2010 Yamaha Grizzly 700 starting problem

[p@st@_frk]

my buddy's got this super weird starting problem with his 2010 Yamaha Grizzly 700.

He uses the grizzly for everything, like plowing snow, ice fishing, hunting, and it's only got about 5000 KM on it.

But for the last couple of years, he'll go to start it, all the lights and electronics come on like normal, but then it just tries to turn over and... nothing, like the battery's dead.

If he tries too many times, it even gives him a high pitched alert.

Then, he waits for half an hour, tries again, and boom! Fires right up like nothing was ever wrong.

He's way out in the sticks, so hauling it to a shop is a huge hassle, and he's pretty handy with tools. He's thinking maybe valves, or even the stator... but he's really stumped.

Has anyone out there had this exact issue and figured it out?

 

[Sun.flower]

Tell him to check battery voltage under crank and inspect all grounds and connections, especially from the battery to frame and to the starter

 

[GrizzInMyPants]

I faced a similar problem with my 2011 Grizzly. The lights and dash were working perfectly fine, but when I tried to start it, it would barely crank, only to randomly fire up 30 minutes later as if nothing had happened. It turned out that the starter motor was drawing too much current. The brushes were worn out, and the commutator was dirty. I rebuilt the starter, and just like that, the issue was resolved. If you're having trouble, it's definitely worth it to pull the starter and take a look, especially if you know the battery and grounds are in good shape.

 

[Trumpy]

It sounds like classic Yamaha starter relay or ground issue, but people always jump to stator or valves because it feels more serious. Most of the time, it's just voltage drop from a bad connection they never checked

 

[neko88]

I faced a similar problem with my 2011 Grizzly. The lights and dash were working perfectly fine, but when I tried to start it, it would barely crank, only to randomly fire up 30 minutes later as if nothing had happened. It turned out that the starter motor was drawing too much current. The brushes were worn out, and the commutator was dirty. I rebuilt the starter, and just like that, the issue was resolved. If you're having trouble, it's definitely worth it to pull the starter and take a look, especially if you know the battery and grounds are in good shape.

Thanks for this! I'm new to ATV maintenance and trying to figure out some weird starting issues on my 2009 Grizzly. If the brushes are worn out like you said, would that cause slow cranking even with a full battery? And when you rebuilt the starter, did you replace the brushes yourself or buy a whole kit?