Hey guys, I hit the start switch and I hear a faint clicking down by the starter area. it won't turn over, any ideas? Starter relay? cellinoid? starter switch? battery terminals are all cleaned up. 09 FXDC thanks in advance~ Jack

 

Is the battery fully charged? And terminals tight? Not just clean

 

check your battery... or have it checked

 

Check your grounds too. I fixed a similar issue on a friend's 2000 FXDL and it was a loose ground.

 

Battery is fully charged and terminals are clean and tight. I am going to check a bunch of things out today.

 

I would pull the battery and have it load tested before I did anything. Just because it's charged does not mean it has the proper cold cranking amps. If you hear a faint click by the starter (and I do mean on the end of the starter on the right side), my guess is the battery does not have the amps to pull in the solenoid.

Following is just a info battery thing I throw out on starting issues.

After a good 24 hour low amp controlled charge and the battery has set about 2 hours voltage should be about 12.8 volts.

12.8 = full charged

12.6 = 75%

12.3 = 50%

12.0 =25%

With a DC volt meter hooked across the battery terminals and reading 12.8 or so, crank motor and while its cranking it should not drop below about 9.6 volts and as soon as it starts and throttled up to 2000 rpm or so should read around 14.8 volts. The crank check shows a rough check of the reserve amperage capacity of the battery while cranking with a 150-200 amp load on it. The 14.8 shows a good alternator and if you leave it on a while as the regulatory will drop the voltage a little showing itself working. However, with the lights and stuff always on it will never drop back much.
When a battery wears out a good charge will show fairly good voltage, but the battery can still have very low amperage capacity which will show in the crude crank test above, but it really should be checked after a good charge by removing it from bike and getting a free check at a place like AutoZone that has a fancy load meter check that gives you a print out of the battery health. Battery MUST BE CHARGED to check it. Be sure they set their meter to correct cold cranking amperage stated on the battery. Never charge the AGM absorbed glass mat battery with a regular car battery charger. Also by taking battery out you know you have good connections. Vibration tends to loosen the connections or a little corrosion will prevent charging or cause starting problems. Using the maintenance charger can get 5 years from a battery but be careful here. You do not want the last start 5 miles from home. After a few years, charge and pull battery and have it checked for cold cranking amperage ever spring. If they have one, Wal-Mart's AGM absorbed glass mat battery is just as good as any one's for half the money. Do not jump, push start or run bike with a half dead battery. It will kill alternator stator or the voltage regulator or both. Probably a $500 repair.

 

Well, I check out a few things the battery fully charged, and I replaced the starter relay and she fired right up. And then we went for a 50 miles ride. Thanks, for all the input guys...hopefully that is it for the rest of the season.

 

Are you talking about the actual small relay plugged into the fuse box? Is this what was giving you the faint click?

 

i believe so,I had the system relay crap out on me last year. They were not OEM relays, i replaced the system relay with a harley one 7$. I will be getting a set of back ups soon.