Yes Acetone will do it, just making sure while I have it all in bits if there is anything else I should do before reassembling. There is no rust or corrosion.

I think I should rough up the brushes or whatever (bits that come into contact with the commutator) they are called a bit though.

Good shout with the Dremmel tool I will have to dig that out.

First pic top left shows the diagram of specified Mica depth.
Second pic shows a head on view of the Armature, difficult to see the Mica though. Can't take a better pic of that unfortunately.

There are 2 brushes seated on the end plate which look good as do the springs.
But there are 2 brushes seated in the stator or yoke (whatevver you call it) and the bit of metal holding them together is broken.

I did not notice this before as I did not know they were originally connected.

Could this break be the cause of the problem?
I'll post some pics to show what I mean.

Yes thats a problem.....you can sometimes find an overhaul kit on e bay ...might have the bits you need....

+1 for the repair kit.

Failing this you could try to find a second hand starter and see if it has the part you need intact.

Fowlers sell a brush set for £59.04 plus V.A.T but I don't even know if the 2 brushes attached to the yoke come with it, nor did the guy on the phone.

It would be a waste to buy the brush set and find the part I need does not come with it.

If anyone finds an overhaul kit on ebay I would be grateful if you could let me know.
I searched Ebay for parts and nothing of any use came up.
Only 4 items.

xt600 starter motor items - Get great deals on Vehicle Parts Accessories, XT items on eBay UK!

I wonder if it is possible to bend a piece of metal into shape and fix the 2 brushes to it, I cannot see how they are fixed now, maybe soldered.

You can see the part I need in the manual diagram, the part on the far left.

Sounds like you might need to ring around a bit more, try some wreckers or even get some advice from mechanics who have repaired starters before...

I admit that it had occured to me that you could possibly either make the part yourself or even spot weld a piece of metal over the breakage point, but now i'm not sure that is a good idea as the start is quite a specialised and important part of the bike. Is it worth paying the £50? Then if it is no good you could resell it yourself...

Try this ....e bay no 270525998215 its a starter overhaul kit for 28 dollars us......

Starter KIT Yamaha Motorcycle XT600 595 90-95 XT 600 - eBay (item 270525998215 end time Dec-30-10 22:07:25 PST)

here,s the one...

Hi ,

It sounds to me like the starter is dragging the battery down. This could be due to electrical or mechanical problems.

All the black dust is from the motor brushes so make sure that the brushes have plenty of carbon on them. You can clean this off with a brush. The brushes can be viewed as a rotating connector and the carbon is filed off when the motor is rotating. The carbon is conductive ie it carries electricity just like wires. If it builds up it can short out parts of the motor so you need to clean it from all the innards.

I'm not sure about your bike but in a car there is a 'sprocket' that flies out when the starter motor is powered up and this engages with the flywheel and turns the engine. If this is stuck then it will cause the motor to draw a large current. If you have the motor out then check if the the business end is free to rotate. If not, you need to clean and grease the shaft and sprocket.

DISCONNECT THE POWER BEFORE MESSING WITH THE STARTER MOTOR.

DO NOT ENGAGE THE STARTER MOTOR WHEN IT IS REMOVED FROM THE BIKE. THIS IS A REALLLY POWERFUL MOTOR AND WILL DO DAMAGE TO YOU OR WHATEVER IS AROUND. YOU WONT BE ABLE TO HOLD IT WHEN IT POWERS UP!

When it is fired up (in situ) listen for the 'sprocket' engaging.

Another possibility that you should eliminate is that your engine is not siezed. Your started motor won't turn a siezed engine. Put the bike in gear with the spark plug out and roll it forward. The engine should turn over fairly easily- you will hear it puffing and wheezing.

If your starter motor is kaput, you may be able to have it rewound. People used to do this in the old days but not so much anymore (check the Yellow pages). Otherwise check bike breakers for a second hand unit. Check if any other models use the same motor too.

Good Luck

Thanks for that link kennymact, I managed to get a new clip for £18 including postage, it arrived this morning, I assembled it and put the bike back together and it started straight away.

I am thrilled to have it running again and also surprised a pleb like me could fix it as I did not even know where the starter motor was or looked like before this problem as you can see from the first page where I aksed where it was. No reply but I worked it out.

Thanks quandary, turbocharger, jens, joe, kennymact and wheeee for the help, I appreciate it.

thats why I like this forum....always some one to help you out....good luck and good riding...:scooter:

Nice :)

How about making a small how-to guide then? :)

I fear that would be like the blind leading the blind :)

Congratulations!!! :D

It's all you 03XT600E. Happy riding.