99 G16 looking for starter/wiring help

born2buggie

I have been reading this site for a long time, I finally bought a cart and have something to post about!

I bought a 99 G16 from an owner who claims that the motor runs great, it just needs battery cables and a clutch. He told me that the starter/gen works and will start the cart and showed me where the cables needed to be hooked up.

A long story short, I installed a new positive cable from the solenoid to battery, and installed a new negative cable to the starter/gen. When I push the pedal the solenoid clicks, but it does not start. I used a voltmeter and verified at the solenoid and also at the starter with the pedal pushed and I was getting 12 volts. However, when I take the starter off and apple battery to the SAME terminals, it spins perfectly.

At this point I think I have something wired wrong on the start/gen or there is something I am missing. I read the sticky for "So your Yamaha won't start" and followed those steps. I'm trying to find someone who could tell me where what connections should be on the starter/gen. This is what I have now and how the previous owner said it should be:

F2: Positive from solenoid
A2: Negative from battery
A1 is jumped to F1

Is this correct? Should my only ground be from the battery to the starter/gen? I have read some things about a fuse on a negative wire but haven't seen one.

Any place where I could find some photos would really help, I think someone has really messed with the wiring. I read the sticky's but did not find any.

Thanks for your time,
Jonathan

BGW

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bigstik40

If you go back up to the stickies you will find one that leads to wiring diagrams. You should get a copy of the wiring for your G16 and that should help. My G16 wiring shows that A1 of starter connects to Bat - and F2 connects to solenoid +. A2 and F1 then connect together (just the opposite of what you have). From what you say in your post, it appears you may have an open circuit condition in one of the battery cables between the battery and the starter (or possibly a bad solenoid) in addition to a wrong connection. It should still crank with your connections. I'm not 100% sure but with your present connections the engine may crank backwards. Try the correct connections then troubleshoot for an open cable or bad solenoid. Hope this helps - RAY

PS - Make sure the starter/gen is an OEM unit. I saw a post on here where someone bought an aftermarket unit at NAPA where the A1 and A2 connections needed to be reversed.

born2buggie

Thanks! Just what I needed!

I will get to work on it again Sunday and I will post an update.

I'm not sure if it's a factory OEM starter or not. I will look. I believe
I did see a label that said Hitachi I think, I will double check. Which
Way should it spin, clockwise or counter?

Thanks,
Jonathan

bigstik40

Not sure about the rotation. Just put it in fwd. and roll the secondary a little by hand to see what rotation direction is reqd. to make it go fwd. - RAY

born2buggie

Well, I couldn't wait until Sunday so I stopped on my way home from work today to change the connections. I hooked up the starter with the connections you posted and with it sitting on top of the engine, the starter would spin when I pushed the gas pedal down! Finally, some progress!

I put the starter on, pressed the gas pedal and it spun the engine almost one full turn, but stopped at the compression stroke. I pressed the pedal again and the solenoid clicked, but the starter did not spin. I turned the clutch with a stick several times and would try it again, but it would not spin. I could see some sparks inside the starter on the end with the negative cable. I decided to stop at this point. I figured the starter was fried and I did not want to make things worse. Could it just need brushes? I could not verify battery voltage, but I know for sure the battery was 100% yesterday.

At this point, I'm assuming the starter is fried at the least needs brushes or needs to be totally rebuilt??

Ray-Thanks for your help so far, you have no idea how much it has helped me!

Thanks,
Jonathan

bigstik40

Stopping on the compression stroke is also a sign that the battery may be weak or you have a poor high current connection somewhere. I would eliminate those two possibilities before diving into the starter. If you do have to get into the starter, look up a local automotive rebuilder to check it out for you. Starter/gens are pretty rugged and very rebuildable. Hope you sort it out soon. - RAY

Mike Mac

Follow Stik's lead, but I would start with taking the battery to have it load tested. When you know you have a good battery, start looking for wire connections that aren't the best or dirty. That includes cables and small connections. Still have problems, then look at brushes.

If it were me, I'd still check brushes sooner or later. But this may get you going for a start!!

Sorry Stik, I kinna said the same thing!!

bigstik40

Better explanation on what to do. Thanks Mike.

born2buggie

Well, I finally got to mess with the cart.........I took the battery off my truck and hooked it up. The starter turned but stopped again on the compression stroke. I checked each connection but I had already replaced each cable and used a wire brush on them. So the connections are good, I'm having it rebuilt right now.

I made what I would call a very large purchase from CPP, but I will make another post.

Jonathan

bigstik40

Looks like you're really getting into it, "big time". Keep us posted on the results. - RAY