What do you do when

[Travis]

9 hours ago, T-boss 410 said:

Sounds fishy to me. I would be surprised if you do hear back from the seller. They got your money and it's out of warranty, so you get it in the end. Do you still have the old one?

Yeah, I still have the old DB electrical starter, 

[T-boss 410]

You don't possibly have any shops there that specialize on electric motors? It's been my experience that they do excellent work, and you know it was done right. Unfortunately, buying Chinese knockoffs is a crapshoot. Just MHO, but I think your problem exists either in your ignition switch or the starter. 

[Travis]

I took my rubber mallet out earlier and held the key in start position and tapped on the starter motor itself, not the solenoid. And it kicked over after about 3 good taps.

[T-boss 410]

Something sticking inside? Maybe if you disassemble it and do some cleaning and lubricating it will take care of the problem.

[Travis]

21 minutes ago, T-boss 410 said:

Something sticking inside? Maybe if you disassemble it and do some cleaning and lubricating it will take care of the problem.

That's what I was thinking

[T-boss 410]

Make any headway?

[Travis]

20 minutes ago, T-boss 410 said:

Make any headway?

I haven't had time to look at it, probably will tomorrow morning.

[T-boss 410]

OK, just checking. 

[Travis]

AND THE SUSPECT IS..<DRUM ROLL>

The
 CHEAP CHINESE STARTER GEAR.

My dad helped me today, we tried lubing and cleaning, never worked, cleaned all the relay connections etc.

 then we installed the starter, hooked everything up. BUT left the starter un bolted, and sitting ontop of the engine (ran a alligator clip from the solenoid bolt to ground), it spun up every time, closer inspection the so called  "steel" gear has kind of mushroomed on the end of the teeth. the flywheel teeth are good.

so i guess the gear was hanging on the flywheel enough to not let the solenoid retract all the way and that's why tapping the starter, NOT the solenoid would work.

i'm debating either filing them a bit, OR, i can purchase the OEM Kawasaki gear on ebay for 25 bucks. that gear should fit this starter as the starter is a copy of the original. that's what i'm hoping.

 

 

[T-boss 410]

So the metal that the gear is made from is soft? I would replace the gear if it were me, since it has deformed once already. 

[Travis]

1 minute ago, T-boss 410 said:

So the metal that the gear is made from is soft? I would replace the gear if it were me, since it has deformed once already. 

appears to be, it's definitely not as hard as the previous starter gear... oh well, what do you expect for $50.

i also made sure the engine wasn't too hard to turn over... it's not. about like every other 9hp engine i've worked on.

[T-boss 410]

Can you just use the gear from the old starter?

[Travis]

3 minutes ago, T-boss 410 said:

Can you just use the gear from the old starter?

I thought about it, i looked at it, and is in better shape.. but not mint shape..

but that starter was already 5 years old, i'd hate for that one to give out in a few months...

that bottom starter bolt is Heck to get to.

[T-boss 410]

Well, if you have the money, go for it. Glad you found the problem. That was the only problem, right?

[Travis]

12 minutes ago, T-boss 410 said:

Well, if you have the money, go for it. Glad you found the problem. That was the only problem, right?

that's all i could find. the starter brushes, and armature all looked good.

[Travis]

12 minutes ago, T-boss 410 said:

Well, if you have the money, go for it. Glad you found the problem. That was the only problem, right?

I'm glad i found the NOS $25  kawasaki gear on ebay, cause the dealer wants North of $85.

[Travis]

14 minutes ago, T-boss 410 said:

Well, if you have the money, go for it. Glad you found the problem. That was the only problem, right?

I'm glad i found the NOS $25  kawasaki gear on ebay, cause the dealer wants North of $85.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-NOS-OEM-Kawasaki-Starter-Drive-Clutch-Sub-Assembly-KAF300-Mule-13081-2164/273909912852?epid=1323748703&hash=item3fc64d9514:g:EOYAAOSwZoBdGB7C

[T-boss 410]

Ain't that ridiculous? Just think of the profit being made by the dealer. 

[T-boss 410]

I hope it holds up for you!

[Travis]

22 minutes ago, T-boss 410 said:

Ain't that ridiculous? Just think of the profit being made by the dealer. 

I know right! I need to start a career in that work

[T-boss 410]

I would be very interested in finding out what the cost of the gear was for the dealership, and then compare that to the retail cost. I bet we would be amazed!

[Travis]

1 minute ago, T-boss 410 said:

I would be very interested in finding out what the cost of the gear was for the dealership, and then compare that to the retail cost. I bet we would be amazed!

I Price Checked at Babbitt's online, they want $82... and i've come to find their prices are always at least $20-30 less than my local dealership.

 

[T-boss 410]

So if you can get it for $25.00, and there is still a profit for the seller, then I would think that the dealers are price gouging. 

[Travis]

2 minutes ago, T-boss 410 said:

So if you can get it for $25.00, and there is still a profit for the seller, then I would think that the dealers are price gouging. 

Money has power.

[T-boss 410]

I can understand trying to make a profit, but that much of a profit is too much like price gouging. 

[Travis]

5 minutes ago, T-boss 410 said:

I can understand trying to make a profit, but that much of a profit is too much like price gouging. 

i remember when hurricane Harvey hit here in 2017, bottled water prices went through the roof, mainly at convience stores.... makes it convenient for them to take your money,

[T-boss 410]

Yeah, like toilet paper and hand sanitizer during the pandemic. I personally reported a few sellers on Ebay for gouging. They were removed almost immediately. 

[Travis]

Just waiting on the slowest mail service in the planet now.... supposed to be delivered from Florida, saturday, then monday.. now tomorrow.

[T-boss 410]

And they complain about their competition (UPS, FEDEX, etc.). Personally I prefer any delivery service to the USPS. Seems it's a rare occasion when something is actually delivered on time. 

And they claimed they were ready and able to deliver thousands of ballots. They showed just how good they are!

[Travis]

3 hours ago, T-boss 410 said:

 

And they claimed they were ready and able to deliver thousands of ballots. They showed just how good they are!

they probably got payed extra to do that..