Bike: 2014 Sportster 48
Mileage: Almost 30k
Used in all weather as primary vehicle

I'm hoping someone can help me with the issue of the bike simply doing nothing when hitting the starter button.

When you turn the key to both ACC and ON, the lights work, you can hear the pump prime gas into the engine when you switch it to RUN yet when you hit the starter button, nothing happens. (no engine turnover or struggle, no clicking from a battery without enough juice to engage a starter, no headlight dim indicating a strained battery)

I checked the battery terminals, it is a new battery, I even hooked the bike up to a coworkers car to "jump" it but it had zero effect.

I took it to the dealership for this issue a week ago and they told me the battery was bad. Strange since the battery I was using never had issues starting the bike but I have the Daymaker LED light and I run 20W worth of LED aux lights on a relay so I thought maybe it was my fault the battery crapped out considering my commute is on the short side at less than 10 miles each way. Anyway, brand new battery is in the bike. About 10 miles on the odometer since coming back from the dealership and I have the same issue.

I originally was very skeptical it was the battery due to a few things. No previous difficult starts. When it does start it starts strong every time.

I just have no idea what is going on here and would love to hear your opinion.

Cheers,
Mick

 

Starter relay in the fuse box. Under $10.

 

Any ideas as to why it will not randomly start back up for me but started again once the tech put a new battery in?

I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting the battery to see if it would reset anything but it did not work.

Earlier I also had someone hook up jumper cables with their car but it had similarly, no effect.

 

As already said, the starter relay is the most likely suspect. None of the "fixes" you listed will fix a bad relay.

Last time I bought one it was ~$8.00 at the local auto parts store.

 

So it turns out the 2014 models do not have any relays. All electrics are handled by the ECU and another module above the ECU.

I tried to eliminate some other possible problems like a gear sensor or jiffy stand sensor so I lifted the bike, put the kickstand up and turned the key off and run button to off position. No luck.

Then I noticed the N for Neutral wasn't lit.

I was just an idiot and the bike was in 2nd gear. I hadn't bothered to check that first.

 

Glad you got it fixed, good job.
But it's strange that the 2014 parts manual shows it having the starter and system relays, the 2015 parts manual does not.

 

Which version of the 2014 book do you have?

Mine is the '14 book as well. P/N 99484-14A