electrical gremlin
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electrical gremlin
hey guys, been having some electrical issues on and off the last month...went out and purchased a new battery but problem still exist....here is the problem: when trying to start I get rapid clicking noises....starter? or loose connection? been pop starting my bike lately....runs rough when calling for more speed..kinda of skips for a sec....anyways went to harley and a mechanic listened to me try to start it and said that it wasn't the starter but a bad connection because a bad starter would have a diffrent sound...so I checked the connections on the battery terminals and the ground to the frame...all is clean and tight.....readings on the cables are around 13 before and during trying to start.....heres where it gets interesting(for me anyways)....when I hook jumper cables up to the bikes cables directly and bypassing the bike battery and coming off the car battery(not started) the bike starts...now i know I'm not suppose to do that but had to see and turned the bike off imediately....and my bike battery is new and completely charged and so is the old one which had nothing wrong with it.....so it can't be the battery but sounds like the battery isn't strong enough to start the bike but the car battery is......the copper nut on the starter is tight and clean.....CAN ANYONE GIVE ME SOME IDEAS OR STEPS TO DO TO FIGURE THIS NIGHTMARE OUT??
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Lockport Township, IL
RE: electrical gremlin
Have you tried charging the battery fully? If it still behaves like that with a fully charged battery, I would have to think the connections at the battery are corroded or loose. If it starts fine after charging, but not the next day or two, I'd suspect something wrong with the charging system.
Stick a volt meter across the battery. should be above 13 volts. Watch the meter when you hit the starter button. If the voltage drops significantly, the battery may be questionable.
Stick a volt meter across the battery. should be above 13 volts. Watch the meter when you hit the starter button. If the voltage drops significantly, the battery may be questionable.
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2006
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RE: electrical gremlin
You diagnosed your own problem without knowing it...
You said..."here's where it gets interesting (for me anyways)....when I hook jumper cables up to the bikes cables directly and bypassing the bike battery and coming off the car battery(not started) the bike starts"...
Your Battery connections may look good and feel tight but they are giving you a poor electrical connection. REMOVE the terminals from the battery, wire brush the battery terminals and also the cable ends and reinstall the connections on the battery. Make sure they are clean and shiny before you reinstall them.
The jumper cables bypass the battery connections on the bike where the cables connect to the battery. That's why it starts.
Last case scenario is a bad battery cable on the bike and the additional amperage from the car is suficient to start the bike in any event. You wold have to do a voltage drop at the cable end to determine this but If you remove and clean them, I think your problem will be over.
Also don't forget that the cables have two ends and either end could cause the problem.
Let us know.
You said..."here's where it gets interesting (for me anyways)....when I hook jumper cables up to the bikes cables directly and bypassing the bike battery and coming off the car battery(not started) the bike starts"...
Your Battery connections may look good and feel tight but they are giving you a poor electrical connection. REMOVE the terminals from the battery, wire brush the battery terminals and also the cable ends and reinstall the connections on the battery. Make sure they are clean and shiny before you reinstall them.
The jumper cables bypass the battery connections on the bike where the cables connect to the battery. That's why it starts.
Last case scenario is a bad battery cable on the bike and the additional amperage from the car is suficient to start the bike in any event. You wold have to do a voltage drop at the cable end to determine this but If you remove and clean them, I think your problem will be over.
Also don't forget that the cables have two ends and either end could cause the problem.
Let us know.
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RE: electrical gremlin
glide, the negitive cable I just bought and the red cable looks good on the battery end but don't know the other end of the red cable...is that connected to the starter somewhere ? and could that be causing the problem? I think I did a test with the igniton key on but not started and had readings of 13 up at the battery but when I went to the copper nut with the neg tester wire on the top of the starter it read around 11...the postive cable does run from the battery to another spot on the side of the starter which like i said i haven't even touched that yet..let me know what you all think..thx JR
Road Warrior
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RE: electrical gremlin
The pos cable runs from the battery + to the starter solenoid , the cables have two ends and either end can cause what you are experiencing here if it is not a good connection.
There are other areas that can cause the same symptoms from excessive resistance in the circuit such as the sloenoid contact points which is inside the solenoid end cap on top of the starter. It carries the full load of the starter when the solenoid pulls up on a start and they do eventually get burnt which can cause the same symptoms as you describe here. The additinoal amps from your car battery may temporarily over come this resistance but the bike battery is not as strong and labors. Start off by cleaning as described above BOTH ends of both cables ad we'll go from there then.
There are other areas that can cause the same symptoms from excessive resistance in the circuit such as the sloenoid contact points which is inside the solenoid end cap on top of the starter. It carries the full load of the starter when the solenoid pulls up on a start and they do eventually get burnt which can cause the same symptoms as you describe here. The additinoal amps from your car battery may temporarily over come this resistance but the bike battery is not as strong and labors. Start off by cleaning as described above BOTH ends of both cables ad we'll go from there then.
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2006
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RE: electrical gremlin
There's another way of checking this out, it may be easier for now. If you have a no start condition where it just clicks, hold the start button down and let it click for a few seconds. The bad connection will usually get hot to the touch (be carefull here as they do get hot) and make it easier to locate it. Clean them all nevertheless
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RE: electrical gremlin
glide, so four possible hot spots if holding down the start button....1. positive at battery, 2. postive at solinoid, 3 negitive at battery , 4. negitive at ground on frame....these 4 spots check for heat after holdong down the starter button?
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Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2006
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RE: electrical gremlin
That sounds about right. Anywhere the cables attach on both ends is a possible source of a problem if not a good clean and tight connection. After you check both ends of both cables out, if the problem still exists, we go to the next step.
Never take these connections for granted, always remove, clean and reinstall them or you end up chasing your tail.
Never take these connections for granted, always remove, clean and reinstall them or you end up chasing your tail.
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