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Having a bit of a delay starting issue going on.1998 Electra Glide.When i press the start button there is a slight delay before starter engages.Only a half a second or so but its noticable.So far ive replaced the starter relay and cleaned the terminals on the starter.Battery terminals are clean and tight also.Battery is 2 years old. It starts every time .I was thinking of the start button itself but not sure Do they fail?14" bars were installed by p.o. and likely wiring was extended in bars.Battery issue maybe?I just want to look in the right direction.thks
1998 Electra Glide
Any changes from stock?
How many miles?
Is it fuel injected?
A digital voltage meter is rather easy to find and many are available for under $20 US dollars.
They are also very useful for electrical work.
Have you considered placing digital voltage meter probes on battery terminals to measure voltage:
At rest (all OFF)
While cranking
At high idle
What are the numbers?
After checking voltage, my bet is on the large contact washer in the starter solenoid.
You probably can get a replacement kit for it that will replace it and it's mating contact tabs.
Years ago, they had a thick silver plating on the copper. Most are just copper now.
Your start button is just firing the small coil on the relay. That relay is firing the solenoid magnet that pulls in the starter gear and turns on starter with the big contact. So a little more load then the start button.
That contact in the solenoid pulls a lot of amps . It gets a work out.
On a bike as old as yours, it's just a guess.
Your voltage check while cranking should not drop below 9.7 DC.
Crude test but it a good enough for a battery test in most cases.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Jul 8, 2025 at 07:24 AM.
When you say starter relay, are you referring to the little relay or the solenoid on the starter?
Could also be oxidation IN the actual start button on the bars.
Bike is carb with stock motor.The relay i replaced is the one under the seat. I'll start with a load test on the battery to eliminate that .I just didnt suspect that because it always starts and turns over fine.
A load test and meter test should get you closer to a solution.
Most individuals do not have the ability to load test a battery at home but some auto parts will load test for free.
Just make sure that battery is fully charged before taking it to a shop for a load test so they do not need to keep it for hours on a charger and you waste time.
A standard AGM or wet cell battery will normally have a discharge rate and some motorcycle memory items might consume a small amount of power when parked too.
Is this motorcycle kept on a battery tender when not in use or is it a bike that is driven at least weekly?
A portable digital meter is kinda/sorta a shade tree self test for battery and charging system health.
Voltage at rest and voltage while at high idle can let you know if battery has voltage although AMP's are unknown and meter test also tells you if bike is charging.
The voltage while cranking is a simple test for battery capacity or a shade tree load test.
After conducting the voltage at rest...If voltage drops significantly while cranking then battery capacity/battery health becomes suspicious.
Many individuals only test battery voltage at rest and that could be just a surface charge which is many times inaccurate by itself.
A lot of information is available with a simple meter.
After a new battery is installed the same meter test should be conducted in order to confirm health of new battery and charging system.
It would be sad to spend money on a new battery and an over voltage charging situation was to destroy the new battery because a simple test was not performed.
Lots of good battery info.thks.Bike is always on a tender and i ride a couple times a week but ive only owned it a couple months. I do have a good quality voltmeter.Are those load test meters on amazon any good.They seem pretty cheap.
Yes the toasters are fine off amazon. If you want to save the $$ just pull the battery and bring it to any auto-parts store and they will load test it for you.
Ive heard of a lot of incorrectly done battery load tests done by auto parts stores. As was suggested in a post above, starting with a full battery (min 12.5v) the voltage reading at the battery during cranking shouldnt drop below 9.6. Personally I would trust this test more than a battery test done by most parts stores.
There are of course many people working at parts stores that are competent in doing a battery test, I just would trust my own shade tree test more than taking it to any random store.
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Delay starting
