I have a 91 Sportster. For maybe a year, when I go to start it cold, the starter will hit/engage but takes a second before it will turn over the engine. I got to where I would hit it, let off the key (using an automotive style ign switch) then hit it again and 9 times out of 10 it would crank over like it should. After the bike warmed up, it would start like normal. Went for a ride today stopped for about 30 mins, went to restart and the starter engaged but wouldnt turn over the bike. Tried my normal procedure but to no avail. I decided to just hold the key in the start position and after about 3 seconds it turned over slowly at first then picked up and started. (so much for the bar...) Went home before I shut it off checked and the volts coming in were in the 13's. Charging system appears fine. Turned off and started right back up. Let it cool a bit then the same problem again. Engages but wont turn over. Checked the volts on the battery and looked good around 12.41. Pulled the battery out and tried another I have and the same thing. Pulled the plugs and it turns over fine. All grounds are tight and wires all look good. Can a starter slowly give up like that? When the bike is cold and everything is tight, seems like its just too much for the starter to turn it over. For me, starters have either worked or they didnt. Never had one act like this. Im sure if I bench test it, it will turn over fine since it does fine when the compression is low ( plugs removed) Anybody have any suggestions? I dont want to just toss a starter at it not knowing for sure.

 

Any electrical resistence between the positive terminal of your battery and the starter will result in a voltage drop. (amps x resistence). While cranking use a VOM to measure between the battery post itself and the cable if there is any reading (vdc) above .25vdc then you have a poor connection. Do the same between the positive cable and the starter connection at the starter. Same-same. When you're dealing with only 13vdc to supply the demand of the starter then losing several due to voltage drops can be a very big problem.

 

Further to Assegai's suggestion, I suggest you simply remove each high power connector in turn, clean, grease with dialectic grease and reconnect. You'll probably find they are dry and corroded, hence reducing the power getting through to the starter.

 

The big contact in on the end of the solenoid is worn out (item 8). Could be a lot of carbon brush material around commutator or the insulators are too high where the copper is worn down on the commutator (item 5).

 

Not sure if it's because I am new here but I can't PM anybody or open that jpg RipSaw posted... I get something about not having certain privileges..?? Anyway, Thanks for the info so far. I have 12.6v reading on my battery.

1. Did a voltage drop across the battery posts, when I hit the starter, I get the initial pause, (no smoke getting out anywhere) volts drop to 6v range then about 2 seconds later it picks up to a normal turn over I am back up in the 10 volt range. I can hit the key again, all turns over normal and I’m getting about 10.12v. If I do the same test on the solenoid post and to ground, I get the same reading and the same issues with how the engine turns over. (sometimes ok, sometimes a sluggish pause) If these numbers are the same, my understanding is you have a bad starter. But like I said, it’s the pause that’s screwing me up. When everything is turning over, all my readings appear fine.
2. I only had about .002 voltage drop across the cable leads and the post. Looks good there.
3. I have another battery (not for this bike, it’s a little stronger in CCA’s) that appears to be good. I hooked it up, had about a 1 sec pause the first time I tried to turn over the engine then I couldn’t get it to act sluggish again as I tried the ignition about 6 more times. The numbers on this battery during voltage drop test were stronger then my other battery, I only dropped into the lower 11v range. If I had not had that pause I would just call it the battery. Going to let it sit over night and try again with this battery in the morning.

I’m going to have to find a place to do a load test on my battery so I know what I am dealing with. Even though my volts look good, my amp output might not be correct. I hate it when the gremlins just will not jump out and say here I am. Thanks again for the input.

 

You're quite right about limited access, until you have a few posts up. All to do with defending the site against the dark forces!

In the DIY Electrical section there are two stickys with tips on checking your charging circuit. I recommend you go over it with a fine tooth comb. Your battery should be holding up much better than it is, so may be past it, or simply not charged by the bike.

Using the second battery tends to support that, but you should still not be getting any hesitation, however I suggest we need to ensure the charging side is up to scratch, which may uncover why things are not working as they should.

 

If your connections are good, when running at 2000, you should have 14.8 volts or so on battery terminals and the cables that are hooked to it. These small cold cranking amp batteries sometime check good even when almost worn out. Know mine did even fully charged for couple days and checked on AutoZones fancy machine. However mine was over 5 years old. It was doing that slow grunt till motor helped and then it got so bad , motor kicked back making that famous starter/compensator bang. Think once you get 5 post in 5 different threads, and then shortly afterwards, a system man will OK you to see and do all. Go to welcome page and the rules are at the top.

 

Thanks for the info guys! Funny how when you think you have all your bases covered, (and in your head, you just know it) that you find out your wrong. Plus point to connection suggestions. I decided to just pull everything out on this side of the starter and inspect. I had 2 issues. The positive cable had about a 1/2 inch long (rip) opening just big enough for one strand of cable to expose. Didnt see any place where it was arching out but not good regardless. Fixed that. Also, where my positive cable bolted to the battery it was a mess. (and I am pretty sure this is where the real problem was. The terminal was dicked up so I didnt have full flat contact with the connector. I moved it to the top of the terminal where all was clean and flat and would'nt you know it, just like new. No hesitation. Moral to the story, "sometimes you ain't as smart as you think you is" and don't over look the small things before moving on to the bigger ones. Thanks again for taking time to respond to my question.

 

Forgot to mention the other battery I was using just in case this helps somebody else down the road. I was using jumper cables the first time and still getting hesitation. No smoke or sparks but still that pause (strange but oh well). I had some other battery leads so I bolted them to the ones on the bike and bolted the battery to the ends. With this solid connections the bike worked fine with this battery so that took the starter out of the equation.