Problem starting when hot..... Is the starter motor the problem?

[Paulhere]

Maybe poor connections.

[duggers]

That's possible. I just arrived home after a decent 45 minute run on a hot day, ready to do some testing, and it started not once but 3 times. Battery tester shows battery and charging circuit good. Started no problem when cold earlier too. Wonder if there may be a corroded earth somewhere, because there are no loose connections elsewhere.

The only other thing I can think of is that the starter had only been used once prior to today's trip, maybe the brushes were so new they hadn't bedded to the commutator properly. To be sure I'm going to have to rise it for a while, see if it happens again, if not then it was the above and if it does I'll investigate the earth/ground wiring.

[Paulhere]

Tell us about your starter if it's a good'n, what make, 'ow much & where from eh?

[duggers]

Hi Paul,

Yes I'll do that if I can get to the bottom of what happened today. Hopefully it was just the brushes on the starter being brand new and not contacting the armature fully. Over the next few weeks I'll be riding quite a bit so it will get tested.

Rgds
Ian

[Paulhere]

Good luck with it. 

[duggers]

Hi Paul,

An update. I made the same journey this week as last week and I had the same hot start problem. I returned home and again no hot start problem. I think I'll avoid that problematic location and my problem is solved!
Seriously though, it points to a certain riding pattern being problematic. Today I cleaned up the earth tags, and will run again for a while. If problem recurs, I'll take a closer look at the starter relay, though after that I may be forced to confront the fact that the starter I used is not up to the job. The hot start issue is either there or it's not, meaning that there's no point where the starting is weak but will still start the bike. It is digital in nature, which still leads me to think that the issue is not starter related, and is more likely the relay or some other electrical issue (but there's not much to this circuit really)

Regards
Ian

[duggers]

OK, hot start issue well and truly fixed, and the cause was......

A knackered battery, at only 5 months old.

I fitted a lithium hybrid battery and it's starting like a good un even in this extra hot weather.

I found the root cause by taking my battery booster and battery tester out with me and riding the bike for 30 minutes or so. Then stopped somewhere safe, confirmed that it wouldn't start, then clipped on the booster. Bike started. Then I stopped the bike and unclipped the booster and clipped on the tester. Battery charge level showed optimum confirming that the voltage was OK. Then I started the bike again and confirmed that the charging was OK. All other causes eliminated, so I bought a replacement battery and the hot start issue is gone.

Cheers
Ian

[chico]

Good to hear that you're all good again. It seems that there have been several instances reported on this forum where after investigating different possible solutions, it turns out to be the battery that's the culprit. The battery is the easiest component to check and replace but some of us refuse to believe it's toast.

Chico