For those of you that have posted about the "click of death", and there seems to be a lot of us that have had this problem with these older bikes, me included, I went ahead and installed one of the push button solenoid starter covers and it works great. I had already replaced the battery cables and several other things. Bike would start 99% of the time with the switch on the handlebars, but every now and then, nothing but a click, then I would have to get off the bike, bend down and jump it at the solenoid with a small piece of wire. This push button eliminates all that. You can reach down and push it while sitting on the bike. Nice to have it there, just in case.

 

You bet! I took the pushbutton I had on my old starter and installed it on the new Ultima one, just in case. But I have had no COD problems with the new starter... yet. I noticed that the 1.8KW and larger Ultima starters come with the pushbutton already installed on them. They must know something we don't...

 

I think that pushbutton is really the best solution. I installed an auxiliary relay under the seat and I haven't had a Dreaded Click since. The push button cover is easier.

 

99% of the time the dreaded click stems from the inadequacy of the dash mounted ignition switch, thru which the current for the "line" side of the started relay is routed... not to mention the witches nightmare of other junctions and connections on the circuit.

The bikes with tank mounted ignition switches generally use a 4 pole relay and the "line" side for the starter relay comes from the main breaker. On handlebar dash mounted switches of that era, it comes from the main breaker, then to and thru the ignition switch, thru the accessory breaker then to the line side of the 5-pole relay where it either sends it to the load(2) side, being the starter solenoid, or the load(1) side which feeds all the accessories like brake and turn lights, dash lights, gauges and anti-dive valve. The actual kill switch/coil voltage comes off the ignition side...

 

I think it's time for another old tool bag of goodies !!!###%%%

 

Yep, it seems that sometimes not quite all the juice from the battery gets to the solenoid. If my bike has sat for a week or so, and the battery has gone down just a little, I can almost gaurantee that it won't start through the handlebar switch, but reach down and hit the solenoid and it fires right up. This added switch makes it sooooooooooo much more convenient.

 

Where is the best place and price to get the push button solenoid starter cover?
I have a 95 FXDWG
Thanks
Woody

 

Got mine on eBay. You shouldn't have to pay more than $15 or so. Some of them have a straight pushbutton and others have a small **** on a shaft.

 

I ended up getting mine from J&P cycles. Go to their website and type in "push button solenoid" under their search and it'll bring up 3 pages of 'em. Mine was $40 bucks, but as NorthGeorgiaHawg said, they're on ebay also. As with anything for a Harley, you can get 'em plain and black, or chrome with skull, dice, etc. It is a nice little convenient part to have on your bike though. 2 minutes to install. Just make sure your exhaust won't be in the way of it.

 

What years with there stock starters are able to use these switches? My bike is 89 flhtp and I think it is a great idea.