Acquired an old Nevada which was left in a barn for 5 years or so. Very rusty and probably beyond cosmetic repair. 13000 on the clock. have cleaned carbs, tank and filters,fresh petrol, new cheap battery and it fired up first time. Then starter stopped working. Click only. Â On stripping the armature was not rotating freely and it appears the magnets have become detached from the inside of the casing. They lok like they were bedded in an adhesive. Have cleaned and relocated them with araldite. Is this just wishful thinking? any suggestions or is it recon starter time? Â Â
as you mention ‘magnets’ I presume it is a Valeo unit not a Bosch or Lucas, if so I seem to recall a report some time back re rebuilding a Valeo starter in the club magazine Gambalunga anyone else remember seeing it?
Tried glueing the magnets back in and the armature or what ever it is rotates reasonably freely now but back on the bike and it still goes clunk when you press the starter.Â
I think it might be time for a recon one. I give up easy. It is a Valeo.Â
common problem the magnets coming unstuck
you used to be able to get a replacement armature
however the starter is a bit complex ( french ) from what I recall when you first press the starter button a small coil pulls the starter solenoid in, it then makes a contact that engages a more powerful coil via the battery feed and thumps home due to the way it is wired, once it has started spinning it should easily unmesh
try cleaning the solenoid rod rub graphite on it and make sure it is free to slide
check how many volts are appearing at the solenoid from the starter button ?? often its less than 8v, its due to soem weird stuff in the wiring, I took the advice of a club member and rewired mine through a clean supply and no problems since
you need to locate the starter relay and remove the positive supply to it, and then run a new supply via a fuse to the battery, on my breva I was getting 6 to 8 volts at the solenoid terminal and often a click click click even after fitting a new starter motor, once the new supply went in the motor went in with a bang just as it did when new
To bypass the wiring and prove the starter good or not-
Remove the female spade from the starter relay and replace with another female spade with a flying lead 4’’ long and the last 1/4’’ barred,
Shart the barred end against the big +ve lead to the starter motor.
The starter should spin if ok.
This can be used obviously to get you going in an emergency (or for about 3 years in my case untill I found out which relay to put the feed to).
If you go for a rebuild and live in the Oxford area I know a bloke who can.