That's not a choke- it's an enrichener. Put it down after the bike starts or it'll be too rich and foul out the plugs. Go to S&S site and look at the manual.(looks like a super "E" but it could be a "B") Find the accelerator pump screw and turn it all the way in, then back it out 1/4 turn, for a starting point. What do the plugs look like?

 

I'll take a look at the plugs today after work. And it's a Super E carb. I'm going to run my van's battery straight to the starter. If she starts right up I'll take the bike battery to get load tested to see if it can hold a charge. Make sense?

 

Good Lord!
From the look of it you are using 16 ga wire as a jumper cable!
Get yourself a real set of jumpers, or you are going to have a fire soon.

Can't you tell from the sound of the starter that it is not spinning because it is starved for proper current?
Big jumpers will supply the current needed.

You may find that it starts right up for you after that. At least the starter will be spinning as it should.
If it does not start, then start checking the spark plugs to see if they are sooty black.
If they look good, move on to checking the ignition timing. The problem will be either in the ignition or the carb.
I am betting it is going to start after you get the proper jumpers.
Then buy a new battery............ pg

 

hello I am new here but I do not know how to ask a new question so I will ask here and hopefuly some one can help.I have a 79 iron head.I have had problems with my starter.When I would try to start it.The starter would make a bad noise like a winning noise.I replaced sylenoid high torque starter starter relay.I have found out that when the starter is engaged the gear that would start the motor is not always turning.This gear is the gear on the starter that makes contact with the flywheel.I dont know what to do please help if you can.

 

First of all, you would want to 'Start a new thread' and give it a title.
That prevents a thread Hi-Jack.
So, I will start a new thread for you titled..... Jimbe's starter problem.
Click on Ironhead heading and you will find this.
pg

 

Ok, so quick update. Just hooked her up to the van again. Started up without too much of a problem. Ran for a while. The voltage coming off the generator was about 10.22 vdc.

Then I disconnected the bike battery from the van battery while she was running to see if ignition could continue off the bike's battery. The engine died immediately when I did this. I tested the voltage on the battery after this and it was about 4 vdc. So, I don't know what's going on. I'm going to take the battery to autozone tomorrow to have it load-tested to see if the battery is shot.

What do you think? Could it just be the battery??

(I know, running the bike battery off of the van battery isn't a great idea but I'm just trying to figure out if the ignition could run off the bike battery after it was started)

 

As I said before, buy yourself a new battery.
The battery may be dead because your generator is not working.

My suggestion is this:
Buy a new battery.
Ride the bike for a week or two, not getting too far from home.

If the generator is not producing juice it will run down the battery within that time frame.
Should that be the case, then you can do the check required to test the generator output.

This test requires you to have a 1 to 30 amp ammeter. NOT a VOLT METER! We are testing for current here, not volts.
Let me know if you need to do this test and I can provide details for you......... pg

 

That definately could be one of your problem. The other thing is your voltage regulator or generator failed. You should be getting about 14 volts at the battery with the bike running at about 2000 rpm. When you get the battery checked out and charged/or new battery you can start the bike. Will run on battery power for a while as long as no headlight on. If you don't get 14 v at battery disconnect the generator armature and field, they're marked "A" and "F". Restart the bike, revving the bike a little you should get about 4 volts on the "A" post. If you do you can eliminate the generator. Check the charging circuit wiring for any opens, that way you can narrow it down to the voltage regulator. Voltage regulator should be a solid state model. It's about the size of sardine can and has fins on it. Should have three to four wires coming out of it. Hope this helps.

 

Update:

Took the battery yesterday to Autozone. It had 4v and with a load it shot to 0. So there was nothing in the battery. So they did a slow charge for me and I picked it up last night. It had a full 12v and under load the battery only went down to 10.4v. So I'm guessing the battery is totally fine.

So you think it's the generator? So what's the best way to test the generator? I'd rather know for sure that I need to get a new generator instead of just running the full battery dead again.

 

Here is the way you test the generator output.
It requires you to have a zero to 30 amp ammeter, so you most likely do not have one.
Go to the parts house and get a small 0-30 under the dash type ammeter, like you will find on an under the dash mount oil. water and temp gauges. You only want the ammeter. Costs you perhaps $10 at most.
Then follow the instruction below. If the generator is bad this test will tell you. If the generator output is good, then the problem is with the voltage regulator. If not good, then it is time to remove the generator and start that repair........... pg



And then when you are done, if the generator is good be sure to flash the fields before starting the bike again. Done like so......