TRX300 starter bad?

[Big Moe 6]

My issue is I have a 99 TRX300 that will not electric start, replaced the starter solenoid Has a new fully charged battery all the terminals including the ground to the frame and the connection at the starter have been cleaned and re-connected. The solenoid will buzz when the starter button is pressed but starter does not engage. shorting the posts on the solenoid will make the starter engage but does not make it turn over continuously, it will only roll it over once and then you have to remove the screwdriver and short it again and it will roll over again. I'm thinking starter motor but want to ask some one who may be better versed on this what their opinion is. Thanks in advance for any reply.

[_Wilson_™ 6,593]

welcome to ATVH , sounds like the starter brushes. 

[Big Moe 6]

Might as well replace the whole starter then you think? And what is your opinion of the aftermarket starters out there?

[Fishfiles 20,147]

Hi Moe , welcome to the site .... Is the solenoid you replaced an e-bay or amazon jewel ? --- Have had and seen very bad results with China knock-off electric parts for atv off e-bay ----  Are you sure when you changed  the solenoid ,  you hook the wires back up right? Have seen many make that mistake ----  Do you have a good ground where the starter wire attaches to the bolt holding the starter in ?  ----  You could use jumper cables from your vehicle , right to the starter terminal and ground bolt  and see real quick  if it is the starter is bad .... here is a good source for a stater 

https://www.dbelectrical.com/starters/atv-utv/honda/trx300/

[_Wilson_™ 6,593]

if it's an oem starter, and  not in bad shape just replace the brushes, mine acted  the same way, i did the starter brushes it been fine every sence then, a weak battery will kill the brushes quick. 

[Fishfiles 20,147]

Don't over look the battery condition , you say you just put it in , but there could be a draw or a bad connection -------    I am lucky to have battery load testers that I use for my job , I load test the battery first step when ever I have a problem , which can help spot a connection problem at the battery terminal connections 

[retro 4,074]

Welcome to ATV Honda Big Moe!

 

4 hours ago, Big Moe said:

The solenoid will buzz when the starter button is pressed but starter does not engage. shorting the posts on the solenoid will make the starter engage but does not make it turn over continuously, it will only roll it over once and then you have to remove the screwdriver and short it again and it will roll over again.

 

It sounds to me like either the ground cable is loose on the starter mounting bolt, or the battery is very weak. Did you put a size14-BS battery in it, or is it a smaller one?

[Tim-ANC 202]

@Fishfiles has a good suggestion. Jump from your vehicle. @_Wilson_™ does too with getting a rebuild kit.

[_Wilson_™ 6,593]

6 hours ago, Big Moe said:

replaced the starter solenoid Has a new fully charged battery all the terminals including the ground to the frame and the connection at the starter have been cleaned and re-connected. The solenoid will buzz when the starter button is pressed but starter does not engage. shorting the posts on the solenoid will make the starter engage but does not make it turn over continuously

 

did you ever try crossing out  the original starter solenoid ? also, sounds like it could be a weak battery, i would take the battery and have it load tested., (like fish mentioned)   you might also post here https://atvhonda.com/forum/15-custom-builds-restorations/  in the forums .. and post us some us some pics. 

[Big Moe 6]

Thanks for all the great advice, I will start going through and checking off all the easier stuff before I yank the starter.

I have confidence in my new battery it is the right size and is fully charged putting out a little over 13 volts. I have cleaned all connections. So the starter is my main focus I guess.

[Fishfiles 20,147]

Big Moe , I read where you said you "shorted"  the terminals on the solenoid , I would guess your talking about the 2 big terminals , I call it " jumping " and seen it just referred to by Wilson as " crossing " , and when you did the starter engaged but didn't spin the engine over  >>>  the starter has no bendix to engage , it spins the engine with gears and thru a one way bearing , thought about something could cause it to just click and not spin over the engine , starter gears on the opposite side of the engine , have seen them break teeth before and get jammed up , if you do take off that cover , try to save the gasket as it acts like a shim , the cover on a 2wd and 4wd 300 are different so the pic might not reflex your cover  , as pic is 4wd  

[Big Moe 6]

That's good info. But I did just hook a regular car battery to the starter, and that did make it turn the engine over, but not as fast or easy as I would have anticipated. The machine is in a warm 60 degree shop as opposed the -16 that it is outside so I thought that big battery would spin it pretty fast.

[shadetree 5,979]

sounds like starter brushes to me. D&B electrical sells great starters, i use them alot in the past yrs, never had a problem from them.

[retro 4,074]

While you are working on other projects @Big Moe, might be a good idea to disconnect the negative battery terminal.... those china solenoids are known to stick while no one is around and begin to crank over the motor.... until the battery is completely dead (or an electrical fire breaks out), which ruins them.

[Goober 1,555]

This is what the starter motor brush end might look like. Sometimes they can be rebuilt but if you’re not savvy replace or take it to a battery shop

[Big Moe 6]

I already took mine apart and it is different than the pictured one as it only has 2 brushes. I ordered parts and am going to try that, but I didn't think the brushes looked that bad. Butt being as it is apart i,m going to replace them.

[_Wilson_™ 6,593]

that's right just two brushes, these are my old oem brushes (00 300 fourtrax 4wd) 

[TBRider 1,411]

2 hours ago, Big Moe said:

I already took mine apart and it is different than the pictured one as it only has 2 brushes. I ordered parts and am going to try that, but I didn't think the brushes looked that bad. Butt being as it is apart i,m going to replace them.

I had my neighbors starter apart a few months back, his starter was sticking, the new replacement brushes were about 1/4" longer than the originals. I think it would have been fine with just a cleaning.