Not sure which direction to go in here. Got a '97 Softail, rode it 2 weeks ago, went to start it today, the engine turns but then all I get is a click. I had my neighbor jump it with his Sporty and it started right up. Took it for a ride and ran fine. As soon as I shut it down and went to start it again, same thing, engine tries to turn then just a click. I checked the voltage on the battery and I'm getting just over 11v. Battery is about a year old. Any suggestions before I go get another new battery? Thanks!

 

Hook the battery to a charger and give it a full charge before checking anything else.

After you do that try this


By Dr Hess

Scale on DC Volts, around 20V max voltage scale. Nominal readings are given in brackets. Check voltage across battery terminals (12.8). Turn bike on. Check voltage (less than previous, ~12.0+, depending on headlight, accessories). Start bike and let idle. Check voltage(could be 12.0 to 15). Rev to about 2500. Check voltage (should be more than observed with bike on but motor not running, and more than with bike off. Ideally between 13 and 15.) Turn high beam on. Should be about the same, give or take a little. If the voltage is over 15or 15.5-ish with a headlight on, I'd consider replacing the regulator and/or checking all grounds (battery to frame, regulator to frame in particular). If the battery voltage with the headlight on, bike not running is less than around 11.5-ish, I’d replace the battery. If it’s 10, it’s past it’s prime.

If you pass the above tests, your system is most likely fine, including the regulator and stator. If you don't pass, then:

Bike off. Meter set on Ohms,medium-ish scale, like 20K or 200K Ohms max scale, depending on your meter. Pull stator plug. Ground the meter black lead to a good chassis ground, like a bolt or even the battery negative. With the red lead, touch a different part of the bike, like the engine case at an unpainted part or another bolt. Meter should read low ohms, like0. If it doesn’t, you didn’t ground the black lead. With the red lead, touch each contact on the motor side (stator) of the plug (the part stuck in the case). Depending on if your case has a male or female plug, if you can't see the metal part/pin of the plug, you can put a paper clip in the hole and touch the paperclip with your meter red. Meter reading should be infinity on all pins. If it isn't, your stator is shorted to the case, replace.

The following is for single phase systems. I don't have a multi-phase and haven't had to diagnose anyone else's, so I haven't dug into those systems.

Set meter to lowest ohm scale, like 200 Ohms, typically. (Note: Not 200k Ohms). Check resistance between the two stator plug pins. Should be fairly low. My Book says 0.2-0.4 ohms. The spec is in your shop manual. If it is infinity, stator is blown open. If it is 0, stator is shorted to itself.


Set meter to AC Volts, 100V scale.Attach each meter lead to a stator pin. You may need to rig up some type of temporary plug. It is important that nothing can short to ground or to each other accidentally, or you will blow the stator if it wasn't blown before. An old plug off of your last regulator is a good way to do it, but, get creative and be careful. I can do it holding the leads on the pins once the bike is running, but I don't like to. Start bike. Voltage should vary with engine speed. Specs are in your shop manual, but 35V at a couple thousand RPM is probably about right. My book says 19-26 V / 1K RPM.

If you passed that stator test and failed the first test, your regulator is shot. If you failed any part of the stator test, replace both regulator and stator.

 

THC, maybe that's not a very good abbreviation. I'm feeling a bit lazy today so....... Anyway THC points you to some good advice.
I find that when I have electrical problems, it's typically time to clean ground contact points. ALL OF THEM!!!! First thing I do anymore.

 

Thanks for the replies guys! I checked the voltage with the bike off and lights on and got under 11.5v, less with high beam on. Gonna jump it again tomorrow and check everything else while I have it running before picking up a new battery.

 

Not what I would recommend.

Find a battery charger, charge the battery and do the checks.

You should even charge a new battery to max before you install it.

ps Why are you checking the voltage with the bike off but with the lights on?

 

Motobatts do this a lot if you get a faulty one so it sounds to me like you got a dud battery.....if its a Motobatt (they are yellow) you can get it replaced free....any other make, I dunno but it sounds like an internal short.

 

Couldn't find anyone with a charger I could use today, gonna check with a local auto parts store tomorrow and see if they can charge it up. Jumped the gun a bit on the plan to buy a battery, just being impatient, I wanna ride!
I checked the voltage with bike not running and light on based on what I read in your initial response...
"If the battery voltage with the headlight on, bike not running is less than around 11.5-ish, I’d replace the battery. If it’s 10, it’s past it’s prime."

 

That was from Dr Hess
He is a lot smarter than I am.