Honda Quad Mechanics?

[Daft Dog]

Looking for a bit of advice from someone with some quad maintenance experience. The model is a Honda TRX 500FM, it has been working fine, but periodically it wouldn't start on the button but made the buzzing noise you can hear in the video. Its been progressively worse, as in it starts less often, and now it really isn't starting.

Its not the battery as that does work, because it does still start periodically, I have changed the solenoid (which is where the noise comes from...and it vibrates) but again that hasn't made any difference.

Any ideas or suggestions? Any help appreciated, I would rather not pay anyone if I can fix it myself.



thanks in advance.

Jim

 

[Markfox]

It sounds like an earth fault on the solenoid that's why it chatters it's not pulling in solidly


on the other hand that noise could be the starter motor spinning but the DOG on the end that engages with the flywheel isn't meshing with the flywheel i.e the dog is siezed



-check the earths on the solonoid

if you can remove the starter check to see if the dog gear runs along the end of the shaft at a guess it'd move maybe couple of inch out and sprung back



Obviously im just guessing really but i would be confident im not far off

 

[norma 308]

Its the Brushes on the starter our farm mech changed them for me in the mean time happy pull starting
norma

 

[teyhan1]

It's your battery.
to check just jump a known good battery onto yours and see how it goes.
Typical noise for a battery that's not got quite enough.
Do check you earth from the engine block too. Solenoid will earth through engine block. Again to check this put jump lead from engine block to battery negative.
i have changed brushes in Honda trx before but symptom was slow cranking not buzzing

 

[norma 308]

£5 for help the heroes if it's not the brushes they wear down they have a good period and you think the problems gone away then bugger it wont start when you compare them to the new bushes you'll see what I mean it's a cheap fix

 

[223]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

check this first , put jump leads off a car and see if it starts

 

[Hornet 6]

Battery, but first check connections including all earths, make sure once running alternator is actually charging battery.

Neil.

 

[Timney]

+1 on battery. My dads was doing the same, thought he'd charged it up fully but turned out the charger was faulty and giving a false reading. New charger used gave full battery and fault disappeared.

 

[Daft Dog]

Its defo not the battery, thought that first. Rigged it up to jump it and it didn't make any difference, still wouldn't start and got the same buzzing noise.

Will try and have a look at the starter brushes tomorrow when its light...when I work out where they are

 

[Timney]

Its defo not the battery, thought that first. Rigged it up to jump it and it didn't make any difference, still wouldn't start and got the same buzzing noise.

Will try and have a look at the starter brushes tomorrow when its light...when I work out where they are

Try giving the starter motor a sharp tap or two with the butt of a screwdriver, see if that unsticks the brushes, they may have become fouled.

 

[Timney]

Try giving the starter motor a sharp tap or two with the butt of a screwdriver, see if that unsticks the brushes, they may have become fouled.

Fast forward to about 1min 40secs, see if this is the same problem?

 

[stalkinginengland]

When this has happened to us it has turned out to be the battery, could be dodgy connections somewhere but I would put money on the battery, when it won't start try jumping it off a car and you should have the answer.

 

[teyhan1]

Try giving the starter motor a sharp tap or two with the butt of a screwdriver, see if that unsticks the brushes, they may have become fouled.

WHATEVER you do do not bang the starter!!
The internal magnets are only attached with glue. They will detached and completely muller the starter. I know I had to repair a TRX that someone had done it to.
You will end up having to buy a new starter as when it does turn it will bust the magnets.
£25 for brushes or £250 for a new starter, you decide.

 

[joe soapy]

You are just having a bad dream, Hondas do not break down ever

 

[csl]

If the noise is coming from the Solenoid and you have tried changing the solenoid and you've tried jumping the battery so unlikely to be that... which logically only leaves bad earth or bad battery connections surely?!

Edit: just googling about another suggestion could be stuck/seized starter?

Alex


This bloke had the same problem... annoyingly no update on what it was!

 

[csl]

You are just having a bad dream, Hondas do not break down ever

When he fixes it we'll delete this thread and pretend it never happened!

 

[Timney]

WHATEVER you do do not bang the starter!!
The internal magnets are only attached with glue. They will detached and completely muller the starter. I know I had to repair a TRX that someone had done it to.
You will end up having to buy a new starter as when it does turn it will bust the magnets.
£25 for brushes or £250 for a new starter, you decide.

Pretty poor show if that's what happens to an off-road machine designed for hard knocks. I reckon your guy must have hit it with a sledgehammer? If that happens all the time I would sell the machine and get a mountain bike with front and rear baskets

 

[highland stalker]

Is it a carb or fuel injected model? If it is fuel injected and still starts with a pull but runs like a bag of s***e then it will be your battery or rectifier. I recently had to replace the rectifier on my TRX 420 and from speaking to the Honda mechanics it definitely seems like a common problem. If you get the bike running with a fully charged battery you should be getting about 14 across the battery terminals with a voltage meter.
If it does turn out to be the starter brushes then they should be pretty easy to change. On the older Hondas the hardest part was actually getting the starter out of position.
Good luck.

 

[willowbank]

You are just having a bad dream, Hondas do not break down ever

Nor do Landrovers lol.

ATB WB

 

[Daft Dog]

Replacement set of brushes bought, will pull the starter out and replace them when they arrive. Having done some more digging etc i'm fairly confident that this is what the problem is. Especially as its done over 25k km, i'm guessing they have probably worn a fair bit.

Still, it starts a peach on the pull chord!