hard starting when warm

[strutinh]

ok lets start ugh,, so to make a long story short/I did a bunch of work to my 89 1200 this year, carb rebuild .battery. and a starter. When the bike is cold is starts right up, but aftr running for a while if I shut it off is has a real hard time turning over. like starter is dragging. I have tested battery and alternator and they seem. BUT what volt reading should I get at starter when its turning over under these conditions? I get between 6 and 9 volts ?? and to mention I am pretty sure a have a starter chain tentioner problem that the bike has had for about 4 years now,, with no running issues,, could this be something?.. Any ideas I would love tp get some opinions Thanks for your time Scott

[cushman eagle]

The hotter electrical systems are the more electrical resistance there is.I suggest,with that low of voltage at the starter,you check,clean and tighten all connections between your battery and starter,then see what your starter voltage is when cranking the engine.

[Neal]

What did Carl say?

[Tonyvdb]

I wonder if someone replaced the ignition modual with one from an 86-87 model year?

[ekap1200]

to test both positive cables and your starter relay.....
attach voltmeter positive lead to the positive post, connect negative to the starters positive terminal. if your cables have high resistance due to corrosion you will show a voltage , yes a voltage. The bad cable or starter solenoid will drop some volts but not all the voltage------- so at the starters pos terminal, the meter will show a slightly negative voltage , it , if the cables and solenoid are in good clean working order will show no voltage at all.
you say the starter was changed. perhaps you have a worn starter and as it gets to engine temp it does drag....
What is your standing voltage at the battery terminals. and what type of battery and what is the age of the battery. can you check the acid, or is it a sealed battery requiring just seeing 12.8 ~ 12.7 as a fully charged battery. Are you running with all your accessories on , try charging and testing the batter getting it to 100 % go for a run but keep every accessory off after you check the other issues as in bad cables or cooked battery. check out the main harness white connector for signs of corrosion and a voltage drop there while the bikes running. Key off/ engine off, remove the plug and look at the terminals.
same test for the ground cable. but negative lead of the meter to the negative battery post. positive lead to the engine block near the ground cable. a voltage reading would indicate a bad negative cable. Start these tests with the meter set at or above 12v going down in range if it is an analog meter. A bad cable can show just a volt or a few volts. Give us more info- as elec probs are hard to diagnose without being there or knowing how much working knowledge you have of electric circuits.
Gene Kap.

[strutinh]

thanks all ! So battery has 12,2 to 12.8 etc before I start it cold. after started it stays about 12,8 to 13.0 at about 3000 rpm.. today I cleaned all terminal contact areas /grounds etc. I let get warm till fan came on and idled a minute, my meter at battery showed around a drop to 11.6 to 10.5 at when I hit
the starter button.2nd time it showed a drop to almost 9.0. after about 4 times cranking it would not start, the starter was HOT could barely touch it. The battery goes back to 12,0 to 12,5 volts after cranking,, I even put a car charger on it and it would not start. I put the old original starter back in just to see, same thing but it got even hotter.. I will try other test tmro,, thanks for the info !! Scott

[triton28]

sometime in the mid nineties a 4 brush starter was installed to the XII model which, in my opinion, is superior in rollover characteristics to the older 2 brush starter.
The external difference is the cable terminal of the 2 brush model is in close proximity to the protruding splined spindle whereas on the 4 brush model the cable terminal is closer to the opposite, commutator end, of the starter housing.
When I changed mine over to the 4 brush starter, I found the starting cycle much smoother and quicker. It seems, to me at least, the slow draggy rollover was no longer there with the 4 brush model.
Now admittedly it could be that the 2 brush was worn out and the 4 brush relatively new, but there was a marked improvement in my situation.
Just a thought.
Dave

[cushman eagle]

thanks all ! So battery has 12,2 to 12.8 etc before I start it cold. after started it stays about 12,8 to 13.0 at about 3000 rpm.. today I cleaned all terminal contact areas /grounds etc. I let get warm till fan came on and idled a minute, my meter at battery showed around a drop to 11.6 to 10.5 at when I hit
the starter button.2nd time it showed a drop to almost 9.0. after about 4 times cranking it would not start, the starter was HOT could barely touch it. The battery goes back to 12,0 to 12,5 volts after cranking,, I even put a car charger on it and it would not start. I put the old original starter back in just to see, same thing but it got even hotter.. I will try other test tmro,, thanks for the info !! Scott

With those test results,it seems like your starter/starters are partially shorted out to get that hot,that quick .Was your replacement starter new or used.Have you taken it apart to see if it smelled like burned insulation or found shorted wires or bad bearings allowing the armature to drag on the fields?