"squealing'' starter motor

[graazzy]

Yesterday my 03' starter motor started making a squealing noise . The engine still starts , but with a bit of a squeal from the starter motor. Any ideas?.

[William1]

Possibly it needs to be taken apart, cleaned and the bearings lubed with moly.

[graazzy]

Possibly it needs to be taken apart, cleaned and the bearings lubed with moly.

Thank's ,will be taking a peak.

[graazzy]

Yeh pulled the starter motor out. Hooked it up to 12v and there is the squeal . Will pull it apart and give it the once over.

[jim-in-so-ore]

Graazzy,

Please let us know what you found and how you fixed it. My 03 WR 450 starter is doing the same thing.

Jim

[hillclimbguy]

You may know this already, but it happened to me. Make sure to mark the starter when pulling it apart. If you put it back together without knowing where the magnets are it'll turn over backwards. This is what i get for being in a hurry.

[graazzy]

Graazzy,

Please let us know what you found and how you fixed it. My 03 WR 450 starter is doing the same thing.

Jim

O.K. Jim ,easy to fix ,once you have the starter motor off the bike.Undo the 2 small , but long screws that hold it together and the motor comes apart in sections ,also pull out the armature . As mentioned above , remember which way they came apart. Use a quality name spray can of electrical contact cleaner and lube and spray liberaly all the internal components .You will see all the gunk running off .Once your happy that it all looks clean and sparkling ,use some moly grease ,not much ,just enough to smear on the needle roller bearings ,put it all back together again. To get the armature inside the contact brushes is a little fiddly but not impossible. Presto squealing gone ,Good luck Jim.

[William1]

O.K. Jim ,easy to fix ,once you have the starter motor off the bike.Undo the 2 small , but long screws that hold it together and the motor comes apart in sections ,also pull out the armature . As mentioned above , remember which way they came apart. Use a quality name spray can of electrical contact cleaner and lube and spray liberaly all the internal components .You will see all the gunk running off .Once your happy that it all looks clean and sparkling ,use some moly grease ,not much ,just enough to smear on the needle roller bearings ,put it all back together again. To get the armature inside the contact brushes is a little fiddly but not impossible. Presto squealing gone ,Good luck Jim.

Exactly!

This is a good time to inspect the armature and brushes. If the starter has a lot of use and the commutor is burnt or rough, it may be a good idea to have it turned. Any auto electric shop can do it, it is fairly inexpensive. The electric shop can also put it on a 'growler' and confirm the windings are in good condition too. Inspect the brushes for damage, amount of material left and ensure the springs are in good condition.

[graazzy]

Exactly!

This is a good time to inspect the armature and brushes. If the starter has a lot of use and the commutor is burnt or rough, it may be a good idea to have it turned. Any auto electric shop can do it, it is fairly inexpensive. The electric shop can also put it on a 'growler' and confirm the windings are in good condition too. Inspect the brushes for damage, amount of material left and ensure the springs are in good condition.

Thank's William1 , I did a visual on the armature.It looked ok ,you're right though ,should be checked by auto elec.

[waterman7474]

brilliant!! i have had the same problem but mine is all but froze up.

what's frustrating is that i posted something about this a month ago an no-one offered this solution.

thanks, hopefully if it isn't toast, this will keep my from buying a new starter.

[graazzy]

brilliant!! i have had the same problem but mine is all but froze up.

what's frustrating is that i posted something about this a month ago an no-one offered this solution.

thanks, hopefully if it isn't toast, this will keep my from buying a new starter.

While you have it apart ,Check the armature where the brushes contact and scrape the build up of,to do this properly ,check your manual. Also before reinstaling the starter motor in your bike , make sure the two magnets inside the yoke are exactly lined up with the positive terminal sitting on top of the starter motor.To check that all is well , hook it up to 12v on the bench and make sure it turns in a clockwise direction . If not you will have to turn the yoke 180 degrees .

[phynx]

Possibly it needs to be taken apart, cleaned and the bearings lubed with moly.

Could it also be— possible teeth chipped or broken?

[graazzy]

Could it also be— possible teeth chipped or broken?

No broken or chipped teeth. The squeal has gone after cleaning and greasing.

[BEAN329]

I had to do mine about a month ago, pretty much the noise and same repair. I also had to replace my starter relay later on because it would not make good enough contact to turn over the starter.

[graazzy]

I had to do mine about a month ago, pretty much the noise and same repair. I also had to replace my starter relay later on because it would not make good enough contact to turn over the starter.

Thank's i will keep this in mind for the future.

[waterman7474]

i started to get into this last night, will the motor come out w/o taking off the left case? it doesn't look that way but i thought i would check.

[William1]

Yes, it will. There is a oring on the end of the motor, these sometimes stick a little so it will take some effort. Be sure you disconnect the wires at the battery first.

[graazzy]

i started to get into this last night, will the motor come out w/o taking off the left case? it doesn't look that way but i thought i would check.

I did remove the left side cover , not really a hasle .

[DrBosa]

While you have it apart ,Check the armature where the brushes contact and scrape the build up of,to do this properly ,check your manual. Also before reinstaling the starter motor in your bike , make sure the two magnets inside the yoke are exactly lined up with the positive terminal sitting on top of the starter motor.To check that all is well , hook it up to 12v on the bench and make sure it turns in a clockwise direction . If not you will have to turn the yoke 180 degrees .

I just removed my electric starter the other day because of a squealing noise. New springs and brushes installed. I do not quite get the yoke position. In my manual it says I should align the yoke against a marking on the cover. However, I do not see a marking on the yoke, so I am not sure the yoke is positioned correctly?

"make sure the two magnets inside the yoke are exactly lined up with the positive terminal sitting on top of the starter motor".

I don't get it...there are two magnets inside the yoke, right? Only one can be align towards the positive terminal at a time? Or am I misunderstanding?

[William1]

Look at the stater motor houseing and end cap. There are marks.