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Starter/battery questions again!

Since my Qpod Sport was new (2 years old) occasionally when I turned the key the starter would grunt then stop for a couple of seconds before turning over. This would usually happen when I restarted it after it was warmed up.
I asked the dealer I bought it from about it and he said it was nothing to worry about as they all did it (soon after he went out of business!).

Over the last winter when I wasn't using it, every time I came to try it out it wouldn't start. I assumed the battery had gone flat, and after taking it out and charging it overnight it would start o.k. the following day.
About a month ago I decided the battery must be worn out and bought a new battery and an Optimate to keep it topped up. Since then I have found that it will only turn over with the throttle closed (if you are starting from cold you are suposed to have the throtte partly open).
Today I got my mechanic to service it and when I went to pick it up it wouldn't start properly again - same problem, turn the key, get a sort of grunt then it stops then eventually turns over and fires up.

My mechanic didn't like it. He said the starter didn't seem to have enough power to turn against the compression of the engine.
He couldn't see why the starter motor could be so worn after 2 years and 3700km that it was too inefficient to use the available power to turn over.
He thinks that possibly the standard Qpod battery is not powerfull enough to supply the starter, and only turns it over properly when the starter is almost new and in top condition, and the battery is fully charged.
He suggested one solution might be to fit a battery with a greater amp rating that would give the started a more powerfull boost (but that probably wouldn't fit in the battery holder). Alternatively have a spare battery attached in Parallel to give a boost to the original battery.

He thinks that fitting a new starter (very expensive I believe) would only result in the same problem occuring a couple of years later.

He doesn't think the problem is caused by the compression of the engine being wrong, or the timing, as this cannot be adjusted, and thinks it is just down to bad design or wrongly specced battery or starter.

As a pull start is cheaper than a new starter motor would getting one be the best solution? Has anybody actually used one (previous postings don't make this clear)?

Has anybody tried the larger battery / doubling up battery method?

I am affraid I am going to end up in the middle of nowhere and unable to start my Qpod!

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Permalink Reply by Alex on June 19, 2009 at 7:38am

The 12/14 AH Battery is more than enough to start your pod if it's in fair condition.

As a test, put a VOLT meter over the battery terminals. The voltage should drop to about 10 volts as it cranks the engine. Much below 8 and I'd suggest your battery is beyond it's prime.

Most motorcycles have these batteries and I have no reason to believe that a Pod engine is any harder to turn over.

It looks like i'm going to have to try and get my Starter motor out to rebuild it and replace the brushes at some time soon.
This is probably an Engine out job as I see no way to get the motor off the engine with it in place.

I'd suggest a Pull Start is going to be great as a backup, but not an every day method of starting.
(can you imagine the laughs as you jump out at the Traffic lights ......)

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Permalink Reply by Richard Gerrard on June 19, 2009 at 9:08am

As you probably saw I asked the same question about pull starts and didn't get a real answer I keep meaning to phone and ask Cunninghams and never get round to it.
Re the starter when my original one failed after getting progresivley more difficult to start and sticking every so often it was because the teeth on the bit that flies out and turns the flywheel were completley worn off (it looked like they were made from brass as there was a lot of yellow bits of metal left). I had the motor rebuilt and the replacement bit the shop used looks a lot more solid, I have had problems with it since then but that is because they had to make a spring to hold the brushes as the original broke in the refurb and it slipped a couple of times causing the brushes to lock. When I have taken it off because of this problem the new teeth have shown no sign of wear.
It might be worth checking the teeth on your starter as mine wearing down was obviousley the cause of it being unreliable for quite a while before it failed.
Hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Thomas on August 19, 2009 at 4:31pm

What are these tie bars that everyone is talking about and could they be easily fabricated ?

Nick Devonport said:

Hi John

Just going through the Forum (quiet day at the UK Border Agency) and found your starter problem. My Sport suffered from a jammed starter which was temporarily cured by a liberal application of WD40 through a hole in the fan housing but I eventually had to get it rebuilt by a local garage. Removal isn't easy - the Jubilee clip around it had to be cut off before the bolt heads could be accessed. I think the garage dismantled the nearside rear suspension to gain access but didn't realise the importance of tightening the pinch bolts on the drive shaft, leading to one of many collapses before I fitted the tie bar kit - see my recent post in Technical.

I'll go along with Alex's comments on the battery size - I've seen it on much bigger engines than the 340.

Regards
Nick D.