Reversing Polarity- starter motor

niftyfifty · Post by **niftyfifty** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 2:05 am

i found the issue with why my scooter isnt starting, i replaced the starter motor from a different model honda with almost identical starter motor, i discovered the starter pinion wont engage because the starter motor is spining the oposite way.

how do i reverse the polarity, can i simply change the positive to ground and the ground to the positive battery connection?

Kikwear · Post by **Kikwear** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:30 am

That's really bizzare that you have a polarity issue. The green wire with the loop is the ground that is between the starter and the case and the red wire is the hot wire that clips towards the top of the starter. If for whatever reason, these are hacked incorrectly, reversing them would reverse the polarity and thus the rotation of the starter gear.

vette76 · Post by **vette76** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:59 am

sounds like you have an elite starter which spins the opposite way. the problem is it grounds itself through its casing, therefor, it cannot be reversed without shorting out the battery. dont attemt to try to reverse it or you will burn up your wiring. just get the right starter for $20 on ebay.

niftyfifty · Post by **niftyfifty** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 1:56 am

just to clarify, does a nq50m with a standard starter motor (GK8) spin clockwise or anti clock wise?

JF · Post by JF » Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:51 am

If I'm not mistaken, I believe that a standard GK8 starter turns clockwise(when looking at the gear). I gathered that from simple logic; If the rear wheel(when looking at it from the left side of the bike) turns counter-clockwise when in forward motion, then that means that the smaller reduction pinion gear turns clockwise, which also means that the crankshaft turns clockwise. And in order for the starter pinion to turn the crank in the right direction, it would have to turn counter-clockwise. So that means that the starter motor, being the first gear in the loop, would have to turn clockwise. I know this is mostly irrelevant info for the question, but I just felt like explaining how I figured it out.

JF

Post by **noiseguy** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 2:20 pm

Spree engine (GK8) spins CW at crankshaft. So should the starter, due to the gearing arrangement.

niftyfifty · Post by **niftyfifty** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:19 pm

thats great, mine is spining anti-clockwise so that explains why my starter pinion wouldn't engage, i'l take it to an auto electrician to see if the polarity can be reversed, otherwise i mite have to take the brushes out of my current starter motor and replace them on the old original starter motor.

it's all coming together now, it wont be long till it runs