As it says my first time finally being able to put some miles on my bike, hardly made it home. Now the bike has always started very slow, almost like it barely turns but then would fire and run. Now after getting warm today it rolled over and the bike didn't start. I had turned the idle down on my super e as after warm it was around 1400 rpm. That's when it did the no start. So put put the idle back up and tried again...bike just clicked and then nothing. I had only rolled it 6-7 times before so no reason it should be dead. Luckily, as I currently have a shattered collarbone I managed to kick it in a few starts. Drove it 15 miles, went to leave, e start had nothing, kick start wouldn't do it ether. Battery was 12.45 resting, jumped to 3.25 holding the start button. Release start and back up to 12.45. Let it sit a hour, started second kick. Was dark by then and revving it up the headlight didn't seem to get brighter. Drove 20 miles home and parked it.

​​​​​ needs coil? ( no start when hot)
New battery?
New solenoid as well?

Thanks a ton

 

The starter clicking, along with the dramatic voltage drop when holding the starter button indicate a battery that is not up to the task.

Good on you to watch the headlight for indication of charging system activity. Sounds like you couldn't tell if it was taking a charge or not when revving, by looking at the headlight alone. A volt meter on the battery while the bike is running will tell you exactly what is going on with the charging system.

If the bike is trying to recharge the battery while underway, then you've probably isolated the problem to just a dead battery. 12.45 volts at rest isn't very good to begin with.

All the best,

Shane

 

While building the bike I did show a bump in voltage with the bike running so it did work then. If the battery was very drained would it cause it not to brighten up the headlight if it was charging? Going to try a new battery tomorrow and go from there.

Bike also has a little jumper wire going from the small terminal to the top terminal on the solenoid? Didn't look very factory. Was thinking of putting the shovelhead lever style on the bike as I think it's the same on this bike?

 

Before you go anywhere, read the Sticky on checking your charging system at the top of this Evo section, by Dr Hess. That will enable you to diagnose and guide you on what to do! A good place to start is to remove the battery from your bike and charge it up, using a proper battery charger, not a basic tender.

 

85 FXSB Low Rider owner chiming in......
You should have closer to 12.8-13 volts with a full charge, 13-15 volts when running.

Get a full charge on the battery with a proper charger, not a battery tender, as Mr Brown stated. Then get the battery load tested. NAPA, O'Reilly's, Batteries Plus, etc should do it for free.

Make sure all of your battery/solenoid/starter and ground connections are clean and tight.

If it still turns over slow or sounds like it is straining, you may need to pull your solenoid and starter and pull them apart and do some cleaning. the contact areas in the solenoid can become corroded and/or dirty over the years. Inside the starter, the commutator end where the brushes contact can build up carbon over time. A little cleaning with some emery cloth or sand paper can clean it up nicely.

I upgraded the starter relay under the frame to the more modern small square plastic one and moved it up next the the other fuses/circuit breakers on the back fender under the seat. I also upgraded my starter and battery cables to some nice high quality ones.

 

Once you have a charged up battery or I'm betting you will need to replace the battery. Then do the Sticky Mr Brown mentioned.

Good Luck WP

 

Yeah I'm going to just replace the battery and go from there. I had cleaned the solenoid connections. Battery, cables and battery ground were all very clean. I forgot to mention on the last time I tried to start with e start it actually went a normal speed for a few spins. After that it didn't try to start it again just click. I'll start with a battery and go from there. If it wasn't for this broken collarbone I'd just kick it and not worry about the e start. While I was putting the bike together I did run all the test on the electrical and everything panned out then. But I guess that was 30 miles ago lol. Thanks

 

Battery didn't do anything.

 

If you push the start button and not getting voltage to the small wire to your solenoid, then your starter relay is bad or intermittently bad. If you are getting voltage at the wire, then it's probably time to rebuild solenoid. Good luck.

 

I can hear the solenoid make noise, like it moves the plunger. Starter does nothing. I trivial I'll just leave it and kick the thing till winter. Looks like a pain to do it all.