Starter troubles

[supersquid]

I've been having a little bit with the starter on my bike. I'm a college student so I ride to class everyday and the reliability of my bike is a huge factor for me. Over winter break I didn't get to ride much so when I went to move the bike from my old place to my new apartment it wouldn't start, which didn't surprise me at all because it was a cold Georgia December and the battery has a little right to go dead after a three week riding dry spell. But after roll starting it for a month it started to occur to me that maybe my starter is toast. Also, I've noticed that the head light is super dim. I know that the starter also acts as a little alternator to charge the battery, so that'd explain why the light is getting dim but I need to save juice to provide the spark plug with enough to keep me rolling to class. Is there any advise on replacing the starter and how long I might have until I don't have enough electricity to run anymore? I know on four wheeler starters it's acceptable to take the starter apart and clean the copper a little bit and they work good as new, but is the little GZ250 like that? Is a rebuild kit a good option as opposed to an entirely new starter? It's a 2001 GZ250 with 11k miles on it so I understand that it might be time for a little starter work but has anyone else had similar troubles? Thanks in advance for any help

[blaine]

The starter has absolutely nothing to do with the charging system.The charging is controled by the stator & rectifier.Before you pull your starter I would have the battery tested & go from there.
:) :cool:

[JWR]

The battery is a wear item, just like a tire.
When it it is done, it is done.

Have it checked and replaced.

[Rookie Rider]

Battery ? Fully charged ?? New ???

[alantf]

It sure sounds like a faulty battery.

[Water Warrior 2]

Maybe a good start would be to clean the battery terminals and make sure they are tight. You never know.

[jonathan180iq]

The starter has absolutely nothing to do with the charging system.The charging is controled by the stator & rectifier.Before you pull your starter I would have the battery tested & go from there.
:) :cool:

Yes.

[mrlmd1]

Get a battery charger, charge it up completely and then see what happens. There is nothing wrong with your starter, you have a dead battery. After you charge it up fully, let it sit for a half hour or so and then measure the battery voltage. A fully charged battery should be at 12.6-12,8 V. If it doesn't hold that voltage, charge it up again, bring it to a garage or battery place and ask them to do a load test. That's the only way to tell if a battery is any good.It will be free because they want to sell you a new one. If you do buy a new battery, and practically all of them will be the AGM type for the motorcycle, regardless of what the guy in the battery shop says to you, you MUST CHARGE IT FULLY BEFORE FIRST USE or the battery will very quickly fail after only a few starts of the bike and you will be back in the shop buying another one.
And do not start the bike and let it idle thinking you are charging up the battery, Sitting for long periods idling is bad for the bike in many ways, and you will use more "juice" to start it than you will replace by idling. You need to go for a half hour ride at at least 2500-3500 rpms to get anything out of the GZ's charging system. If the bike will be sitting for a few weeks without being ridden in the cold, hook it up to the 1.5-2 amp trickle charger every week or so and you will not have any problem with it. These chargers come with pigtails that you leave connected to the battery terminals so that all you have to do is plug the 2 wires together and plug the charger into the wall. A very simple solution to your problem.

[Water Warrior 2]

Another good option is a Battery Tender that will serve you well. Mine is 0.85 amps and is a smart charger. It will shut off when the battery is fully charged and a good item to have handy. It also comes with the added pigtail to wire to the battery so you just have to plug it in and charge the battery. I have also used it to charge up a new battery before putting it in the bike. The BT is a lot cheaper than buying a new battery every spring. Don't ask me how I know. :lol:

[supersquid]

The battery is only a few months old and still under warranty, but after reading these comments it might be my problem. Blaine, thanks for clarifying that the two systems are separate on this bike. My friend's Honda had a system where the two of them are together and I thought that was true for all bikes, but that proved to be a very squidly assumption. After riding for a few days, I've noticed that the lights are working alright while I'm riding but even my neutral light won't come on if the bike is electrically turned on but the motor isn't running. The starter won't even make a noise when I press the button. Is that because of a lack of charge or is it a good idea to fix the battery problem before even considering a blown starter?

[blaine]

I've noticed that the lights are working alright while I'm riding but even my neutral light won't come on if the bike is electrically turned on but the motor isn't running. The starter won't even make a noise when I press the button. Is that because of a lack of charge or is it a good idea to fix the battery problem before even considering a blown starter?
Everything indicates a bad/discharged battery.The bike will run fine with a bad battery once it's running & the charging system is working properly.Highly unlikely that's there anything wrong with your starter.
:) :cool:

[jonathan180iq]

The lights are working fine while you're riding because the stator is spinning at speed and producing plenty of juice to power all of your systems. The light will not come on while the motor is not spinning because your battery doesn't have enough juice to power those things. The starter motor is not turning over because the battery does not have enough umph to do it.

The battery on these things, and most bikes out there, is essentially only used to crank the bike and as a low-output back up.

Moral of the story.... You need to check the battery.

Want to poor-man test it? Hook up some jumper cables to a NON-RUNNING vehicle and boost the bike off. I will bet $$ that the starter turns the bike over no problem and she'll fire right up. If you hit the starter button and nothing happens, then you need to check corrosion on the button itself before you start to assume that the starter is bad. I wouldn't even start to worry about the starter unless you hit the button and start to hear a grinding or a high-pitched whine or some other form of malady coming from the starter motor itself. They're pretty tough little machines.

Long story short, there are only a couple of common problems on these bikes and the starter does not fall into that category. The battery, on the other hand, does. As do the corrosion/buildup prone control buttons. So look there first.

Like everyone said, though... It's your battery.

[JWR]

Very important.

Every battery must have an overnight charge when bought new.
A new battery will start and work but it will have no life span.

If this is not done a battery will die between 3 months to a year.

[mrlmd1]

Also make sure you check the battery connections - that they are clean and free of corrosion and are on tightly. A dirty or loose connection at the battery can cause the problem too.
If you jump the bike (from a non-running car) and start it and rev it up to 2500-3500 rpm and measure the voltage at the battery terminals with a voltmeter, you should get 13.5-14.5 V and then you know your charging system is working as it should.
Most problems are very simple to solve and yours is most likely a dead battery so you have to start there first before getting into all kinds of exotic things.