How do I reattach my motorcycle's starter solenoid?

July 18, 2010 6:00 PM

I took off my motorcycle's starter solenoid. Now I can't remember the correct way to reattach the wiring! What do these letters "M" and "B" stand for?

Yup, dumb move. Took it off so I can replace it, detatched the leads, and now I can't rermember which terminals attach where.

The bike in question is a 1993 Kawasaki ZX600C. The solenoid is, as far as I can tell, original to the bike. Looking down from the top, the terminals look something like this:

FUSE
x  1
2  3
B  M

where

FUSE = 30A
x = not used
1 = white
2 = blk/yellow
3 = red/yellow

So what do "B" and "M" attach to?

One connects directly to the positive battery terminal, and the other to the starter, yes? But which one to which? Does it matter? What happens if I hook it up backwards by accident?

Thanks!

posted by fracas to travel & transportation (5 answers total)

I'm guessing, but could it be M for the (starter) motor and B for battery?
posted by pullayup at 6:11 PM on July 18, 2010

B is probably for battery. But, if you hook it up backwards, you probably won't fry anything. You'll just energize the solenoid with the polarity reversed and it won't do anything. The worst you can do is blow the 30A fuse if you totally screw up the wiring.
posted by Jon-o at 6:33 PM on July 18, 2010

FWIW, there's wiring diagrams for later models here.

But yeah, looks like M for starter motor, B for battery. To prove, take your trusty multimeter - you should be able to buzz out between the B & white terminals (through the fuse).
posted by Pinback at 8:10 PM on July 18, 2010

Wow, perfect! Thanks!

(...now if I could only solve the fuel problem. hmm.)
posted by fracas at 11:55 PM on July 20, 2010

You were all exactly right. Thanks!
posted by fracas at 11:21 AM on August 26, 2010