| Author | Message | ||
     Joliet_jim |
Had the battery checked yesterday and interstate battery said it was fine. Here's the problem. Sometimes when the starter button is pressed it just clicks and the starter doesn't turn. A couple more tries and then the starter will turn. i've already checked all the connections (disconnected, roughed up with sandpaper, re-tightened). Starting procedure she uses is usually in gear, clutch pulled and hit the button. Would the various switches still cause clicking if they are bad? | ||
| Ezblast |
Check for loose grounds - front and back. EZ | ||
| Berkshire |
What he said. ...especially that big fat braided one in front of the spark plug! IIRC, you'll have to loosen some other nearby bolts to get it loose. | ||
| Joliet_jim |
thanks for the advice ok now you've got me curious, i checked and refreshed the big ground from the battery to the frame and the cable to the starter, curious about what other ground since I didn't seem to see a wire. just did some neutral starts and it almost seemed if i pressed the button harder, it would crank, weak on the button it would click. I was surprised though that i had to pull the clutch in even if it was in neutral, but the sidestand deployment had no effect in neutral | ||
| Swampy |
Clutch safety switch. It is probably time to check out the switch on the handle bar, probably a Sportster item if you have no Buell dealer around, and I would believe it would be suprisingly cheap. | ||
| Berkshire |
The sidestand switch doesn't kill it until you put the bike in gear and let the clutch out. Both safety switches can be "overridden" by flipping the diodes in the fuse box. You may be able to clean the starter button switch contacts - I don't remember how that's put together, but from what you described it'd be worth looking into. | ||
| Ezblast |
The other ground is on the shift side by the battery. EZ | ||
| Joliet_jim |
i found the one by the battery, the braided one i didn't know about. I see it at the front of the frame, but what's it connect to on the other side? | ||
| Berkshire |
The other end is connected to the motor mount bracket that's attached to the cylinder head. The motor mounts have rubber isolators, so they're not good ground conductors. The only other metal parts I can think of that connect the motor to the frame are the cross-link mounts and the clutch cable, both of which are probably somewhat capable of conducting electricity, but also having grease or some kind of lube inside that may act as an insulator. | ||
| Reuel |
Someone recently had a ground problem. Said he got smoke from his clutch cable when he started his engine. |
