Chinese solenoid - do wires have preferred placement??

butterbeats

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I bought a replacement solenoid off ebay and it came with no instructions or markings as to what goes to starter etc. The two larger posts with nuts have no markings?? which is the M or P? Is there a preference ?? I read online it does not matter?? Surely not?? The wires on the new solenoid do not match in anyway the existing coloured wires?? The plastic bracket for the two smaller wires did not match the existing bracket / cradle.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Starter-...601124?hash=item35dcbc6624:g:tQkAAOSwnDZT0xJj

My battery keeps dying and after I installed cheap ebay solenoid this today the bike died all together... kicked over a couple of times.... then died... tried jump starting it in second gear and heard weird crunching sound??

aaarggggh
 

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Firstly, it's always wise to put things back just like they came off. The two large wires may or may not matter but you still need to put them back like they came off. The location of the two small wires almost surely matters because they have different functions. I'm not sure what is going on with your bike because the battery going dead is seldom anything to do with the solenoid unless the connections are bad. That having been said, anything can happen! A common misconception with machines is that there is one faulty part is causing all your problems and that is seldom the case. I would suggest you get the battery tested to find out if it is any good. If it is then get it fully charged and with the bike running check to see if you have enough voltage coming back to it to keep it charged. Check the specs but at least 13.5 volts with the headlight on at 2000 RPMs is what mine runs. I hope this is helpful!
 
That is unfortunate. What matters is how the solenoid is grounded. If it fits in a rubber holder then one of the small wires grounds and the other is power and they probably will not interchange. If you can tell me exactly what year and model it is I can figure out how it is suppose to work.
 
After looking at the photo you use I guess your bike is 77-80. I just looked at the wiring diagram for an XS400D or E and my best guess is that the wires will work either way. The battery and starter wire location shouldn't matter and of the small wires one is power for the solenoid and the other grounds at the starter button. They should also work either way but may work one way better than the other. Electrical problem are usually complicated to diagnose but no matter what, you always need to start with a fully charged battery.
 
Appreciate any help I can get..... here is the old solenoid... and the chinese replacement is attached above??
 

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It shouldn't matter which of the big wires go to which big terminal.
Ditto for the small wires. Possible but unlikely.
Try it quickly one way, if it doesn't work swap and try again. A quick try shouldn't do any damage.
You can use a multimeter in continuity or resistance test mode across the big terminals to test instead of actually hooking up the starter motor. Should show continuity or 0 resistance when the small wires are connected to 12V and ground.

You could swap the connector from the old solenoid onto the new one or buy a different set of matching male/female connectors to make the connection.
 
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