[wheeler]

So for as long as I've owned my Honda 300 it's given me problems starting. All my mods are in my sig, so you can see what I have...

IF it's left outside overnite and temps are around freezing or very chilly the quad will barely turn over. I need to kick it. Fires up 1st kick.

IF it's left for days or weeks without starting in a heated garage, it's a crap shoot if it will fire up or if I need to kick it.. bur way better than if it was left out overnite. Always first kick it's running.

IF I have to kick it because the battery won't fire it up, & I run the quad for a little bit or hours, it will always fire right up with the battery.

I had installed a new battery over a year ago thinking it was the culprit, however it continued to do the same thing.

I do have the winch wired up to the aux pink wires direct. it's not with key power.



I'm leaning towards the rectifier?? I remember a while back I tried to check the voltage while cranking & was getting something like 7v, but while running it was 13v or 14v if memory serves me correct...


I would love some advice so I can check some things before I just start throwing $$ at it replacing parts!!!!!

Thanks in advance!

 

[TennesseeCountryBoy]

Is it slow to turn over? All my 300s I’ve had start great but once I put the 380 on it they start slowly. They say the starter reduction gears help, I think it’s the 250 big red gears but I’m not sure


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[wheeler]

Is it slow to turn over? All my 300s I’ve had start great but once I put the 380 on it they start slowly. They say the starter reduction gears help, I think it’s the 250 big red gears but I’m not sure


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VERY SLOW....mmm good to know. Starter reduction gears eh...


I can't even kick it over unless the decompression lever is up. You could jump on it & the kick won't move....

 

[shadetree]

starter brushes need replacing ?, or whole starter if the starter is too far gone ?.

 

[retro]

Does the starter crank it over good while the decomp lever is pulled up? Next thing I'd look at are the battery and ground cables. They might need to be replaced with fatter cable... to carry higher currents. The solenoid should be OEM too. I assume the battery is a stock AGM, 12 ah size?

 

[wheeler]

Does the starter crank it over good while the decomp lever is pulled up? Next thing I'd look at are the battery and ground cables. They might need to be replaced with fatter cable... to carry higher currents. The solenoid should be OEM too. I assume the battery is a stock AGM, 12 ah size?

So funny u ask.... I have NEVER tried to start it with starter & decompression lever up. It hasn’t ran in a good week & half or more... Just went & pulled lever & fired rite up. Tried a second time, fired rite up. Then 3rd time with lever down... Gave me the same issue! It was a half crank & no go!!!!

 

[retro]

Well there ya go... got a BBK and a cam that might be producing very high cranking RPM cylinder pressures. You might try making a set of 4 gauge battery/ground cables from welding cable and solder on some heavy copper ring terminals... but you'll still probably have to use the decomp lever to start it. I wonder what your dynamic compression ratio ends up at with that cam...? Its gotta be running real close to detonation I'm guessing... since cylinder pressure is excessive while cranking.

 

[retro]

Another thing that might help a lot is a freshly lubed starter motor. I'd take it off and disassemble it, clean it up in some mild soapy water and rinse and dry it well over some moderate heat. An alcohol rinse will help speed drying too. Then lube each bearing/bushing end of the armature with synthetic grease. Replace brushes if they are wearing short while you're in there... but don't remove the dark layer of graphite from the commutator, because its a necessary dry lubricant layer that prevents the copper from arcing and eroding.

 

[retro]

Here is a dynamic compression ratio calculator:
Wallace Racing: Dynamic Compression Ratio Calculator

Rod length on the TRX300 is 123 mm (4.842505 inches).

 

[fishfiles]

Retro , put you on a good trick using the compression lever with the electric starter , I have had 300's for 10 years now and never knew about that trick till last year , in the woods and the battery was weak and wouldn't turn the bike over , engaged the decompression lever and it fired right up -------- only thing is your bike needs to be in tune and start easy , as you only get one shot at it cause the decompression lever jump off when the engine starts turning

TBC , brought up an interesting thing , I take it as changing the starter reduction gears to a BigRed 250 ( which I would call a ATC250ES ) will change the ratio , makes sense to me , I had a 250ES and don't remember it having a decompression lever and the TRX250A don't have a decompression lever either , maybe those gears are the same as the 250ES

Wheeler , I have a half dozen TRX250A engines and would give you a set of starter gears if that would help you to start easier

 

[Z7What]

It was mentioned above but wasnt commented much on, but i agree with Retro.

Installing a larger wire from the Battery + to Solenoid & Solenoid to Starter is a great idea. While your at it you might as well upgrade the grounds too. I make a "circle" when upgrading grounds. Run a cable from the Battery - to Motor, Motor to the Chassis and Chassis to the Battery -.

Its funny this was brought up because yesterday i changed a starter on a zero turn. Went to crank it and nothing, the solenoid would click but the starter wouldnt even try to spin. Got my meter and started checking voltage and grounds. Jumped the solenoid to see if the new starter was the issue, when i did this the starter spun but slow, very slow. So now im thinking its the starter. After troubleshooting some more it turns out the Battery - where it was attached to the chassis was very very loose. Tightened it up and it started on the first hit. Not saying your issue is a ground or to small of a power wire but its always a good thing to upgrade when your in the area.

Wayne

 

[wheeler]

Thanks for all the input. This will most defiantly get me going in the rite direction.

Fish, I'd gladly take a set of the starter gears. I'll PM you my address. I as well will obviously inspect/replace the brushes while in there. Never thought of those, but the quad is 23years old now. Who knows if they have ever been replaced...



Yesterday I had to park the quad on the front lawn as I needed to get my truck into the garage. It was just above freezing. Sat outside for few hours. Lifted lever & went to use the starter. Cranked over ever so slow. Wouldn't fire. First kick & it came alive...

 

[fishfiles]

I have had trouble with the ground cable where it hooks to the bolt which holds the starter in , bad connection at that spot , or even take the starter out and sand the area where it touches the crankcase and where the bolts go thru the tabs at the rear of the starter

 

[fishfiles]

Wheeler , I went to the shed for you and Shade , I dug out a 86 TRX250A and pulled the stater reduction gears , cleaned them off and found one was a broke off tooth , but to add insult to injury ----in the mean time , I looked up the reduction gears of the 96 300,
86 250A and the 86 ATC250ES and all have the number of teeth listed and they are all the same , 25T x 43/18T and 21T , so there is no gear reduction gain on any of those years and models , maybe a 85

Tennessee Boy , what year and model would he need

 

[TennesseeCountryBoy]

Had to talk to a friend about it, this is what he found for me.


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[wheeler]

Thx guys...


I just removed my back seat & checked the voltage on the batter which was new a year & half ago for this issue. 12.05v. Try to crank it without decomopression lever up drops anywhere from 3v-5vs. Then Kick er over, rev er up, highest it will go is 13.05. That tells me the rectifier is no good correct??????????? She's not charging up to 14.2v or better

 

[retro]

No, more than likely the battery has lost a cell... You can find out by taking it off the bike and recharging it using a small battery charger. Let it sit for 24 hours after charging and then measure the voltage across the terminals. Any measurement less than 12.6 volts is a weak and failing battery. 12.4 volts or less is already junk. The charging system will never reach its rated voltage level (~14.5 volts) output connected to a 5-cell battery... follow me?

 

[wheeler]

Thanks retro! I didn't get to the battery today. However I did remove the rectifier & tested it as well as the stator.

I did the diode test & got .530 .550 & .575 from what I read they are supposed to be close in numbers. So I'm not sure on that one...

The manual says the stator should be between .009-.11 at 68F. I was getting .007 across all three. This is telling me that the stator is bad correct? Oh and I installed a new battery in my multi meter as I read if its not fully charged will produce an inaccurate number.

 

[retro]

Those figures aren't bad considering every meter measures differently. They are consistent too... I still think the battery took a dump on ya. I'd try to charge it then wait 24 hours for the battery to return to its resting voltage, then measure it. My guess is it will measure below 12.2 volts at resting voltage which would indicate that it lost a cell.