Starting Issue…

DITTO.

So, you shimmed the auto lifter toward the lobe ?

I slid the shim over the right end of the camshaft. There was to much "slop" in my opinion, causing the lifter to, intermittently, slide off the end of the lobe. The shim took up some slack and kept the camshaft positioned more to the left.

I know it seems like an unconventional way to solve an internal engine problem but I was desperate and no one at Husqvarna was willing to acknowledge the problem or a fix.

Ah, very good. Thank you so much for sharing all this with me.

You've saved me a lot of time and trouble trying to figure out what was going on.

I can't figure why there's nothing in the shop manual about this thing ?

BTW- That's a really nice arrow.

me too.
Thanks for doing the hard yards.
I hope my engine has the same issue.

i had a battery issue today, struggled to crank over and eventually went flat, couldnt kick the thing into life either no way no how yet bump started in 4th gear down a hill with my heavier mate on it lol i am only 65 kilos but i could stand on the kickstarter and it would struggle to go down ! thing is, i cant really make head nor tale of this new fangled item and how its fitted (and how easy/hard also ) big job ? where to get part ? i am in oz too !

Quality responses

Boy I just want to say firstly that reading this post really shows a lot of collective experiences and great feedback.
I wouls try to eliminate the auto decomp potential issues and the potential impedence between the battery and the starter motor as already said.
My bet is on the battery itself. Huskys starter motors in my opinion do not spin the motor quickly enough and rapidly drop turning power.
I found that by replacing the battery every 18 months I keep out of trouble. I have an 06 TE 450 carby model and have found that the following works well for me regardles of outside temp.
Fuel and choke on
2 quick throttle wraps
press the red button then the start button.
if not firing in 3 second take finger off the button for a second.
Then hit it again-for some reason it always fires.
I always find it a real challenge to kick start he though.

Good luck and lets us know the outcome.

Cheers GHTE.

mine is same if i flood it stall it on the trails and had this issue last weekend but seemingly they are fitted with shit batteries as stock ! mate has replaced his 08 bike with a new 09 and asked the dealer to remove and replace stock one with beefier one.. i started his at the weekend and his throws over much faster ! my battery load tested fine today and i am still going to replace it with a gel battery with higher cranking amps for when hot etc..

okay... took a real good look at mine now as i had rocker off to check valves... mine is goosed.. well worn on leading edge and gonna get replaced.. do any of you guys sell these or is it a dealer part and if so , how much $$$ ?? and is it a case of removing end bolt and bearing and sliding it on ? i hope so ! lol..

I can't really tell that well from your pic, but I'm not sure it's all that worn. I'm looking at mine, trying to suss out my own starting problems that are similar (kick starting is a bear, e-starts kill the battery sooner than it seems like it should), and trying to figure out how it all works.

Looks considerably more low-tech than I thought. The "magic" lobe on the autodecomp mechanism keeps the right exhaustt valve open just a tad, as was explained already. The manual decomp lever rotates a spindle and basically engages thatsame right exhaust valve, but can open it much more than the autodecomp does. So this is why you can live without a working autodecomp if you're in the habit of using your manuall lever.

The autodecomp thing looks really fussy on my bike. It seems kinda "rattly", though it doesn't exactly look bad ... after twiddling with it for 20 minutes, I think the play it shows on mine at least is by design. I do wonder about the little "nub" that pushes the autodecomp lobe back into the "decompress" position ... I'm assuming there's a wee spring in there, and I'm also assuming it is chosen to be strong enough to not let the lobe get shaken out of the "decompress" position, but not so strong as to resist the centrifugal force that eventually pushes the lobe into it's normal (not engaged, not "decompressing") position. Makes me wonder if those springs can go bad ... I don't really like how vigorous my little nub spring is ... hmm. And actually, as I play with it more, it does seem like the magic lobe "binds" a tad when it rocks, like it almost sticks in one position, hesitating before flopping the other direction. Hmm.

Sooo....whats the final word on this problem? Our 08 TE450 has exactly the same issue, always stop just before TDC and will not even crank without manual decomp and quickly drains the battery.

What is used as the shim?

Havent had the cover off yet, but will inspect tomorrow.

I pulled the rocker cover off and checked the auto decomp (and the valve clearances) and the decomp is really worn on the leading edge, doesnt work at all now.

Replacement price is $109 apparently. Guess i will be ordering one soon

So as for a bit of closure (better late than never I suppose), or an update - I did end up replacing the decompression cam which solved the problem... for about 6 months.

I was out of the country sans bike for a year, but now after a half-dozen or so rides the starting / auto decomp issue has reared it's ugly head yet again.

I'd have to agree with someone's assessment (Xriderdown-???) that there is too much 'slop' in the system and the cam needs to be shimmed in order for it to engage properly. I guess that'll be the next step.

We had an 04/05 with a similar problem... cant remember if it was cam timing issue. Will ask Mark if he can remember and post a reply....

Spoke with Mark:
Check your exhaust cam timing.
TC450 04/05 era. It would run if bumped and sometimes it started on the button but it was a nightmare until we sussed it was the ex cam timing!
Worth a try.

Brock