Posted this in the tech forum but all I got back was 'check the cables and connections'. Those were checked and found to be good. Figuring the Sportster crowd can come up with other thoughts on it.

https://www.hdforums.com/m_3223928/m...tm.htm#3229278

Searched the forum and went through the service manual but couldn't find anything like this situation.

2005 883 Custom
5600 miles

Left work the other day, made afew short stops on the way home.At the last stop went back out after 15 or 20 minutes and bike wouldn't start. Hit the starter swith and all I got was a click (it was just one solid click - almost a clunk - not the light click click clicklike a bad solenoid or low power)from the starter/solenoid and everything went dead - no headlight or indicator lights. Turned the key off and back on - still nothing. Pulled the left side cover and checked to make sure fuses were seated - everything looks and feels ok. Turned key on and got indicator lights, hit starter switch, got the click from the starter and it all goes dead again. Turn the key off and noticed the speedo needle was twitching. Thinking possible short somewhere. Take a look at what I could see, pull the seat and check under there- don't see anything that's obviously messed up. Also checking connections while looking and everything seems seated good.

Every so often I turned the key back on - sometimes nothing, other times I would get lights. Whenever I got lights, the speedo had stopped twitching but there were a couple of time when there was no twitching but didn't get lights. Must have tried the starter and just got click and die about 6 times or so. Was ready to make a call to get a ride and trying to figure out about hauling it, gave it another shot and it fired right up like normal. Rode home, shut bike down, waited 30 seconds, turned on and started no prob. About 15 (maybe 20) minutes or so later went back out and started right up again.

First try to start, bike was in 1st gear clutch in. Next bunch of tries in nuetral - sometimes clutch in sometimes not. Final successful try was in 1st with clutch in.

The first and most attempts to start the bike was resting on the stand. The last unsuccessful attempt I stood the bike up. Final successful try bike was back on the stand.

It reminded me of overload/overheat cutoff switches on electric motors. Don't know if they put them on starters or not. I don't think anything was overly hot and everything was dry.

I'm thinking that maybe somehow when I stopped and shut down, thegears that get pushed by the solenoid got out of alignment with the others and that didn't allow the solenoid to kick out all the way. Probably a 1 in gazillion chance for that and I hit it. I figure that when I put the bike back down on the stand after the last failed try I probably did a slight roll the the rear (always do this to make sure the stand is fully extended) and this brought the gears back into alignment.

My guess for the electronics shutting down is that when the solenoid didn't fully kick to allow the starter motor to engage one of the sensors registered it and signaled the Ignition Control module to shut down.

Any ideas on what might have caused this?

Rode today with a number of stops and no problems. Still don't know what caused it. I'm kind of leaning toward the theory that it was a once in a lifetime thing that the gears didn't line up and allow the solenoid to fully engage. What makes this so confusing to me is the electronics shutting down so quick. The only sign that there was any juice was the twitching of the speedo needle and that would stop after a few minut

 

I had a similar experience on My dyna.
Sounds like a sticky solinoid or brendix. If it hapens again try either rolling the bike backwards in gear or tap the end of the starter with something. If you have already checked the battery conections and earth straps then I am afraid it looks like a starter motor and jack shaft bebuild.
I have read your other thread and the reason why everything shuts down so quickly is the starter motor is the single biggest amp draw on your bike and has no fuses bewteen it and the battery. You press the starter button and it energises the solinoid, this then throws the starter shaft and windings of thestarter motor across engaging the starter gears and the comutator on the motor makes contact with its bushes and the real curent draw hapens. If the start motor sticks in the this postion you have basicaly a short across the battery and you loose every thing. As the cables are made to carry the full load they dont heat up that quick. Its an old fashioned desgn that has been replaced on later bikes with a pre engaged starter motor and a one way clutch where the starter solidnoid is realy a high ampage relay but is strill refered to aas solinoid.
You might be lucky and find out you just need new brushes in the motor or that you have a bur on one of the ring gear teeth or the drive pinion but if it starts to do it a lot I would pull the starter and investigate more. Or even put one of the newer more efficent after market ones in.

 

Thanx. I didn't even think about it sticking. Used to see it every so often years ago on cars but it's probably been 20 years since the last time.

I think rolling back is what got it to work again as the bike didn't get moved until after the last failed attempt and then I did go back a bit then it started on the next try. Haven't had anymore problems since then and hopefully won't but I'm gonna definitely remember to roll it if I do.

 

Not surpisiing you last saw it on a car the starter on a harley is also fitted to a toyota