I'm posting this for my neighbor, who has a 1988 Harley Softtail. He drove it to work, this morning, but when he came out to go home, this afternoon, it wouldn't turn over, so he had to have AAA bring him and the bike home on a flatbed.

Using my multimeter, I tested his handlebar switches for continuity, and they both checked fine.

It acts totally dead; no clicks or sounds of any kind, when trying to start it.

Any ideas as to where to start troubleshooting it? Is there anywhere on-line where a guy can find an electrical schematic for these things?

Are there any fuses or circuit breakers anywhere?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as we don't know where to even start troubleshooting.

 

There may be breakers somewhere, somewhere.

The juice needs checking at the starter relay. These would be the small wires. They call it a relay, (old days was called a bendix, who invented it about 1915 I think) cause it "relays" the small wire voltage to the big wire voltage, pulling in a solinoid at the same time, to slam the thing into the big starter contacks there. Where up to 300 AMPS from the battery turn the starter.

So see what you got there.

 

Just to add to that the "small wire voltage" is what your start switch controls.

 

You want to check at the solinoid. There could be a open between the switch and the actual solinoid connection.

 

You want to buy a manual is what you want to do. Full of good information, like complete wiring diagrams.