I've got a 1999 FLH TPI police totally stock bought it new from the factory in 99. The problem I'm having is I turn on the Run button hit the starter and all the dash lights go dim. I checked the battery when I hit the start button it drops to 12.6. However the voltage gauge on the dash drops to eight. On my starter solenoid there is a little green wire going into a plug and when I hold that in tight it starts but if you don't hold it in it won't start. What is that green wire for if anybody knows. I looked in my service manual and it goes to the starter relay which is good because I tested it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

put a volt meter on the battery and try cranking to see what the voltage is.

 

I'll put a Votemeter on the battery And when I hit the start button The battery dropped from 13.4 to 12.6 So it's not the battery I've got a feeling it's that little green wire that goes Into the starter solenoid And I don't know what that green wire Does whether it's Positive or negative

 

The green wire energizes the starter solenoid
i.e. sends the signal from the start button on the h bar

The fact that it works when "held" means you obviously have a bad connection

 

if I hit the start button too many times it will blow the ignition fuse. When I push the start button on the handlebar the dashboard goes dim the voltage on the battery shows full but the voltage gauge on the bike drops to eight. I know there's a short from it doing that I just don't know where to look for the short or maybe even a bad ground.

 

I suggest you check the connection at the green wire first

 

this is not a normal reading.

 

That is where I would start.....

IMHO, if you push on the green wire, and the bike will start, that suggests the bad connection is at, or near, where you move the green wire. Could be connection itself or broken wire under the wire insulation.

 

[img]https://sportsterpedia.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/techtalk:evo:elec:starter-solenoid-81up.jpg[img]

Life made simple,
on the starter solenoid, you have two contact bars, and a plunger assembly with ring, that when the third green wire sends power, it energizes the electromagnet to draw the plunger down, so plunger ring will make contract across the two main contact bars to send power to the stater motor to spin it.

So if your having to fiddle with the green wire to get starter to spin, then a problem either with the wire connector, the spade that that the connector connects to, or problem with the wire the bolt from the green wire connector, to coil wire clip instead.
As for back up line of the green wire, there is a relay, which the starter button and that circut controls the button side, and the contact side on the starter relay, is where the power comes from the battery, to go to the green wire. So regarding green wire, it could be that solenoid connector side is fine, but problem up at the relay or it connector that has problems, the problem instead.


So step one, pull the starter relay, and make sure that is spade connectors are clean, the connector connectors are clean to start with.
Next, remove the green wire from the starter solenoid, put a meter on it set to DC, then one multimeter connector to the green connector, and the other connector to ground on the bike frame. Now hit the starter button, and check to make sure you have 12V plus to the green wire connector. If yes, then chances are the relay contacts are not burnt, it sending power through it when its coil is entergized, and the problem is back in the starter solenoid or starter motor itself.

Again, if playing with the green connector on the starter solenoid is solving the problem, your not tugging on the wire hard enough to resolves problems back up the starter relay itself, then most likey problem with the green terminal to soldered on coil wire connection inside the solenoid.

So again,

Green terminal connect of top spade connector to coil of electromagnetic coil wire and the other side of the coil wire goes to ground and will bank that problem is the connector to coil wire, with maybe the screw/nut for the terminal being loose, or corrosion on the coil wire clip to it having some corrion instead.

Below that, you have the main terminal for the battery that goes to left hand side large L tab for plunger ring, and the other terminal on the right hand side, the cable that is connected to the motor.

________________________________________

As for the major drop in power when the stater is being spun and battery is good/engine compression has been raised to cause problem with basic starter,
that would will be the starter motor that you may have to pull apart, to make sure you have not burnt one of the coils winding on the armature that is causing a direct short, have too much dust in the communicator slots between the pads that is causing arching, or one of the bearings has gone dry/starting to seize up..

 

^ Bravo !