Hello,
Been reading here on this forum, over in touring section....stumbled on EVO section and figured best to post here. Bought my first, an 86 Electraglide Classic. 50k but well maintained by a guy that really seemed to know his business. When I bought it, the starter seemed to drag, but she fired quick and ran smooth. Good oil pressure, etc. He said -- "needs battery and cables" -- so, being the slightly-below-average mechanic that I am, I ordered a factory manual, and picked up a new battery and cables. While putting on the new cables, I over-torqued the bolt on the solenoid and cracked it. Replaced the solenoid. NOW it won't turn over unless I use a car battery. Yanked the starter and had it checked professionally, looks "new" inside. Put it back in. Then I read about the starter clutch and all that wonderful mechanism in the primary, and that there are needle bearings in both the starter housing and the primary case for the starter shaft. Pulled starter and starter housing back out -- no needle bearing there! Just a butt-load of heavy grease where the bearing is supposed to be. Dang.

Soooooooo.....I'm thinking pull the primary, replace the needle bearing in it, evaluate the starter shaft for burrs or wear, replace the starter clutch, and of course the needle bearing in the starter housing.

Then, Murphy's law kicks in and I read in the service manual that it is normal for the EVO to "drag slightly" while starting? So is it safe to say that even after I get the needle bearings in and the starter shaft all set and everything back together it will still drag? Most importantly, is it also safe to say that I should have just left it all alone in the first place? I cannot imagine that it would be normal for the starter to drag, literally to the point that that it seems like the motor isn't going to turn over at all.

I'm at a loss as to what else to check.

Thanks in advance for being patient with my long-winded post....and for your expertise....and for not laughing at me breaking more than I fixed.

 

Wow. Does the battery have a full charge? I don't think I'd break into the primary unless I really had to. Are all the connections clean and tight? Don't know what to tell ya. My FXR doesn't drag on start-up. Hopefully someone else will be able to help.

 

Yes they will drag with anything but a strong, fresh battery. And even then, they will hesitate if engaged close to the compression stroke when warm.

Let a starter or alternator repair shop replace the needle bearing in the starter housing and maybe even the the bearing in the primary cover (they have the correct pullers)

There is a starter relay that sends power to the solenoid. The power for it comes from the ignition switch and the trigger comes from the starter button. I think it's orange for the feed and the tan wire goes to the solenoid. Check them to verify they have and maintain good, or at least equal voltage when attempting to start. If there is much difference btween the two when engaging starter, replace the relay.

 

Cool trick, I made a jump wire that plugs into my Battery Tenders + plug. I put an inline switch, and a plug end that plugs into the starter selinoid. I had a starting inssue too for a while. I found that if I gave the starter a full 12 Volts the bike started awsome. But if If I used the button on the handle bars, it was a little sluggish. 2 weeks later I had a wire ground out on the ignition switch. So it may not be where you are investigating. The 12 volts has to go from the battery, through the harness, throught the handlebars, through the buttons, back through the harness, to the relay, to the started selinoid. Check the conections and wires, that they are clean and solid.

 

Yeah, I think this is Dreaded Click related also. When I put a new solenoid on my bike, also an 86 FLHT, it did worse than the old solenoid.

Get one of those push button solenoid covers. And replace the starter relay, which is under the right side cover bolted onto the oil tank. The relays are available for like eight bucks at any auto parts store.

 

I had a problem sort of like this. I tried everything - including rebuilding my solenoid, installing a new starter relay, checking out the jackshaft and bushing, and checking all of the wiring to the switch - everything I could think of. The only way I could fix my "Dreaded Click" problem was to install a brand new Ultima 1.4KW starter that I bought for $140 with free shipping on eBay. I don't like dealing with starting issues, and it was a pretty cheap fix for a longstanding and very nagging problem. I also put the pushbutton from my old starter solenoid on it, in case of emergency on the road if this one starts just clicking instead of starting. Starts great now! So far, so good...

 

I don't think the his '86 will take the Ultima 1.4kw Starter unless he changes his whole primary. The starter in '86 is the Hitachi type or equivalent and doesn't have the built on solenoid. I believe the built on solenoid started in '89.

 

Yeah, you're absolutely right, Mr. I should have noted the year and realized that. A pushbutton on the end of the solenoid (I guess they make them for those separate solenoids?) is always a good thing. And replacing the starter relay... they are cheap.

 

On a side note: Don't use a car battery to jump your bike. I know this might start and entirely different debate, but there is a whole world of bad things that can happen when you think the battery is just weak and you push 1000 cranking amps into your bike.

I get the EVO 'click' every now and then. Most often I can track it down to a soon to be dead battery. I like to consider it an 'early warning' symptom. Because (at least it's my experiences-plural), that when the battery dies, it's dead at the scene. Nothing is going to revive it.

 

Good advice, Hackd! People don't realize how much more amperage a car has than a bike. You can fry stuff by jumping from a car battery... and you're right, that would start a whole new debate!

My click started intermittently, and only got worse and worse over a year period until I was forced to install a pushbutton on the solenoid, despite everything else I did. Even a new battery and keeping it on the Battery Tender didn't help.

My theory is that the solenoid windings can just weaken over time until they can't generate enough magnetic force to hold the plunger in to complete the circuit. Finally got tired of having to start using the pushbutton, so I got the new new starter, and it works great! That kind of tells me the problem was in the solenoid itself.