starter?

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49d
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starter?

#1

Post by 49d »

guys, ive had a intermittent starter for a while...right now it just clicks the solenoid..jumping the solenoid does nothing..battery is good...headlight dims when attempting to start..bad starter?
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Sagebrush
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Re: starter?

#2

Post by Sagebrush »

Could be the starter, how do you know that the battery is good? Might try jumping directly to the starter post with the positive lead and ground to the frame from a car battery. Should turn the starter over, make sure its in neutral and if you don't want it to start turn the kill switch to off. If it doesn't turn over then you know for sure its the starter.
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flyin900
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Re: starter?

#3

Post by flyin900 »

Getting the battery load tested is a good idea at a local automotive parts supplier to confirm your battery is good. These wings need a lot of cranking amps to properly turn them over. So a weak battery may still light your lights well, but not turn the bike over.
The starter may also be very dirty inside with lots of worn carbon dust causing a big current draw that can be rectified by doing a cleaning of the rear brush area and the front gears re greasing. There are tutorials in the "Shop Talk" section.
I would start with a load test on the battery first and go from there.
Last edited by flyin900 on Mon Dec 03, 2018 5:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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robin1731
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Re: starter?

#4

Post by robin1731 »

Also clean all the battery connections. Positive and negative. On both ends.
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Re: starter?

#5

Post by rcmatt007 »

yeah, my first thought would be a poor ground connection
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49d
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Re: starter?

#6

Post by 49d »

i jumped it directly from the battery with cables to ground, and it was intermittent, sometimes nothing, twice it ran, but slowly, battery tested good at autozone...just ordered one on amazon..will report on wednesday...d
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robin1731
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Re: starter?

#7

Post by robin1731 »

If battery tested good why buy another one?
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Re: starter?

#8

Post by Sagebrush »

Sounds like the starter to me.
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salukispeed
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Re: starter?

#9

Post by salukispeed »

Did someone just remove the starter cable at the starter stud. It is critical that a super thin 10mm wrench be used to keep the stud from moving at all when the cable nut is removed or tightened. If allowed to turn even a little can compromise the internal soldered connection, rendering the starter useless unless repaired. . Just thinking
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Re: starter?

#10

Post by rcmatt007 »

easy to break.... don't ask how I know
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
49d
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Re: starter?

#11

Post by 49d »

thanks guys, the new starter fixed it..
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salukispeed
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Re: starter?

#12

Post by salukispeed »

Glad You Got it fixed.
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twooldwings
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Re: starter?

#13

Post by twooldwings »

i wouldn't throw away the old one, but then, i am a bit of a hoarder.
these starters respond well to disassembly, cleaning, fresh grease and new brushes.
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CYBORG
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Re: starter?

#14

Post by CYBORG »

twooldwings wrote:i wouldn't throw away the old one, but then, i am a bit of a hoarder.
these starters respond well to disassembly, cleaning, fresh grease and new brushes.
I agree,... as long as the lug the cable attaches to isn't twisted, and the wire inside broke loose. That can be fixed, but will take more then a kit to do it.
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Sidecar Bob
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Re: starter?

#15

Post by Sidecar Bob »

BTW re "headlight dims when attempting to start": The Start button has 2 sets of contacts. The main contacts close when you press the button, allowing current to flow to the solenoid. The 2nd set open when you press the button, interrupting current to the headlight so that more is available for turning the starter motor.
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