I bought my 72 Xlh last April from my father who had no issues with it for the 2 years he owned it. It has electric & kick start. I rode it a little bit locally when i bought it, and no problems. I took it for a ride on the highway about 50 miles into the ride I stopped for 5 minutes, and whenI tried to start it, It only clicked. LuckilyI was on a hill, soI roll started it. Later in the day, I had to kick start several times (it started, but not not easy) I rode all season using the kick start and no problems other than when it is hot it takes forever to start (maybe 20 or 30 kicks sometimes more). I thought it was the solenoid, so I got one over the winter. I found this forum a few days ago, and have been spending some time on it reading posts. I was going to install solenoid this morning, I disconnected battery and removed from bike to avoid shorting anything. I noticed that all of the little red caps on the battery are broken! I replaced the battery last year when it wouldn't start, but obviously it was not the battery. I put new caps on the battery, and for kicksI connected it and tried to start the bike. This is when i noticed that the clicking is coming from the battery, not the starter or solenoid. I cleaned the contacts on positive and negative, but still no good. could the broken caps mean anything? are they broken because the bike was not stored with heat? I am a new harley owner, and not verymechanically inclined. Not sure where to go from here? should I replace the solenoid anyway? should I have someone test the electrical system? (I do not have the tools or know how)
There is a wire in the front of the engine that is hanging, and not connected to anything, it has a littleconnector on it like it slides onto a connection, but not sure where it goes. I can follow it back up to a group of wires under the handlebars, but not sure what it is. I think it may be a horn wire, because I have a horn button (no horn on bike) Any help is appreciated.

PS. The bike runs, but I notice a clicking sound when riding that almost sounds like a wire isarcing, sounds like it is coming from the area of the regulator & generator. It did this all last season.

 

By the red caps on the top of the battery are you meaning the fill plugs? If those were in fact broken have you checked to make sure the battery still has the proper fluid level in the battery? If some of those cells are dry then that could be the reason why you are hearing the clicking noise. The clicking noise could be the sound of thebattery not holding a correct charge and the solenoid isn't getting enough power.

The wire you speak of that is hanging down is likely as you said the horn wire. You could wrap it up and hide it away. Its not going to cause a problem.

Now with the sound of the arching noise. Best thing to do. Place the bike in neutral, hop off the bike start it up and listen carefully and see if you can find exactly where the sound is coming from. Then let us know.

 

The clicking in the battery was happening long before the fill caps were broken, i just found those today. Can it be from storing without heated garage? Could the battery be getting too much charge? or maybe they were just over tightened. they weren't broken off, just whenI touched them they fell apart. it was clicking beforeI changed the battery. still clicked with new battery. none of the cells are dry.I read some of the threads in here, and saw that wherever the clicking comes from is most likely the problem, but battery is new, and old one is still good. i was hoping it was clicking at the solenoid, because I have a replacement. should i replace anyway?

 

Well if you already have the solenoid in hand then it won't hurt anything to proceed with replacing it. Obviously just make sure that all wires are hooked back up correctly.

I don't know what 72's look like but, on my 76 right under the seat directly behind the battery are three circuit breakers. One circuit breaker is strictly for lights and accessories. The other two are straped together and are the ignition breakers. If there is a short any where in your wiring (a wire's insulation has melted enough and the actual copper wire is touching metal) then that breaker will trip and result in a somewhat loud click noise. The click noise will happen twice. One time right when you hit the ignition button which trips the breaker and then after the breaker resets you will hear another click bringing the breaker back in service.

The battery will never make a clicking noise. The battery, if it were to have any problems, will do one of these two things. The bike will try to draw too much amperage from the battery than the batter can produce and in turn the battery will overheat and begin to melt. Or the same situation as above but the battery will explode and not melt.

Keeping a battery in a non-heated garage not in use will do nothing more than shorten the life of the battery. It will lessen the amount of charge the battery can hold. Its always a good idea to keep at least a trickle chaarger on the battery through the winter when the bike won't be used to keep the battery in shape.

Here is what I suggest you do. Take the battery out of the bike completely. Fill the battery with distilled water if needed in any of the cells, hook the battery up to a battery charger and let it go until its charged. While the battery is charging begin to work on the actual problem. Start at the handlebars and work your way back. At the handlebars pull the switch off and make sure all the wiring there looks good, make sure it has no cuts or bare spots if so repair it. Trace the wire back further doing the same thing at each stop. After doing all of this then proceed with replacing your starter solenoid with your new one just as a precautionary. After your done with all of this then hook up your batter again. And try to start it.

Good luck.

 

replaced the solenoid, battery dead. filled battery with distilled water and jump started bike. She fired first click of the button! thank you for the help. I am going to pull the battery to charge it, can I put it onthe regular charger?
Almost done getting her ready for summer! Laconia here we come!

 

By "regular" I would guess you mean one designed for a car. If it is +12v and has a setting for 2 amps, it will work. 2 amps is still a bit much for my liking, (I'd rather it be 1.5 or less) but if it's more than 2 you chance permanent cell damage. I would advise to get a trickle charger with auto float control and leave it overnight. With the auto float, you don't have to worry about going back to check it every so often so it dosn't fry.

Rich