When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Ignition/Tuner/ECM/Fuel InjectionNeed advice on ignition issues? Questions about a tuner? Have questions about a EFI calibration or Fuel Injection? Tips on Engine Diagnostics, how to get codes, and what they mean. Find your answers here.
Well, it seems that my starter might be acting up. \\; If I turn my bike on and hit the starter button I can hear the relay engage but I get nothing from the starter. \\; It started out as a sometime thing and very quickly turned into an "all of the time" thing. \\; Does anybody have any ideas?
It would help if you gave info on make/model of bike, but in general first place to check is lose ground at battery or frame, and loose connections at starter.
It would help if you gave info on make/model of bike, but in general first place to check is lose ground at battery or frame, and loose connections at starter.
+1 \\; Sounds like a bad ground, loose starter terminal or low charge on the battery. \\; A low battery will engage the solenoid, not enough power to turn the engine. \\; This is what I would do ........
Check and clean all connections
Charge battery to full
 \\;
If it works after that, cool, if it happens again in the near future, I would do a load test on the battery, if that's good, I would check the charging system..........
OK, so today I checked everything that was mentioned. \\; It all seems OK. \\; I also took off the cover from the solenoid. \\; When I push it in the bike turns over. \\; I think that maybe my coil is bad on the solenoid? \\; I am cleaning it up now to see. \\; Any more suggestions?
OK so this is more of a bump than an update... But I have charged the batterie to 100% and tried to start my 93 Sportster. \\; I only hear the relay giving 1 single click as I believe that it should. \\; the starter doesn't turn. \\; I left the batterie hooked up overnight. \\; I am still at 100% charge. \\; I do not think that it is a battery thing. \\; I have removed the solenoid cover and cleaned the contact areas etc. \\; When I push the plunger into the solenoid toward the contacts with the starter button depressed, at no time does the thing want to suck in and make contact. \\; If I push untill it actually does make contact, the starter kicks in. \\; Is there something between the relay and the solenoid that I am missing? \\; I haven't received my book yet so that i can trace it out that way, but as I live in Minnesota I am in a hurry to get back out there and enjoy what little bit of summer that we have left... \\; Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I'm having the same issue on my 2000 wide glide. Use a voltmeter to test the wire that goes from the starter relay to the solenoid (at the starter relay - with and without it plugged into the solenoid). It is green on my bike, but easy to trace. If you get no power either way, then you have the same problem I do. When I get home tonight I'm going to check for a good ground to the starter relay and see if that may be the culprit. I have already changed the relay (from a working bike ).
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.