1999 Suzuki Marauder vz800 Starter issue

[mithuth]

I have a 1999 Suzuki Marauder vz800. ~11K miles. I'm having trouble with the starter. Let me describe as best I can what it's doing/not doing.

Scenerio1: Bike in neutral, Clutch pulled in, kick stand up, emergency shut off in the run position, key on.
The starter just clicks but no attempt to turn the flywheel.

Scenerio2: Bike in 1st, clutch out, kick stand up, hold the starter button, rock the bike so it moves the gears a little bit, and then pull the clutch while holding the starter button.
Vroom, it starts right up.

I've checked the starter solenoid fuse, it was good, and the contact points on the starter, solenoid, and battery all seem clean. I'm lost as to where to go from here. I'm mechanically inclined with automobiles but clueless on MCs. Can anyone point out possible fixes?

[Water Warrior 2]

Only had that on a car but I might have the answer. The selenoid(sp) needs to be cleaned up. You probably have years of corrosion and dust preventing proper contact. It is a hit and miss thing and likely fixable without spending big bucks.

[mithuth]

Hmm, I was thinking similar and pulled connections. It looked pretty clean, but I'll take the wire wheel to it and see what happens.

I did find a starter solenoid for $19.99 shipped, maybe I'll eliminate that by replacing it right away and re-cleaning the contact points on all terminals going to it.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by mithuth

and then pull the clutch while holding the starter button.
Vroom, it starts right up.

Have you checked the switch in the clutch lever? From the above description it's just possible that the switch is hit/miss.

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by alantf

Have you checked the switch in the clutch lever? From the above description it's just possible that the switch is hit/miss.

DUH, why didn't I think of that. Good catch Alantf.

[greatmaul]

Originally Posted by mithuth

Hmm, I was thinking similar and pulled connections. It looked pretty clean, but I'll take the wire wheel to it and see what happens.

I did find a starter solenoid for $19.99 shipped, maybe I'll eliminate that by replacing it right away and re-cleaning the contact points on all terminals going to it.

I think, and I may be wrong, that when they're talking about the solenoid being grimy and not making contact, they're talking about the inside part of it, not the external connectors. Inside, it's like a big electrical switch, that when it clicks, it sends the full battery current to the starter motor. If the insides are dirty, it might click but not make the power connection needed.

Of course, as others have mentioned here, motorcycles have all sorts of "in-between" switches that all need to be engaging properly for the bike to start: side stand switch, neutral switch, clutch lever switch, etc.

I'm not sure if it was one of those, though, that your solenoid would still click. It's been my understanding that if you don't pull the clutch, for instance, you get nothing when you push the starter switch, not the solenoid clicking.

I'm not much of a mechanic, though, and especially not on motorcycles.

[greatmaul]

Also, does it do this every single time? Like scenario 1 never fires and scenario 2 always fires? because the solenoid would be just as dirty either way. I'd try to limit the number of variables if possible.
The difference between the 2 scenarios is that
1. you're in gear
2. you rocked the bike
3. you pulled the clutch in while the starter switch was depressed.

So it's hard to tell which one of those is fixing the situation. Maybe try changing only one thing at a time, like being in gear only, or pulling the cluch while the starter switch is engaged, etc. Or maybe you've done that and you need to do all 3 to start the bike I'm not sure.

[mithuth]

I had no idea there was a clutch lever switch, I'll check into that.

As for the solenoid, I have not opened it to clean inside, only the external points. I will look into removing it and bench cleaning it. That sounds really simple to do.

As for frequency, it seems to be 9 out of 10 starts it just clicks (scenario 1).
Here's a few I tried but the bike had no change:
Bike in N, rocking, kick stand up: no start
Bike in N, kick stand down: no start
Bike in gear, rocking, clutch pulled: no start
Bike in gear, clutch out, rocking, pull clutch, push start button: occasional start
Bike in gear, clutch out, rocking, push start button, pull clutch: always starts

I'm leaning heavily towards it being that solenoid, so I'll try cleaning it and putting it back together.
If that don't fix it, I'll try replacing it.

Where is the clutch lever switch located, in the rubber boot up on the handlebar. or down on the ending somewhere?

A thought I just had, if the battery is weak/weakened or not fully charged, could it be sending not enough current to the starter until I rock the bike (alternator boosting the charge)?

[alantf]

One other place to check is the red cutout switch. This is often the cause of intermittent starts on the GZ. Everything is much more likely than a dirty solenoid. Never ever heard of this being a fault, before.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by mithuth

I had no idea there was a clutch lever switch,

That's why you have to pull in the clutch lever while starting. You are doing that every time, right? There is also a safety switch on the side stand. If you try to start up in gear, or move off with the sidestand down, the bike will not start/cut out.