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Will a bad stator make it hard to start?


broke350

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First off, sorry if this is a stupid question.  I've spent some time searching and found lots of threads on stator issues, but couldn't find the answer to my issue.  I just bought my 95 banshee a few weeks ago.  Stock with FMF's, TORS delete and pro design adaptor with no airbox lid.  When I got to the guys house, it started first kick.  Ran great on the test ride with no problems.  I brought it home and it sat for about 2 weeks so figured I'd go fire it up.  Started just fine.  It sat for another week and now the damn thing is a real bear to start.  When I finally can get it to start, it idles and runs great.  I'll shut it off and try to immediately fire it back up and it won't restart.  I waited over night and tried it again.  Tonight I spent a good 30 minutes or so kicking it, replaced the plugs again, which were fuel fouled, kicked it some more and I can hear it hitting and trying to start.  I get puffs of smoke out of the silencers, just no start.  I've removed and cleaned the carbs thinking it might have been fuel related.  Pulled and cleaned all the jets and passages, made sure the floats move freely, so the carbs should be good to go.  Still won't start.  Then I swapped a buddy's kill switch and coil just to be safe as it wasn't producing a noticeable spark last night.    I can see a clear spark when arching the plug against the head now but still won't start.  Finally we tried pull starting it behind my brother's pickup down our dirt road and it fired up and ran great.  Idled right away, crisp throttle response, comes up on the pipes nice and clean with no sputters or hesitation at all.  Pulled into the garage, shut it off and tried to kick start it back up and again no fire.  Doesn't even sound like it's trying to start.

 

After all that back story, I'm just curious if the stator is failing.  All the other posts and videos I've seen, when a stator is crapping out, the bike runs like crap.  Mine runs great once it starts.  It's just like I can't kick the motor over fast enough to get it to start.  Before I go throwing money at a new stator I wanted to check here to see if this is even the right direction to look.

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Thanks for the replies.  I haven't even taken the stator cover off yet, but planned to anyway to replace the chain and sprockets.  I don't have, nor do I know how to use a volt/ohm meter.  I swapped out the kill switch, coil and key switch with my buddy's '97 and no change.  But it does start and run eventually, so I would assume if these components were bad, it wouldn't start or run, even by pull starting it.  I didn't pay any attention to the pilot jet sizes when I had them out, but did note the mains are 290's.  I'll yank the carbs again to check the pilot size.  Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get a log book together to keep track of everything.  I have the plastics and gas tank off and the wiring harness has much more electrical tape than I would like to see, so I'm going to buy another complete wiring harness.  Supposedly this was a fresh rebuild, but I know you just can't trust anybody when it comes to a used machine.  I'll grab a compression tester hopefully this weekend to verify the compression. 

 

Once I've got the harness installed and made sure all connections are good, would that narrow it down to the stator if it's still not starting properly?  Assuming if the CDI was bad it just wouldn't run at all, right?  I'm just stumped that it's so hard to start, but seems to run perfectly once it's running. All the lights work and they're not extra bright or dim, so I assume that's a good sign the voltage regulator is working?

 

I also would've figured if it was fuel related it should still fire right back up after I shut it off.  I can get it running great, idling fine, up to temp, kill it and try to immediately fire it back up and it just won't start.  This is why I think it's an electrical issue but I'll admit I'm a complete novice.

Edited by broke350
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Also just read through the electrical FAQs in this section. I think I should be able to figure out testing the stator. Just need to buy or borrow a multi meter once I run the compression test.

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Tested compression and checked the resistance on the stator and coil, measured the pickup coil gap and all seems in spec except the secondary coil resistance.

 

120psi both cylinders completely cold

.015 pickup coil gap

16.9 ohms resistance at the ignition coil

112.7 ohms at the pickup coil

0.3 ohms primary coil

15,000 ohms secondary coil wire to wire with the boots on

6,000 ohms wire to wire without the boots.  

 

According to the electrical FAQs, this means the boots are bad.  Luckily new boots are the least expensive things to replace in the electrical system.  Would too much resistance at the coil prevent or make it hard to kick start, while allowing it to be pull started and run fine once started?

Edited by broke350
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  • 2 weeks later...

New plug boots installed and it still tests the same. I even checked my buddy's coil and it's the same also. 6,000 ohms without boots and over 15,000 with. Mine is the OEM coil where his is aftermarket. I remember him having some hard starting issues too. I guess I should order a new coil to see if that's the issue.

Edited by broke350
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  • 3 weeks later...

It's fixed.  Was something in the factory wiring harness.  I replaced the coil and it started up fairly quick.  Once I shut it off, it still wouldn't restart.  So I replaced the harness with one from JDS customs and all is good now.  Must've had a bad ground or connection.  I couldn't find any broken wires.  The new harness is a much cleaner piece anyway.

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It's fixed. Was something in the factory wiring harness. I replaced the coil and it started up fairly quick. Once I shut it off, it still wouldn't restart. So I replaced the harness with one from JDS customs and all is good now. Must've had a bad ground or connection. I couldn't find any broken wires. The new harness is a much cleaner piece anyway.

Wanna sell your factory?

 

Sent from my VS810PP using Tapatalk

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It's fixed.  Was something in the factory wiring harness.  I replaced the coil and it started up fairly quick.  Once I shut it off, it still wouldn't restart.  So I replaced the harness with one from JDS customs and all is good now.  Must've had a bad ground or connection.  I couldn't find any broken wires.  The new harness is a much cleaner piece anyway.

Glad to hear you got it back up and running. And truly appreciate coming back on here with the fix. Welcome to BHQ!

 

Shee-fast... If and when you get that old harness, I'd be curious as to what you find was exactly wrong with it, (And which wires). It's not uncommon for older wiring to have breaks inside the insulation.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I guess I was wrong, or this banshee is allergic to actually being ridden.  It's been starting just fine since my last post.  Now I go to load it up to hit the dunes and the same old problem.  Just ordered a CDI since another member on here described the same problem I'm having and a new OEM Stator didn't fix it.  Everything else in the electrical system is brand new except the Stator and it tested good.  Here's hoping I get to ride this damn thing sometime this year.

Edited by broke350
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