2018 300ec starter issues
 

My 2018 300 ec has starter issues. Tried to start it in gear and killed the battery. Charged and also tried new battery. Tested old starter and its no good. Got a new starter installed and when I hit start button it clicks first and on the second press it ties to crank. Owned this bike for 2 years and no starter issue. Pos and negtive wires were also changed at dealer aslo reflash was done in 2018. Help Im stumped

Hi Sky,hate to bring up the 2018 shit starter thread again but I am also stumped & frustrated.Will share my experience & it may help.
Started worked ok when warm until about 80hrs then became hit & miss.Read the threads &
Fitted AS3 bendix cover.
Dis-assembled bendix & lightened the spring.
Heavier Pos. cables from battery to solenoid & solenoid to starter.
New Neg. cable from battery to starter & another battery to frame.
New LiFe 210cca battery.
Started much better & consistent when warmed up.Was happy with it.
At about 120hrs it became inconsistent.Turned over slow like it was under heavy load & not enough power.Put in a new LiFe 210cca battery,welded the bendix to bendix shaft,pinion(part 16) rotates freely but I couldn't get it out to reweld the shaft.Looks ok though.No difference so got a new KTM 410w starter,reversed polarity & installed.Marginally better & really pissed off with it now.Occasionally starts but sounds like it is really labouring.
With plug removed I can hold the button & it spins fast & smooth.
Tested solenoid & it clicks on/off but the battery tests at 13.8v & reads 8.2v at the starter when trying to start.Doesn't sound right? Comments please.

Hi,yes mine has similar issues. Mine reads 5.82 volts at starter. stumped myself

After a few seconds of cranking the negative lead from battery to starter bracket,starts to warm up.I will do some voltage drop tests tonight & report back.

After a few seconds of cranking the negative lead from battery to starter bracket,starts to warm up.I will do some voltage drop tests tonight & report back.

I've been planning on making a (long) post that delineates all of the starter fixes. gg3, you have done a good job of hitting them and I have done them all, and still "no start". Just a thunk on the second press of the button. But things did work better with the original GG starter - sometimes after warming up it would work, thought starting was always inconsistent.

My contribution to the current thread is this - my dealer believes that the most recently available GG starter does not work as well as the original GG starter (including the other brands that we have to reverse polarity on). This has been my experience also (after frying the original, I've tried a two aftermarket brands and a GG "oem" that had to have the polarity reversed).

So it is possible, Sky, that your new starter is not what the old one was.

I am looking for Rieju to start supplying what I hope will be the "original" starter - and then I will try again.

Part of my desire now is just the challenge of trying to figure out why it doesn't work! There must be something that can be done - why problems on this bike and not that one??!

So I feel the pain.

And low voltage at the starter indicates something amiss. Sorry I do not know if a "faulty" starter can sap that voltage, or if it is further back in the electrical system. I suppose if you unhook the positive cable from the starter and measure again you could verify that the proper voltage is (or is not) getting clear down to the starter.

Let's keep trying to figure this thing out!

Jeff

Maybe dang nab it

yes Jeff, also finding the challenge a bit obsessive now.Probably because the rest of the bike is so damn good.
Update-Got curious with the starter reverse polarity.Loosened the nuts,put it in the vice & put some power through it.While running I rotated the 'barrel' slowly & found the speed increased at a certain point.So fixed it there.
Tested relay voltage. I'm loosing about 3.5v over the relay,so ordering a new one tomorrow.
Next bypassed the relay with a positive cable battery to starter direct.Nearly welded the cable to it & fk me it started!!
I can see the electrical engineers reading this shaking their heads.

Makes sense that there is an optimal position with the casing on the starter. Maybe you've cracked the code on why they are not all equal

I think I will try that too!

Sky, since your bike was starting well before installing the new starter, maybe this is something for you to look at as well.