Help with an 03 starting issue

[Mr. Wright]

First remember an 03 is a little bit of a different animal. This not mine that is hard wired, it's all original. Back before I stripped her down this winter, the owner stopped by to take her for a ride, I told she all charged up and ready to go. He hit the start button and she spun over and almost started, when he hit it again, she just clicked. We didn't check the battery, because it was 7 yrs old, and just decided to replace it, when we did the tear down. I now have her all together, with a Big Boar battery. All the connections are new, or cleansed. The solenoid contacts are clean and straight. I even have a new start button, because I broke the old one trying to start it. The lights on the start solenoid are working according to the manual. I've cleaned and lubed the solenoid plunger. If I push it in, the starter works. But when I push the start button, It just clicks the head light relay, like it's suppose to, but the solenoid doesn't engage. If I loosen the back cover of the solenoid a little bit, you can hear the solenoid kick, but not engage the starter. If it sits a while and hit the start button it will spin over, but as soon as the engine hits, and the starter disengages, click- click the next time.:bang: any ideas?

 

[Sven]

Just for grins, use jumper cables: find 4 ground points, meaning, engine to trans to frame to ground cable off battery. See if the starter works now?

 

[Mr. Wright]

Both negative and positive are connected to the starter with clean cable ends. I can push the plunger in and it will start just fine.

 

[KaptinAmerika]

Sounds like a bad solenoid or a bad ground in the starter somewhere

 

[haze324]

I've had this happend to me twice (not on the BD) and luckily they were both easy fixes.

1. New battery needed charging
2. Bad ground

 

[Mr. Wright]

I'm leaning towards it being the solenoid. I'll yank the starter and do some bench testing tomorrow. I was just hoping I was just missing something, I really don't want to pull that primary cover off.
Can I buy just the solenoid? Can I get parts to rebuild it? The starter turn the engine over good, so I don't think I need to replace it.

 

[DRBarnhart]

I'm leaning towards it being the solenoid.

:iagree:

Dennis

 

[Nukeranger]

Yeah, I would suspect the solenoid. I don't know if this helps but I had a boat motor starter that would just click every other start attempt. It never left me stranded but I did everything I could think of to correct the starter solenoid which I knew was the issue. Cleaning, lubricating, bench testing the crap out of it for over a year. That's just me not being a quitter. Anyway, I purchased a new solenoid and never had another problem. I looked at the old solenoid for another year before throwing it away.

Since, your plunger works on your solenoid to start your bike, I believe just slight manufacturing differences are the culprit which is what I concluded on my boat motor starter solenoid.

 

[Mr. Wright]

I put everything back together, and installed my slam button. Then jumped straight from the battery to the solenoid, nothing but sparks. mashed the slam button and she fired right up. I guess I'll break the news to him when he stops by tomorrow. He just spent a munch of money on it rebuilding the master cylinder, brake calipers, front forks, and polishing out all the aluminum. I hate being the bearer of bad news.

 

[C.A. Jones]

There are two wires coming down from the block that your solenoid wire plugs into. They actually look like solder. They run down to another solenoid contact at the bottom of your solenoid housing. One of them is broken. That's why it will start with your slam button, but will not engage when you shoot 12 volts to it. (Open circuit) Pull the three screws off of your solenoid housing, remove the cover and pull the solenoid plunger. Re-solder the connection, and wah-lah, your fixed. If you run into a snag, give us a jingle, we'll walk you through it.
C.A.Jones V-Twin | Custom Builds, Parts & Service

 

[Mr. Wright]

Thanks Doug, I checked them once, but I'll go back and look at them closer.

 

[Mr. Wright]

:2thumbs: I want to give Doug at C A Jones a BIG thank you. I rechecked the wires in the solenoid and still couldn't see any thing broke. So I pulled the starter and got it on the bench, and low and behold it was broke, I just couldn't see it. Sense I had it off, I tore it apart, cleaned and lubed it, and soldered the wires back together. Works like a champ. Thanks again guys.:2thumbs:

 

[C.A. Jones]

Awesome! I was just playing the odds. 99% of the time, (In my experience) if a starter is displaying the symptoms you had, one of those wires are broken. Don't throw away your slam button though...it's good insurance. C.A.Jones V-Twin | Custom Builds, Parts & Service