Hopefully someone here can help me because I am 2 steps away from viciously hurting my Ironhead.
It started out as a basket and I am almost done. I wored the whole bike and after a small electrical fire earlier today, I managed to rewire everything and now I have lights only. Let me explain that this bike has no horn, turn signals, run/kill, or any of that jazz, it is a bare bones Ironhead Bob. Anyhow, the only button on the bike is a start button. Here is my scenario....I turn the key to the start position on the switch, lights go on, hit the start button and ..... nothing, not even a hiss, bump, turn, crank.....nothing. However, the soliniod is hot to the touch, even after only a few attempts at trying to hit the start button. I checked my schematic, can't understand what the hell the problem is here, but am seriously on the verge of kicking this thing over on its side and having a wrecker take it out of my garage....forever. Please help.

 

push it into the lake

 

Do you know if the engine is free?

Did you have the starter off?

Excuse me if you know a lot and I'm asking dumb questions...

If the wiring diagram has the direct power to the starter through your start switch, then you could just have a bad switch that isn't passing full current. If your solenoid is really hot, then I would guess that the starter or engine won't turn. It could be that the starter armature is bad or the bearings are bad and it's cocking in the starter housing...

Jack the bike up, put it in gear, and see if you can turn the engine over with the wheel. If so, then I would focus on the starter.

I haven't worked on an IronHead Bob before so I'm only making guesses. Since you rewired the whole bike and had a "small electrical fire", who knows what else you fried.

C#

 

Yes pick up the bike and try to spin the rear wheel while in gear. That will eliminate a siezed motor.

Sounds to me a starter problem or a starter relay problem or a switch problem..........all easily diagnosed with a test light. Try banging the soloniod with a hammer to see if that would be a quick fix.


RD

 

Dont shoot it...just save the bullet and let me know where to pick it up.

 

The motor is definately not siezed...I will try the test light on everything today now that I have had a chance to cool down.

 

Trust me on this........ A 454 Casull is what you need to stop that hog in it's tracks ! the 357 will just p*ss it off. Good luck

 

Ain't electrical problems fun? I'm not laughing atcha, but witcha!

Does your starter switch operate a starter relay, or go directly to the solenoid?

Pull one end of the large wire from solenoid to starter motor & tape it. That'll take the starter out of the system.

With ignition off, check to see if you have power at the solenoid. If so, you've got a wiring goof, wiring damage, bad starter relay, or a bad ignition switch. More'n likely any of these would drain the battery. Check 'em though, just to be sure.

If no power at the solenoid with ignition off, turn ignition switch on. Check for power at solenoid again. Still shouldn't have any voltage at solenoid, and if there is a wiring goof or failure, or bad starter relay is likely cause.

If no voltage at solenoid with ignition switch on, connect a meter or test light to the solenoid coil connection. Hit the starter switch for one second, and watch the meter/light. Should show voltage, and you should hear the solenoid operate. If voltage is present, but you can't hear the solenoid, it is either bad, the mechanism it operates is bad, or the starter moter has a problem. If voltage is present, and you can hear the solenoid, then the fault is in the that mechanism, or the starter motor.

Drain the primary/tranny and pull the primary cover. Ignition on, starter switch on, and watch works operate. The lever ought to move as the solenoid operates. Power is going to the starter motor when the solenoid is picked up, and it should turn. But it won't turn if that mess of parts is jamming and locking it up. A non-turning starter motor will draw an enormous amount of current, all of which passes through the solenoid, and starter motor. Definitely a heating problem!