use an ohmeter to check the ground - low scale - body of starter to frame. Manually depressing the solenoid allows the engine to crank so that eliminates battery-starter connections and the starter itself is good - ditto battery. It sounds like the solenoid.

 

Try this. You will need a piece of wire about 3 feet long and strip the insulation of the ends exposing about 1/2 inch of copper. MAKE SHURE THE BIKE IS IN NEUTRAL!!! Touch the wire to the solenoid connection at the starter and the other end to battery positive. The engine should spin over.
You could use a shorter wire and connect the battery and solenoid terminals
on the starter together. Report back with the results.

 

The click tells you the push button is working.
The start when pressing the manual plunger tells you the starter is working.

The problem must be the solenoid not pulling in and making contact.
I wonder if you actually have enough voltage to pull in the solenoid all the way - put a meter on the battery when trying to start to rule out that as the issue.

If the power is there then, I'd pull the solenoid apart.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I will try again after work today, and report back. Thanks again.

 

Had the same issue on 2001 EG. Battery checked good. Finally replaced starter and had same issue. Put a new battery in and all was well.

 

@ lowe16,I used a piece of wire as you said and the bike turned over, so it must not getting enough current to the solenoid. Thanks for that help, that brings it to either the starter button wiring or wiring to the solenoid, right? Any other pointers, you have helped me make some head way here.

 

I thought it was presumed that the starter was ok because if you pushed the plunger it worked? Your pull in winding of the coil may be no good or the connections going to it are bad creating too much voltage drop maybe!

 

@bagman, ok will do I did find a loose wire to the block where the starter relay is, the green wire had backed out of the block, I believe it is the same green wire that goes to the solenoid. After pushing that wire back into the starter relay block, I am back to a louder click. I am going to pull to cover off the solenoid and see if I can see signs of wear. Thanks

 

I think you have helped me find the problem, looks like the contacts on the solenoid are corroded, I am going to try to clean them up.

 

I am going to assume you mean the starter relay in the electrical panel. You can bypass this by using the same wire you used in the previous test. jump the two terminals down the center of the terminal block. The two I refer to
are perpendicular to each other. I don't have a diagram handy so I am going from my crystal ball. Try connecting the test wire from battery positive to the terminal you found pulled out of the block ( green wire ). It sounds like you have a bad relay, but a few simple test can confirm. This might help, the relay may have terminal identification, you want to jump 30 to 87 or 87a.
Or jump from battery positive to 87 or 87a. Just be sure the bike is in neutral. Have to go, Kate Winslet is about to drop her laundry on a ship that's about to sink...