Hitchcocks Forum

I’ve got a horrible feeling that I know what the answer to this is already but here goes anyway. I managed to stall Doris at the traffic lights (a rare occurrence) and on prodding the electric start there was a whirring noise from the starter motor and nothing else. Started second kick (after a moments panic) and ran beautifully all the way home.

I tried the electric start this morning and got the same thing. There was a slight strain to begin with as though it was trying to connect with the engine and then a steady whirring noise. The battery is in good condition and fully charged and after trawling the forum I get the horrible feeling that it’s the dreaded sprag.

I normally kick start the bike (2012 Electra EFI) and she fires up first time 99.9% of the time so if it is the sprag that’s gone, is it worth replacing it and if so, how much would it cost? Also, will I do any damage if I keep riding the bike as it is or would the sprag have to be removed? There are no rattles or other horrible noises coming from the engine. As usual, any help would be much appreciated.

Mick.

Sounds more like electrical than the sprag. From a duff battery, to bad connections, iffy solenoid and so on.

Don't despair, that sounds electrical to me too. You usually hear the graunching as the sprag disintegrates.

I think by 2012 the drag was generally sorted, my 2011 did a similar thing (if the whirring is a sort of buzzing noise from near the battery side panel) it is nearly certainly the battery not quite up to scratch, I went all around the houses, tested starter motor, battery connections - even bought a new solenoid as that was what was making the noise - and it turned out to be the battery. They need to be in mint condition or the solenoid just whirrs, I even, stupidly, bought the best priced sealed battery I found on the inter web and it still did it. When I reached the end of my tether I mentioned it on here and Pete? came straight in and said it was the battery, so I bought a sealed battery from our hosts and hey presto, starts like a good one!

The moral is I suppose, check the battery very thoroughly and make sure it is pumping out 13.4 or thereabouts V. If not, and you have confirmed by ear next to the solenoid that it is the whining/buzzing noise and everything is tight, try a new battery from Hitchcocks.

Ray

SPRAG!!! bliddy predictive spellings.

A new battery is 12.6VDC, six cells of 2.1V each. Hence charge volts from the alternator should be 13.6-14.6 volts. The starter motor draws a huge current, so battery volts may drop to under 10V. If the battery is in poor condition it cannot provide enough volts, the current is maintained by Ohm's Law and so the volts drop to satisfy the equation, it may drop far enough that it cannot spin the motor fast enough to engage the sprag.



Before buying a sprag repair outfit do check the battery condition or have the battery condition checked, just measuring its voltage is an indicator but not usually good enough to tell us what is happening under load.

The EFI alternator is huge and should be capable of running all the lights etc whilst charging the battery too even when at idle. With an alternator this big we probably won't see the light's dim at idle etc as a tell-tale. The manual also says check/replace the RR Unit if alternator is ok. For E-start won't go the manual lists: fuse blown, RR unit, starter relay, starter cables loose, starter motor. For E-Start related it says - Battery discharged (check battery), Starter motor cables, Relay, Starter motor not rotating(?)

Do check electrolyte level in the battery (if not gel type). Check the starter relay, I've known brand new ones to be defective and the connectors are a sore point.



Always affirm the cheap bits are in working order before throwing money at the problem. Probably the battery, these often seem to have enough juice until it comes to the starter motor.

From previous posts I think if you can kick start it - it can't be the sprag.

I had the same problem - I had a newish battery, about 6 months old - it was the battery.

Thank you all for the replies. The battery is the original that came with the bike and is over four years old. I have had it tested, load test etc. and it is worn out. Just ordered a new Lithium battery and optimiser (OUCH!) which should be here tomorrow. Hopefully, problem solved. Mick.

jefrs writes: ".... that it cannot spin the motor fast enough to engage the sprag."



Just for the record, the sprag on our bikes is not the type that requires the motor to spin "fast enough". One in good condition engages the drive as soon as the shaft tries to turn, even at 0 rpm. If you don't believe me, have a play with a brand new one. Another thing you can do is put the bike in gear and drag it backwards - you will hear it turning the starter motor no matter how slowly you go.



If yours needs to spin higher than a certain speed before it engages, then it is already faulty and on its way to failing altogether. Having said that, those symptoms are very common on our bikes and it's quite likely that, with a new battery, the sprag will continue to function for a long time yet.