Starter relay - Generic ???

[The Buddha]

OK this is for a savage - the relay has 2 little wires - and 2 fat wires. The 2 little ones have 12 volt when you turn the key I guess and the start button being pressed connects the 2 fat ones ... Yea its the positive line on the battery as always ... now is it generic ... can I get one off an auto parts place and drop it in there BTW its busted and I can get it to fire with externally connecting the 2 ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[jiggersplat]

yeah, relays are relays for the most part.  just make sure you get one of the appropriate amperage.

[starwalt]

When you measure the little ones with 12 VDC, you are actually just measuring the same voltage on two ends of a wire - the wire being the turns of wire that make up the relay coil. If you connect your meter on a little wire and pressed the start button, one of those two wires would probably change reading to 0 VDC. You just grounded one end of the coil wire and energized the relay causing the two big wires to connect.

As the man said, a relay is a relay. Just get the right amperage rating for the starter motor. Would a GS or Kat relay fit?

[The Buddha]

GS or Kat relay wont fit, mainly cos its got that funky 4 pin spade type ... The Sausage had 2 Turnsignal type pins ... both male ...  :x  ... anyway ... old Honda like CX500's or Yamaha's like that 3 cyl one I was yanking the thing out of today are closer ... 2 pin with one male and one femal and best of all they had a 6 inch pigtail ... and that grommet type thing that secures with zipties anywhere ... perfect ... unceremoniously yanked it outa some junkyard beast and off to burn up my electrics some more ...
Cool.
Srinath. :x

[Blueknyt]

srinath, check out the newer kat 6 relay, its diff from the GS one, look at like the 98 and up its a flat box with blade connectors and the 2 batt cable lugs

like this one on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4552773633&category=35594&sspagename=WDVW

[The Buddha]

I swiped some old fart's CX500 one from the junkyard ... I should be merrily on my way to bright blue electrical fires soon ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[The Buddha]

Ok this is weird ... the swapped out starter relay is doing the exact same thing ...  Either I got a bad one from a wrecked bike ... and like WTF are the odds of that ... it was running and crashed ... and this is bad ... how or some else is wrong ... I have 12 volts when I turn the key and hit the start button ... but the other circuit stays open ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[ktrim]

check the relays ground (usually the mount) make sure its clean.   Also if the bike you swiped the relay from has been sitting outside for a long time the contacts in the relay may be stuck.  smack it with a screw driver handle--  a relay for a riding mower would also work,  they are small and cheap  (lowes or home depot usually has them).  they can handle the vibrations and are the correct voltage.  Ive used them before (about $12 at home depot)  I think autozone (if you have them) also sells them

[The Buddha]

Oh that is the other thing ... the relay I got from junkyard and all relays I have in my other bikes are all insulated from ground ... all of them are in rubber grommets and mounted to plastic fittings ... the savage's one is steel and bolted to steel fender ... Of course the short across the large terminals works just fine ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[ktrim]

if the original relay was mounted metal to metal it most likely used the bracket as a ground.  if the one you are installing is insulated it most likely used an extra wire for ground.  try adding a ground strap from the body of the relay to the frame or fender.  there has to be a ground on it to complete the circuit and energize the magnet that fires the relay.

[ktrim]

also,  an old ford starter relay will work also but they are kind of bulky,  but they're really cheap ($5-7$)

[Blueknyt]

Srinath, double check your other interlock, the clutch switch wires. had that issue with that Kat 600 im getting.

if the clutch was all the way in, it would be open, if i let it out a little it would close completing the circuit

[The Buddha]

I have voltage at the switch end of the relay, the relay makes a click noise ... but the 2 load terminals dont connect up ... that circuit stays open ... on both the relays ... one I got from wrecker and the one off the bike ... time to kick some wrecker ass ...
Cool.
Srinath.