CAPT CRUNCH wrote on 08/27/15 at 07:49:51:

any plated surface, not painted is good.
bare metal can be found on the inside of screw threads too.
if you're in doubt, check with the ohm meter setting on any 2 like contacts.

Okay, then do the same thing at the solenoid. See if that dude is getting power. You really need something that gives a readout. Just a
Yes , voltage
No, no voltage
just isn't good enough for troubleshooting.
Harbor Freight, under ten bucks..kinda disposable..I use the Micronta from the eighties for serious stuff , but HF is good enough for hunting around the bike. Alligator clips that plug onto the tips are good and a wire with a clip for an extension if it's too far for the little leads. They give up pretty quick if you wrap around the meter.

One of the big wires should be hot, one of the little should be ground, and the other should get power when you push the Starter button, that is supposed to create an electromagnet, it's just a big relay, using a small current, because the starter button won't survive the current to spin the starter..
The two small wires energize a coil, creating an electromagnet, pulling two serious contacts together. I've seen them arc and weld themselves together enough to keep spinning the starter after the key is released, even removed. I had to whack it.. And, I've seen them click shut, but not pass current, due to arcing building up burned spots.


You'd be way ahead with a maintenance manual and the electrical diagram.

Can our Savage motor be rotated by hand? Like, putting a wrench with a pipe on it for leverage and trying to turn the drive pulley manually?

Knowing if the piston is jammed up seems to be a priority, no? Even trying to push the bike in 2nd  (or even 3rd) gear for a couple of feet with the spark plug removed would at least tell you if it was seized.

I never looked at our starter before...can they be bench tested like a car starter? Just hit it with jumper cables and see if it engages and spins? Can the flywheel be rotated from the starter area access point?

Your starter relay should click twice (if you listen very carefully). Like any electro-mechanical relay, it will click loud when energized and softly when the start button is released and the contacts re-set. If it clicks every time you hit the starter, I would assume that the solenoid/relay contacts are OK and getting power. Whether the battery voltage is actually getting to the starter motor needs to be verified.

Try to start it at night in the dark. If the headlight dims when you hit the start button, that would seem to indicate that the starter is getting voltage but is being mechanically held back (the lights dim because the starter motor stalls). If the headlight doesnt dim at all, then I'd think no juice was actually getting to the starter motor, even though the relay contacts might be engaging.

Just a thought.

Boogie_with_Stu wrote on 08/28/15 at 01:26:32:


I'd either get fog oil or some of the light oil in a Zoom spout and trace the cylinder wall with the tip of the spout, before I spun the engine.
Clear debris from the plug cavity prior to removal.

Knowing if the piston is jammed up seems to be a priority, no? Even trying to push the bike in 2nd  (or even 3rd) . for a couple of feet with the spark plug removed would at least tell you if it was seized.


Stu, I've made the point twice, and mentioned that we've seen a piston and sleeve damaged by a dry start, no reply as to whether or not it's been done.
The
Look at it at night
thing may yield nothing, but it's just So easy and can reveal a problem,, it's worth trying.
I'd either get fog oil or some of the light oil in a Zoom spout and trace the cylinder wall with the tip of the spout, before I spun the engine.
Clear debris from the plug cavity prior to removal.

CAPT CRUNCH wrote on 08/28/15 at 09:25:59:


But I could not get the voltmeter to light up when conacting starter while I try to start

Capt. Crunch.  Where do you live....maybe somebody with a bit of experience and a volt meter can come help you.

Go to the top of the pae and look for the Icon that says 'MY CENTER".  Go in there and change your settings...and add your home City and State.  You might be able to hook up with some local members.

then there are these.. no idea . the 8 wires going in and out of the connector