Cleaned contact on starter now the bike just clicks

Energy One

Raywood

The Pirate
Staff member
Calendar Participant
Troop Supporter
mine trys to start. It turns over say for one second and the horn beeps and the light flashes then nothing. Im thinking bad starter. It has a new battery
The flashing lights are a warning sign that there is not enough voltage. New battery or not have it "load" tested. What kind is it? Need a good battery and kept on a battery tender.

:cheers:
 

NJ K-9

Member
Starter/Starting Woes

Hey Guys, help me figure out what' ailing my '06 K-9. To start, the battery is 4 months old, has been load tested twice in the last 2 weeks (different testers used each time) & came up fine, no problem here. Before starting the bike I check voltage and come up with 13.36 volts, I'm still figuring no problem here. Go to start the bike, cold, after sitting overnight or whatever, I get the starter cranking for about 1 second before the horn & flashers come on. I also checked to feel if the CR's are working & you can feel them pop when hitting the start button. If I use a "jump box" it will start fine. If the bike has been warmed up or run & still warm, it will start fine over & over. The initial start seems to be giving me the problem. Took the solenoid apart & cleaned up some soot, then used some emery cloth to finish it off. Also cleaned the contacts & sprayed the housing out before hitting it with emery also. Same no start. Today I took the plugs off the EHC & used electric contact cleaner to clean all, then filled with die electric grease. Also lightly sanded the battery terminals & cables to promote good contact. Same no start. Here's my thoughts, (hope I'm not sounding too long winded, just want to present as much info as possible), 1.Battery & charging are fine 2.Starter is fine Is there a missed step, or electrical circuit I'm not aware of? I'm not crazy about a slam button, but if it's necessary. Thanks for any & all help, insight, or guesses that get me heading in the right direction.
K9 (11).JPG K9 (12).JPG K9 (18).JPG
 
Last edited:

Eric

Banned
Hey Guys, help me figure out what' ailing my '06 K-9. To start, the battery is 4 months old, has been load tested twice in the last 2 weeks (different testers used each time) & came up fine, no problem here. Before starting the bike I check voltage and come up with 13.36 volts, I'm still figuring no problem here. Go to start the bike, cold, after sitting overnight or whatever, I get the starter cranking for about 1 second before the horn & flashers come on. If I use a "jump box" it will start fine. If the bike has been warmed up or run & still warm, it will start fine over & over. The initial start seems to be giving me the problem. Took the solenoid apart & cleaned up some soot, then used some emery cloth to finish it off. Also cleaned the contacts & sprayed the housing out before hitting it with emery also. Same no start. Today I took the plugs off the EHC & used electric contact cleaner to clean all, then filled with die electric grease. Also lightly sanded the battery terminals & cables to promote good contact. Same no start. Here's my thoughts, (hope I'm not sounding too long winded, just want to present as much info as possible), 1.Battery & charging are fine 2.Starter is fine Is there a missed step, or electrical circuit I'm not aware of? I'm not crazy about a slam button, but if it's necessary. Thanks for any & all help, insight, or guesses that get me heading in the right direction.
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have you checked your comp.. releases for operation...???this will affect the it
 

NJ K-9

Member
I have checked them while pressing the start button & you can feel them operate. Thanks for offering.
 

NJ K-9

Member
Finally did. After cleaning the starter up & reinstalling, I got the same crank for a second then horn/flashers. Had a spare EHC unit I picked up from POPS (here on BDB) so I gave it a shot. Bike started right up and is still starting with no problems. Just noticed a problem with my VR that I will be replacing today. Hopefully the dog will be back in good health!
 

NJ K-9

Member
Used to love working on bikes. Seems once you hit a certain age you don't want to work on it until you have to, lol. Put the VR on & all is fine (for now). Let me/us know what you find out.
 

Mr. Wright

Knows some things
I'm going to add o to this thread, because this seems to be a typical problem, and I just went a little deeper to find the core problem.
If you go back a page to post # 27 by dammit, he mentioned that he found a broke wire. If you look at post 43, the 3rd picture shows that wire in the lower left corner of the solenoid. It's the one the small start wire connects to. If this wire breaks, you will still hear the solenoid click, but it won't activate.
This wire kept breaking on me constantly. So I called the Kaptin and just ordered another solenoid. The reason it kept breaking the wire was because the solenoid wasn't tight. I didn't figured this out till I installed the new one and seen how it was suppose to be.
Even though, when the wire was attached, the solenoid worked fine, with it being loose it kept breaking the wire.
To check to see if your wire is broke, take a small screw driver and gently pry on the wires to see if they move.
In the picture you can see the old solenoid compared to the new. Also when installing the new one , make sure the center tube, that the plunger slides in, stays centered.

 

Mr. Wright

Knows some things
I'm going to add o to this thread, because this seems to be a typical problem, and I just went a little deeper to find the core problem.
If you go back a page to post # 27 by dammit, he mentioned that he found a broke wire. If you look at post 43, the 3rd picture shows that wire in the lower left corner of the solenoid. It's the one the small start wire connects to. If this wire breaks, you will still hear the solenoid click, but it won't activate.
This wire kept breaking on me constantly. So I called the Kaptin and just ordered another solenoid. The reason it kept breaking the wire was because the solenoid wasn't tight. I didn't figured this out till I installed the new one and seen how it was suppose to be.
Even though, when the wire was attached, the solenoid worked fine, with it being loose it kept breaking the wire.
To check to see if your wire is broke, take a small screw driver and gently pry on the wires to see if they move.
In the picture you can see the old solenoid compared to the new. Also when installing the new one , make sure the center tube, that the plunger slides in, stays centered.

 
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