Firestorm struggling to start
06-06-2022, 03:10 AM
#1
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Squid
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Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 11
Firestorm struggling to start
I have a '99 Honda VTR Firestorm (SuperHawk996) which has been suffering from starting issues for the past month. Sometimes it would start without any issue over and over. Sometimes it would start once but if we turn it off and try again, the issue would come back even if we let the engine warm up by running the bike for several minutes. So from what I can say, heating it up wont make the issue go away. I have recorded the issue when it came and uploaded it here on YouTube for your reference:
Our first thought by the flashing instrument lights was poor battery. So we bought one brand new, hooked it up and the issue was still present. We tested this new battery by putting it up on a charger and it charges and holds up very well. So the new battery cant be at fault. We even borrowed a second battery and tried starting and this issue would still come. Put our new battery again and tried jump starting with the help of a car battery and still had no change.
Next we went through the wiring towards the starter and noticed it had slight damages. We replaced it with a new one. Along with it we replaced the ground wire of the bike. Even after all of this the bike still would not start. We then took apart the starter motor, cleaned it up and replaced the brushes. Put it back in and still no improvement.
We then had a look into the spark plugs and they were good as well. We then decided to see if the engine would turn over if we hit start while the plugs were out and when we did this the engine turns over effortlessly. However if we even put back at least 1 plug, the bike would struggle to turn over as shown in the video.
We removed the crankshaft cap and tried turning the crankshaft with a spanner wrench and noticed it was very difficult to turn when u have turned around 180°. We have a suspicion if this is putting a huge strain on the starter motor and it is struggling to turn the engine. However we are unsure if this is how it normally is or if something is causing it.
(The starter motor I believe is OEM, its a Mitsuba SM-13 12v starter motor.)
If anybody can provide us some guidance we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
P.S: We have used 20W 40 engine oil in our bike. The manual says to use 10W 40. We thought this is ok as we live in quite a hot country and have no winter here. Could this be an issue too?
Our first thought by the flashing instrument lights was poor battery. So we bought one brand new, hooked it up and the issue was still present. We tested this new battery by putting it up on a charger and it charges and holds up very well. So the new battery cant be at fault. We even borrowed a second battery and tried starting and this issue would still come. Put our new battery again and tried jump starting with the help of a car battery and still had no change.
Next we went through the wiring towards the starter and noticed it had slight damages. We replaced it with a new one. Along with it we replaced the ground wire of the bike. Even after all of this the bike still would not start. We then took apart the starter motor, cleaned it up and replaced the brushes. Put it back in and still no improvement.
We then had a look into the spark plugs and they were good as well. We then decided to see if the engine would turn over if we hit start while the plugs were out and when we did this the engine turns over effortlessly. However if we even put back at least 1 plug, the bike would struggle to turn over as shown in the video.
We removed the crankshaft cap and tried turning the crankshaft with a spanner wrench and noticed it was very difficult to turn when u have turned around 180°. We have a suspicion if this is putting a huge strain on the starter motor and it is struggling to turn the engine. However we are unsure if this is how it normally is or if something is causing it.
(The starter motor I believe is OEM, its a Mitsuba SM-13 12v starter motor.)
If anybody can provide us some guidance we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
P.S: We have used 20W 40 engine oil in our bike. The manual says to use 10W 40. We thought this is ok as we live in quite a hot country and have no winter here. Could this be an issue too?
06-06-2022, 03:55 PM
#3
Thread Killer
SuperBike
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Geneseo, IL
Posts: 2,021
What led up to this starting issue? Was it starting just fine previously and started doing this one day? Was any work done to the motorcycle or anything changed prior to this starting problem?
What am I hearing in the video? Is the starter turning but not engaging the motor or is the starter trying to turn the motor over but unable to or something else?
What am I hearing in the video? Is the starter turning but not engaging the motor or is the starter trying to turn the motor over but unable to or something else?
06-06-2022, 04:59 PM
#4
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Squid
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Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 11
06-06-2022, 05:11 PM
#5
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Squid
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This part im not sure myself, all I can say is we have gone through the starter motor a few times now to make sure it is working. And I can confirm the starter motor has no issue.
06-06-2022, 06:25 PM
#6
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SuperBike
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Geneseo, IL
Posts: 2,021
Having replaced the battery and worked on the starter, I assume you've determined those connections are clean and solid. Have you checked the connections at the starter relay?
Is it possible the starter (one-way) clutch is slipping?
Is it possible the starter (one-way) clutch is slipping?
06-09-2022, 10:33 AM
#9
Well take off, eh.
SuperBike
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: QC, Canada
Posts: 1,201
As previously mentioned, starter is your issue.
At 14 seconds into your video, I noticed there doesn't seem to be any oil in the engine?? I hope it's just me that fails to see the oil in the glass window.
At 14 seconds into your video, I noticed there doesn't seem to be any oil in the engine?? I hope it's just me that fails to see the oil in the glass window.
06-10-2022, 09:40 AM
#11
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Squid
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Join Date: Dec 2021
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06-10-2022, 09:45 AM
#12
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