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My buddy has one on his 1999 FXST.
I think it's safer and cleaner than shorting across the terminals with a screw driver like I've had to do to my FXSTC a few times in the past.
You can get to it without removing the oil tank? I don't see any way that I could jumper mine with a screwdriver the way it's tucked away under the oil tank.
I see, so it's strictly a mechanical device. So if you have a relay with burnt contacts, then manually engaging it won't solve the problem of getting voltage to the starter motor.
as far as i know, yes it will work with a bad relay as this does not need the relay to work. it basically by-passes the relay.
i plan on installing one due to the fact i have been going thru relays recently & i have the starter out of the bike right now.
They look like water could get in around the button...
Thanks
Doug
If you're askin about the GripAce, then yes, they claim to be waterproof. The circuit board is sealed to the bottom of the button pad, then the whole pad is slightly pressure fit into the recess of the grip. I cannot yet vouch for this as I haven't ridden this setup in the rain yet, but looks to me like it won't be an issue.
as far as i know, yes it will work with a bad relay as this does not need the relay to work. it basically by-passes the relay.
i plan on installing one due to the fact i have been going thru relays recently & i have the starter out of the bike right now.
The solenoid relay has two functions; to engage the starter bendix to the ring gear, and to act as an electrical 'switch' that completes the circuit to allow voltage to go to the starter motor. The contacts that complete the circuit can get burnt over time to the point where there is too much resistance, so the starter motor doesn't get enough juice (acting just like a low battery). A mechanical device that allows you to manually engage the solenoid will not do anything to solve the problem of burnt contacts in the relay.
The only way to 'bypass' the electrical contacts in the relay is with a bypass circuit, and the bypass circuit would have to be able to handle a 1 kw load.
It seems that there is more than one type of button being discussed in this thread; one being a mechanical device and one being an electrical device. If there is actually an electric bypass starter button available I'd be curious to see how it hooks up and whether it actually bypasses the electrical function of the relay switch, or just bypasses the starter button on the handlebars.
The solenoid relay has large heavy duty contacts to handle the load, and the wire from the relay switch to the starter motor is the same gauge as the battery cable running to the relay. A bypass circuit would have to have seriously heavy duty button (with hefty contacts or maybe a mercury switch), and very heavy gauge wire.
Or, I'm going to take the stock cover off, drill a small hole and plug it with a screw and rubber washer. I always have a small screwdriver on the bike so if I ever need a manual start I'll just take out the screw and push in the sol with the screw driver.
I think what these covers do is allow the operator to manually push the solenoid forward, which, itself, makes the contacts for the starter to turn. Instead of electrically (magnetically) moving the solenoid via the use of the low-power switch on your handlebars, you are manually, physically moving the solenoid. It is the solenoid that makes the electrical contact for the starter. There is no "electricity" moving through the solenoid starter button, nor does the solenoid starter button carry any power.
Or, I'm going to take the stock cover off, drill a small hole and plug it with a screw and rubber washer. I always have a small screwdriver on the bike so if I ever need a manual start I'll just take out the screw and push in the sol with the screw driver.
That's it, 3 screws, remove old cover and install. A little green lock tight.
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