same box. A 600 box ( forget what year ) will also work. I have a 99 and 02 and I TT this bike in CT & NY so I’m always breaking shit to keep up with the Liter bikes. My 99 has earned the respect from everyone I ride with. Remember talent on your bike out ways money on there bike everyday of the week. Unless you only ride in a straight line, then I get killed lol
Spaz out !

 

[Fred600]

Quick update on the starter issue I replaced the starter solenoid but that made no difference so I took the starter out and pulled it apart. I measured the bushes and the commutator both were within tolerance and there was no open circuits between the commutator bars. There was however scores and burn Marks. I cleaned it with a scotchbrite put it back together and refitted it to the bike put the key in and she fired right up yee ha. Getting the starter out was shall we say labour intensive but it cost me nothing so happy days. Thank you for all the replays.