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So I have a 1996 Dyna Low rider. One day I tried to start it and I got the dreaded click of death. I tried charging the battery and even replaced it. The bike still does the same thing. I have replaced the starter relay. I have put new contacts in the back of the solenoid. I have bench tested the starter when I had it off and it spun when voltage was applied. Now that I have it back on the bike I tried to start it and it is still clicking in the solenoid, every once in awhile it will rotate the engine. Do starters go weak? Or do they just fail 100%? I have proper voltages at the trigger wire of the solenoid, my grounds seem to be good. My positive lead has good continuity to the top terminal of the solenoid. I tried jumping the terminals from the positive post to the bottom post of the solenoid, the starter spins without engaging the engine. I also put a jumper wire with 12v to the trigger terminal of the solenoid, the bike will want to crank but seems too weak to crank it fast enough to start. It will half rotate to engine then just Humm.
Listen to the other suggestions that are soon to follow, but it seems like you covered all the bases by bypassing switches, replacing solenoid contacts, new battery, etc.
My next thought is brushes in the starter? Again, don't trust just me, wait for other replies. Good luck with the problem solving. YD
Starters get weak with age/use/ buildup and can be rebuilt pretty inexpensively. I had one that turned when voltage was applied, off the bike but wouldn’t start the bike when I put it back on.
New batteries aren’t always good. Sometimes a brand new one will turn out to be bad upon testing.
Last edited by guido4198; Sep 11, 2022 at 02:12 PM.
Im diagnosing start issues also. More often than not my starter won’t turn but I get all the clicks. Like you, everything had continuity and voltage.
So, I did a deep dive into the “Voltage Drop testing”. Found you can have all good diagnosis but the voltage drop testing will show problems while under load!
My FLH is a ‘91 with original battery cables. Guess what I found…..drum roll…..I had over 5V drop in both POS and NEG cables. I wasn’t getting enough voltage to run the darn starter, even though in a static condition things checked good.
Guess that’s why in the manual under troubleshooting you do voltage drop testing before all the other stuff.
My new battery cables are in the mail. I found a great YouTube on what voltage drop testing is and a layman’s explanation that stuck in my 66y/o brain. Can find it and fwd to you if you want.
Continuity tests are not for determining condition of a circuit (you can get a good continuity reading on a wire that has only one good strand of copper remaining).
As Captscotty says, voltage drop testing on a circuit under load is the way to properly test circuits.
Don`t buy any parts until you have isolated the problem.
Charge the battery, take it to an auto parts store and have it load tested don`t assume it is good because it is new.
Clean battery cable terminals, both ends, and their respective contact surfaces.
What is the voltage across the battery posts, ignition switch on?
What is the voltage across the battery posts with starter button pressed?
What is the voltage at the small wire at solenoid with starter button pressed (note: wire must be connected to solenoid)?
Last edited by Dan89FLSTC; Sep 12, 2022 at 10:27 AM.
Continuity tests are not for determining condition of a circuit (you can get a good continuity reading on a wire that has only one good strand of copper remaining).
As Captscotty says, voltage drop testing on a circuit under load is the way to properly test circuits.
Don`t buy any parts until you have isolated the problem.
Charge the battery, take it to an auto parts store and have it load tested don`t assume it is good because it is new.
Clean battery cable terminals, both ends, and their respective contact surfaces.
What is the voltage across the battery posts, ignition switch on?
What is the voltage across the battery posts with starter button pressed?
What is the voltage at the small wire at solenoid with starter button pressed (note: wire must be connected to solenoid)?
All good info here..
You'll also have to check for voltage drop where the main cable from the + terminal on the battery but where it connects to the solenoid because more than likely that's where your largest drop is going to occur.
Trying to use this site on a phone is proving to be challenging so the drop voltage test was good hardly any voltage on either lead of the bike. The drop voltage test on the green wire was confusing.. Black test lead on green wire plugged in and red probe on +post. It read 11.7v without cranking and 4 v while cranking. They are both positive so don't know why it's showing that much voltage. Battery was 12.2 volts with key on.maybe a little low on the battery voltage, need to charge again and retest before I rip this starter out. Even jumping the trigger terminal didn't make it crank.
96 fxdl starting issues
