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Won't start - new battery

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My '93 Fourtrax is needing a bit of love...guessing it might be the starter?

old battery was good, but just in case, I loaded a new one in there.

I can hear a soft click when I press the start button. Green light is on, all good.

I can drop the compression lever and kick it over first try and it runs great.

 

contacts all look clean.

 

recommendations of where to look next please.

 

far as I know, all start electric parts are original.. I've only had the bike for a ahand full of years.

 

thanks guys

 

ET

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You have a volt meter?  If so, check the starter side of the starter solenoid when you hit the start button.  (red probe on solenoid, black probe on battery -)

 

If you have 12+ volts with the button pushed, starter.  If not, solenoid is bad.

 

A more sparkly approach is to take a screwdriver and jump the terminals on the solenoid.  If starter turns over, it's a bad solenoid.  If not, it's a bad starter.

 

Starter brushes are cheap and easy to install (so open up your starter before you buy a new one).  OEM starter solenoids are cheap used from PSN (or at least they used to be)

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LOL...thanks Jeep..yeah, I went with the "sparkly" approach...and she kicked right over...so looks like my starter n all is in tact...

 

do you have a recommended brand for the solenoid and source.. I used to get my Trail 90 stuff from DrATV

 

 

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If you want to go OEM without spending the $90 the 22/23 model trx solenoids are around $22 retail. You will have to wire in the connector (and a length of wire) from the old one but that isn't a big deal. All the other model years would work also but they jumped those prices over $50 now (use to be around $30).

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Is that what love is? An aftermarket solenoid?😆

Happy Valentines Day honey i stopped by the gas station and got you flowers and sushi because you’re so special! JK

Edited by Goober

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oh...oh !!  (grabs his chest) 🤣...ok.. I'll spend the bucks to get a real one..but for now, Amazon will have it at my door by the time i get home so I can get back to playing out back.  Actually  if it's just a quick ride for fun, I'm fine to kick it over..it's my son-in-law that's been using it to pull trees over to the brush pile..he likes to shut it off every time..

the cheapo may not last another 30 years..but then, I don't know that i will either.

I should at least wash my lil blue beasty in honor of it being 30 years old this year.

  • Haha 1

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here it is last evening out by the burn pile where it's been working the past few days.  you can see the side cover is off so I could get to the kick 

Blue.jpg

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even better solution...a Bunji cord and some duct tape.. I now have a screw driver handle sticking out from under the back of the seat..the bunji acts as a spring, so I just have to reach back and move the screwdriver handle a little bit, it shorts across the solenoid and she starts right up ...I'll return the amazon solenoid cause this is a much better system...I can't imagine why Honda didn't sell the screwdriver upgrade with their bikes.🤪

  • Haha 2

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I'd look on ebay for a used OEM solenoid.  I know Powersportsnation used to sell them for under $10 shipped, but they've raised the prices quite a bit lately.

 

Seems like some of the old heads recommended using a Yamaha Big Bear solenoid as well (not sure if it was a Big Bear, but it was some sort of Yamaha solenoid)

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Yup i were joshing ya. I don’t trust aftermarket cuz always something wrong, like the wire colors gonna be different. Or connectors. Then It would gnaw on me like an aftermarket carb with the fuel inlet on the wrong side!

 

i love my ‘93 i will have to take a pic for ya.

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fer sure...the Chinese either have a sense of humor about making stuff that's bass-akwards, or they're just that bad at it.

 

Long days at work and then my 2nd job through Thursday...so hopefully I'll get it on the bike friday evening.

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the PZ was delivered by the good Prime folks promptly , as promised.

15 mins later (yes it too that long cause I wanted to clean the leaves etc out of the frame)...she was back up and running nicely.

 

had some chain saw work to do yesterday, so the Honda saw maybe 15 stop n starts...working perfectly so far.

 

don't know how long the cheapo will last but, cheap n easy enough to replace.

 

 

thanks again  Jeep for confirming that was where I should focus my fix

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