Been up & down this thing from end to end, put my hands & meter on every inch of wire on this shovelhead and cannot figure out why I instantly melt my solenoid to starter cable as soon as I turn on ignition and hit the start button...

It was re-wired in a manner consistent with the wiring diagrams I have found so far recommended for shovels before I got it and everything was hunky dori before I pulled the starter, solenoid and battery off when I fixed the oil leaks in the tranny...

baked what was working when I took it down the first time I tried...
Cable literately caught on fire in about 3-5 seconds after it started smoking...

Then bought a new solenoid, battery and spyke starter all the right cables & such...

double checked every fricking thing with a fine tooth comb... did not find anything obvious...

2nd time I tried baked everything again just as damm fast...

It melts the damm cable so fast i can't get the positive cable off the battery before the battery, starter and solenoid get cooked... I am talking seconds.
Positive post on battery fricking melted...

I know its gotta be something stupidly simple; but I just can't ferret it out yet...

I am so fricking frustrated right now and I am not looking forward to buying all that crap again; when I still don't know what the cotton-picking problem is...

I got all the damm manuals too; oem h-d and otherwise and are not of much use on this one thus far...

I can't even begin to be able to afford to take it to a shop either...

ObamaNomics is fricking killing me...

Related Issues:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/shove...-no-start.html

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/shove...ons-spyke.html

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/shove...r-problem.html

thanks in advance.

 

we had a customer with an issue like this some years back and when i went to his place to look, the battery was connected backwards by mistake as he overlooked that

 

I wish it was that obvious for me...

 

Lets start with the obvious first, sorry if you've covered this before:

The wires cook because too much amperage is being sucked trough them and melts the wire jackets very quickly. If this happens as soon as you hit the start switch, something is shorted directly to ground. Once you open the circuit I bet you can't get it to stop until everything is melted. Is your bike attempting to crank during the meltdown process? What size are the cables that keep burning up?

Can you post pictures of your starter solenoid setup and the wiring diagram? If it is easier you can email them to me if you would like a third opinion. PM for email address.

I suspect your solenoid may be bad but I am not ruling out the starter either. Do you know how to bench test your starter? Can you take it to the auto parts store and have them test it?

 

you need to start over -- forget everything you have done and try and look at it as if its a new job -- what is it doing its shorting right to ground -- as if you put the two battery terminals together -- soooo take all the legs off everything than before connecting the starter / solenoid check the bike wiring does every thing else work correctly -- you can use a jumper wire to check it -- than connect one lead at a time ( reason ) could you have a plus lead pinched or touching another piece of metal look very close -- its a new job be curious -- jz

 

take the solinoid apart & see if there's burnt marks on the copper washer (aluminum in later models. wirebrush it to clean it up. in these shovels you should have a relay in the system. it may be stuck in the on position. in my old '74 FXE i wired in a late 70's ford truck relay. thats was on the left finderwell. this isolates the battery from the starter. also you can use a screw driver to jump it if needed. . you may also mae up & soder a new battery cable with copper ends ACE hardware.

 

The cable that keeps melting is the cable between the solenoid & starter...

the 1st one that melted was a 6 Gage and was on the bike working when I pulled everything down to fix the tranny oil leak...

the 2nd one that melted was a 4 Gage that came on the new spyke starter; its integral with the starter; well shielded and flexible...
which is why I liked it better than the oem hitachi setup I pulled off after the first meltdown...
too easy for that one to ground out as you indicated...

but I found no indication of anything grounding out either melt-down with two different starters, solenoids, and cables...

both times i just hit the starter button one quick blip to see if starter engaged and if I had any obvious issues...
it did & then immediately started smoking...

the positive battery cable got plenty hot, but nothing like the cable from
solenoid to starter...
Although, the top post of the battery melted while I was trying to take the positive cable off...

as you indicated; it appeared to have a completed circuit/power going through the cables; after
just blipping the start button once, not even trying to start it...
until i managed to get the positive cable off...

it did not try to keep starting after that initial quick blip I did both times...

to recap:
2 separate meltdowns..
2 different starters
2 different solenoids
2 different batteries
2 different sets of cables

same problem...

1. turn on ignition
2. blip starter button on handlebars
3. expected bump of starter like it was going to do what it should if I kept the starter depressed...
4. smoke followed by cable catching fire 3-5 seconds after the blip on starter button...

damage...
brand new starter, solenoid, battery and cable between solenoid & starter toast...

no indication of anything obviously arcing or otherwise grounding out...

bench tested starters, went through testing procedures itemized in oem h-d manual for testing starter/solenoid...

both were good before they got toasted...

no other wires damaged or hot...

 

coincidentally, somebody set my shovel up with what sounds like your ford type relay...

is there a good way to test if this thing is stuck open?

 

Wow!
What a disaster!
I read carefully through your posts.
Let's go through what is supposed to happen.
You push the start button. That should energize the starter relay and close it's contact for the solenoid.
That should energize the solenoid. the solenoid should draw the plunger into it and at the end of it's travel it should close the contact for the starter.
Also, when the plunger is drawn into the solenoid it should move the starter shift linkage which should move the starter gear (and bendix) so the starter gear should engage the ring gear on the clutch shell.
The starter motor should then be cranking the engine over.
Now could it be that something in there is binding so that the plunger is is still making the contact for the starter but the starter isn't turning because something is binding up in the starting gear assembly?
If the starter relay is not returning to the open position when you let go of the start button than that would keep the solenoid energized. That doesn't explain why the starter motor isn't turning the engine over. There may be two problems and the starter gear/linkage stuff is binding somewhere not allowing the starter motor to crank the engine.
I hope this makes sense.
Like jz said, approach it again after stepping back and check each component for proper function.
I am really sorry you you have dumped so much time and money into this.

 

Oh yeah, you can test the starter relay with a voltmeter. Disconnect the wire at the solenoid that comes from the starter relay to the small terminal on the solenoid. Connect the meter positive lead to that wire, then connect the meter negative lead to ground.
Push the start button and look to see 12v. on the meter.
Release the button and the 12v. should go away. You should also hear the starter relay click as it operates.
The starter relay should operate quickly. As soon as you push the button you should hear the click and 12v. should be present on the voltmeter.
As soon as you release the start button you should hear a click and the 12v. should go away on the meter.
I have that Ford type relay on my bike; they are tough, heavy duty units and should last a long time but stuff does go bad...