Hi everybody,

I suppose that I’ll put this same post in the electrical section, but as my bike is an Evo, I want to try here first because I know that here there are people who can help me with my problem.

I own a 99 FXST that has been stopped for four years. In December I decided to bring it to live again and I’ve done all what this involves (oils replacement, lubrication, new battery etc.). As my bike has a 240 wide tire in the rear, that I put a lot of years ago, I’ve adapted a second hand Softail Breakout fender and seats in it and all the lights works as it should.

As I know that you like pictures, I put a couple of them now and I’m going to explain my problem.







As I’ve said before, in December I put a brand new sealed AGM battery, but in that moment I had to charge it because the bike doesn’t started. Once it was fully charged, the bike started but in a couple of days, the battery seemed that didn’t have enough force to start the bike and I had to charge it again and again to can start the bike.

Yesterday, the bike finally didn’t want to start. The battery was fully loaded and I can listen how the relay acts with force (fast tick, tick, tick, tick… you know), but the starter seems that doesn’t arrive to turn. It seems that there’s no enough current to move the starter pinion.

I have to say that I have a battery booster and if I put it in the battery, I can start the bike, but just with the loaded battery I can’t start.

I’ve tested the battery and it has a lot of charge and with a multimeter I can test that the battery is in good condition. It shows 12,8 V in the bike, that drops to 11,4 when I put the ignition on, what seems to be nice.

I’ve noticed some things since I started for first time the bike last month.

The first thing I noticed is a little buzzing sound coming from under the gas tank (I think) when I apply the front brake. This sound is more audible when the bike is running fast and I apply the front brake but I can’t hear it with the bike started but not moving. Maybe it’s a bad wire connection under the gas tanks, and I plan to split them and check the connectors but… can this do that the bike doesn’t start?

The second one is that the negative battery cable, which goes to the frame, is not in a great condition, but when I start the bike and put a voltmeter, I can see that the battery is loading, so I suppose that the cable is still fine. I’ll replace it with a new one, but doesn’t seems to me that this is the cause.

The third one is that there’s a wire between the rear fender and the oil tank which is attached to what it seems a circuit breaker that is not securely attached, seems that the nut isn’t tight. This is the first thing that I’m going to test today. If I’m right, this is a cable that goes from the positive of the battery to that circuit breaker, and from there to the starter. So, this may be the cause, but I have to inspect and torque it before

The last one is that, as I’ve rewired the rear part of the bike, I’ve seen that the circuit breakers that are in a box under the seat seem a bit rusty. I’m going to clean them with contact cleaner but don’t know which of these things will be the cause.

So, my question is if you consider that I need to test any other thing or if you can tell me any procedures to check the starter, circuit breakers, etc (maybe with the multimeter) that could help me to find the electrical gremlin.

Thank you very much for reading me and I hope that someone could help me. I promise to have you informed of each thing and test that I be doing.

PD. Sorry if my English is not as good as I would like, I’m Spanish and I just can talk the English that I studied in school.

 

Your battery voltages are not too good and that neg cable sounds as if it is in need of replacement! When starting our bikes the battery is put under a lot of load and any slight defect between it and the starter will reduce its effectiveness. The condition of the two main battery cables and their connections at both ends of them are very important. A further thing to check is that on some models (including my Glide) there is a ground strap under the transmission, to the frame. Check if that is badly corroded or its connections poor and replace if in doubt.

Having made sure the main power cables are in good condition, if it still doesn't start then let us know. And tell the owner of that Honda to pump his rear tyre up!

 

Would like to add that a good battery should show at least 13.5v and with key on 13.2 volts and cranking it will go to 11.2 volts and a good charging system should bring it to 14.0-14.1. By what you say the battery you have is a pos..... Clean all grounds....

 

Sounds like a dead cell and a four year old battery. Replace the cables and a brand new battery. Check all of your grounds and terminals at the starter. I bet one would cleaned and replaced it will start fine

Rad looking bike!

 

Thanks grbrown, 98hotrodfatboy and misfitJason for your replies.

I really don't know how much must be the voltage of the battery when is at maximum level. I have mine attached now to the tender and it stops loading it when is at 14,6 V, but just as I disconnect it from the tender, the battery goes down to 12,9 V. I don't know if it's normal or not but it scares me a bit. When I put in the bike again, and with the battery at full load, I'll test the volts with the key on.

I have a new negative battery cable ready to replace tomorroy. I have a contact cleaner to clean all contacts in the harness. As soon as the job be done, I'll be back here again to tell you how it works.

grbrown, everyday I think the same about that Honda but the owner is a German guy who seems to live there and I think that he only comes to Spain on summer. It must be to cold to ride there

misfitJason, the battery is brand new but from the first day it has given me problems (if that was the matter of all this, what I really don't know for sure). When I put it on the bike for first time, I couldn't start it, I had to put it on the tender to be able to start it.

Again, thanks for your replies and I'll be back when I test the new cable and clean contacts.

 

I gotta agree with most of the replies here. Sounds like the battery is the problem. Definitely check, clean and tighten all the grounds, replacing that negative cable will help too. Bit take the battery to an auto parts store and have them load test it. Voltage is only part of the story.
Good luck.

 

Even though the battery is brand new, that's no guarantee it didn't take a crap internally. Have you taken it and had it 'load tested'? Often a battery will read fully charged, but short out internally when a load is placed upon it (personal experience).

 

Yup time to bring it back...

 

If the bike will start with a jump but not with the installed battery the battery is no good. It's just that simple.

 

There are Definetly cases where the battery can be fine and starters click. Either your main power or around are making contact but won't carry the necessary amperage. (Most often its your ground) In a lot of these cases when hooked to another vehicle, jump box, or battery charger they will start due to the excessive amperage present.
Clean both the main frame ground and the main power at the starter and tighten them both. I've seen this hundreds of times in three decades as a mechanic.