team_realtree

So you're 23 eh real tree? we should be coming to YOU for advice? I've been a Honda tech for 27 years and a Yamaha tech for 24. I have 6 ATVs in my garage, all mine.

I take great offense to your smartassed comment.

A lot of people would be walking if not for the good hearted and experienced people on this website. That does not include you. Fix that attitude kddo, before a moderator takes action.

Man relax...I made an account because I had the EXACT problem this guy had with the EXACT atv. I'm not sure why you are taking "great offense" to me saying your response was poor. The guy was thinking he had a fried starter hence the reason he asked about replacing brushes so I told him how to bypass the electrical system and test the starter. I get nothing out of this except the satisfaction of helping another timberwolf rider get back on the trail.

first off you do not have to remove the battery from the quad with the wires attached. just take a screwdriver and jump it across the signal post and main power supply to the starter.

second if you have a click noise then the starter cutoff relay is working because all that controls is the soleniod. if you put full voltage and amperage through a relay then you will melt it.

third if you have a poor ground you will not even get a click because you need at least 8 volts to click the solenoid on the starter.

fourth do not forget to check the starter reduction gear. all atvs are 1 to 1 which means you have to increase the torque of the starter and reduce the amperage to turn it.

The fifth thing is a weak battery will cause this problem before a starter will, because the part that almost always goes on a starter is te solenoid.

so in finishing half of the work the person above is telling you is a waste of work. you can test the starter in wone easy step, as long as the BATTERY IS OK! the very first thing you check in any starting or charging system is check your BATTERY and that is what all manuals will tell you when diagnosing the starting, charging system.

My best advice to anyone is to by a factory manual and diagnose it following the manual. then you will have done it properly. This I know because of 4 years of mechanic school.

If you actually read his comment his starter goes CLICK! and he had to top up his battery because he had low cell. did you know if you run your battery cell or cells low on acid it will cause oxidization which means that it corrodes the plate or plates and will kill the cell very fast and will most likely crack the plate.

To team realtree know you stuff before you comment it is very disrespectful to the other people who try to help on this site.

Your frienldy Neighbourhood Journeyman Mechanic.

Unfortunately it is you that has failed to read the initial posters question. No where does he say that the starter is going click he simply states that when he presses the start button he hears click click. I assume that is the solenoid and you should too. I don`t know what would make a starter make a click when you press the start button. You would hear the armature spinning if it was getting current. I don`t know what you are going on about with gear ratios and I highly doubt the initial poster does either.

If you really want to get picky put a volt meter on the output of the solenoid and press the start button. If you still don`t get 12V I recommend the steps I set out earlier. If you do than rebuild your starter.

Gearhead- nit picking at every point I made with a different way of doing it will not fix this guys quad. I had this EXACT problem on my 2wd 95 timberwolf so I know what I am talking about. The guy asked a question and the only reply he got was check your battery. I felt more detail was required so I went in depth with simplistic steps on testing a battery and starter.

The steps I set out fixed my quad and I think they will fix yours as well. By the way the solenoid going click does not mean the cutoff relay is working. Unless the clymer manual is mis printed the troubleshoot step after you distinguish that your solenoid is clicking is to do a test on the cutoff relay. Again my suggestion stands- test the cutoff relay.

OK here goes...very poor responses leading you in the wrong direction so far.

The first thing that you want to do is weed out as many potential suspects as possible.

First you want to see if your battery and starter are in good working condition. Heres how:

1. Remove the wire that is attached to the starter. There should be a rubber boot over it and a little nut holding a red wire to it.

2. Remove the battery from the ATV with the negative and positive wires still attached.

3. Hook up the negative wire to a good ground. Simply touching a bolt on the engine may work but insure that it is firmly pressed against an un-corroded or unpainted surface so you are not getting false results.

4. Take the positive wire running directly from the battery and touch it to the starter terminal where you previously removed the existing wire

At this point if your battery and starter are in good working condition you should have seen sparks periodically and the engine should have cranked. If no sparks or cranking check that the ground is good. Then check that the ground is good again. No sense in buying a new starter or battery over a dumb mistake. If it still won`t crank get your battery tested. If its fine rebuild your starter.

If the engine cranks fine you know that your battery and starter are not the problem and the problem lies in your electrical system.

The "click" you are hearing is the solenoid. If you don`t already know a solenoid is simply a switch. It allows current to flow to the starter once you activate another switch known as the ignition. The fact that it is clicking tells me that the solenoid is working properly.

Off of the solenoid is a blue/white wire that runs to a little black box known as a starter cutoff relay. If you post back on here needing the instructions I will post how to test that box. Most likely that is your problem. It is 29.99 to order the new cutoff relay online.

A little tip to get you back on the trail- assuming your starter and battery ARE working properly you can temporarily start your atv by touching a piece of metal to both terminals on the solenoid. The one on the left is the input which always has 12V and the one on the right is the output which only gets 12 volts when you turn the key or press start. By touching a piece of metal across both you allow current to reach the output and in turn crank your engine....

Let us know how it works out!