So I have a 50CC KIDS Chinese quad. The starter went out possibly due to me using a car battery to try to get it started. I replaced the starter with one off eBay I could never really get it to crank fast enough to start the quad unless the spark plug was out also the starter gets very hot. Does anyone have an idea? Am I breaking these starters by using a car battery? Is there a better starter I can buy? The starter is the two bolt starter it cost 29$ on eBay. Another note I have added extra grounds for the battery and starter neither helped.

 

You may have just got a dud starter from eBay. At $29 someone is cutting corners on manufacture. However if you pay twice the price you could get an identical starter from the same maker so you can’t win. I got a replacement solenoid for the B & S engine on a fairly new ATV mower recently, bought direct from the mower maker, came in an Oregon box, had made in China written on it and lasted five starts before packing in.

The starter leads can be long, thin and drop the power to the starter, check by touching the starter terminal with a jump lead from the battery and see if it spins faster. If that doesn’t help, take a cover off so you can get at the crankshaft and feel if the engine turns over freely without the plug in, if it doesn’t, a partial seizure or transmission problem could be putting an extra load on the starter. I wouldn't have thought a car battery would cause problems as the starter just takes the power it needs, you can churn for longer though so can overheat things if you don't give the starter a rest.

 

That's what I did to the original starter just tried turning it over for too long and eventually it gave out. The new one never performed like the old one I will check if the motor turns easy manually.