Exactly. Adding the relay either the way I did or the way Dr. Hess came up with works with the dressers while older Soft tails and Wide Glides apparently can get away with a heavier gauge fused wire feeding the 30 tab directly on the original relay. They might also benefit from replacing the wire from 87 to the solenoid with a larger gauge and fresh connectors as well.

 

Doing more digging...

Apparently 1989-1993 FLHS, 87-94 FXLR, 86-94 FXR, 86-92 FXRS/con/sp, 95-98 FLHR, FLHR-I, 1999 FXR2 and FXR3 models are similar to Soft Tails. You could just hook up a heavier gauge, fused wire from battery positive directly to the original relay's "30 tab.

86 FXRD, 86-98 FLHTC, Ultra, I, FLTC/ultra, I, 86-92 FXRT, 95 FLHT, models use the switched type relay to kill the lights while starting, they would require the additional relay.

 

I just re-wired my added relay to neaten up the wiring and hide it better. I had just thrown it on the first time in a hurry to test the theory. Since I know it works and I have been going through many wiring diagrams since, I hooked it up slightly differently than the original version. The original version outlined in the first post of this topic is still by far the quickest, easiest way to do it, especially for those not too experienced with automotive wiring or crimp-on connectors. For those of you with more experience in wiring, relays and crimping, read on. I got rid of about 2-1/2 more feet of wiring this way...

First I removed the wire I had put between new relay 87 and the solenoid, then I removed the wire I had added between the original solenoid wire at the starter and the new relay's 85. I plugged the original solenoid wire back into the solenoid like stock. This removed the most wire from my first version due to the location I had mounted the new relay.

Next I removed the wire I had added from the battery positive post to the new relay's 30. At this point, the only connection left on the new relay is the ground connected to tab 86, and the old relay is fully connected like stock, so we are basically starting fresh.

I took a 14 gauge wire, about 6 inches long with a 20 amp fuse and crimped a flat, insulated female blade connector on one end and a small ring terminal on the other end. I plugged the flat blade onto the new relay's 30 tab and put the ring terminal on the main circuit breaker's single main feed that comes from the heavy lug on the starter.

This next step has several different ways you can do it. You can get all fancy and carefully remove the flat female blade connector from the old relay's socket position 87, then buy a new one from the parts department to add a wire, or do it the way I just did it:

I isolated the wire from the old relay's 87 tab that runs to the solenoid. About 5 inches or so from the old relay's socket, I cut the wire and crimped on an insulated flat female blade connector to each end. The side that runs from the relay I plugged onto tab 85 on the new relay. The side that runs to the solenoid I plugged onto the new relay's 87 tab.

That's it. I tucked the new relay out of the way under the old one and put the side cover back on. I was also able to re install the chrome starter cover which I had not been able to do yet(I left it off in case I had to poke the solenoid again, until I was sure the problem was fixed). Total wire added this way: about 6 inches of fused 14 gauge between the circuit breaker and the new relay and about 6 inches of 14 gauge between the new relay and the ground.

 

Just got the 2nd relay installed on my 1991 FLT yesterday, works great. Here is a photo. I bolted second relay to top of existing circuit breaker post and it all fits behind side cover.

 

I started to get the click again. The other morning when I was heading out to work, I got a click on the first press of the starter button, then it worked fine on the second press. When I went to come home from work, it did the same exact thing. Today I looked into it and I discovered a couple problems unrelated to the relay; The solenoid plunger was gummed up(the grease had turned sticky) and the contacts were carboned up again. It has been probably a year since I was inside the solenoid last and several thousand miles ago.

I cleaned everything up and polished the contacts up and put it all back together. No more click again. Just let this serve as a reminder, the added relay or wire does help, but it doesn't replace the need for routine maintenance on the rest of the starting system!

 

20 Amp.

 

85 and 86 are the control tabs that tell the relay to turn on/off power between 30 and 87 on the softtail. It should be reading somewhere around 12 volts at either tab when you have the handlebar button pushed.