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84 Shovelhead, electric start. When I hit the start button it makes a sound like the starter is spinning but not engaging to actually start the bike. My question is , could a weak or bad battery cause this particular issue?
G'day Bulldog.
As others have said check the battery first. A multi-meter will only tell you voltage. Get a good tester that tells you CCA (cold cranking amps) as well as internal resistance. The best $50 I've spent and use it weekly.
Cheers
Voltage is tested in parallel while amperage is tested in series. That's what makes testing DC amps difficult.
For a long time with AC current there have been meters that wrap around the wires. They are half a transformer so the amps can be read on a scale..
A DC amp meter has to have the capacity of the whole load running through the meter because DC won't alternate to operate as a transformer.
DC current has to pulse to operate as a transformer like an ignition coil.
Lately there are clever meters that have circuits that are able to measure DC current the same way by wrapping around a wire.
Amazon ( of course) has several that are cheap. <$20 >100Amps basic meter. I can see a real use for these. Just wrap around
the wire you want to test.
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Shovelhead Starting problem
