Why Does My Yamaha ATV Click But Not Start?

If your Yamaha ATV clicks but doesn’t start every time, could the problem be a bad solenoid or a bad battery? Start with the simplest answer first, the battery.

Partzilla’s Yamaha ATV expert John Talley hosts live Q&A sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this session, John was asked why a Yamaha YFZ ATV clicks but doesn’t always fire up on startup.

Yamaha ATV clicks but won't start

Yamaha ATV Bad Solenoid or Battery Q&A

My Yamaha YFZ only clicks and clicks, but no start. Is it a bad solenoid or a bad battery? Because sometimes it does start.

John Talley: Alright, that machine back there [points to 2009 Yamaha YFZ450R] hadn’t been run in a while. Got on it to start it, “click click click”, and then the fourth time I hit the button it actually engaged and fired up. In that case, it was the battery, and I bet you it’s the same for yours. Now, just because it has 12.4 volts, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a healthy battery. That’s the case with that ATV behind me. And if you notice, there’s a charger on it right now. So that should bring it back to life and then I’ll test it. I think we even did a video on that one, troubleshooting a no-start condition … so take a peek at it.