Starter Help, Please!

[oediehl]

I'm on my 5th Valky! This 2000 26K mile model has been great the last few months, until a few days ago I went to ride, pushed the starter button, and nothing. No solenoid click, nothing. With the key on, the instruments and side lights come on, and the turn signals and brake light work, but the headlight doesn't come on. The idle and side stand indicators work properly, and I tried the starter with the side-stand up and the clutch pulled in, and nothing. I checked all the fuses behind the side cover, and replaced Main A even though it tested good. Main B looks fine and tests for 0 ohms, but with the ignition on I get 12V at Main A but nothing at Main B. From reading the forum (thanks!), I was pretty sure it was the starter button, but when disassembled it looked not so bad, and after steel wooling the contacts and liberal use of contact cleaner, still nothing. I even (carefully) tried laying a small screwdriver blade across both sets of contacts in the black, wired portion of the disassembled switch, with the key turned on, but nary a peep from either the headlights or the starter, Any thoughts? 

[Challenger]

Check for a melted starter relay under the RH side cover
Search "Starter Relay" in the 1500 tech board.

[Chrisj CMA]

I'm on my 5th Valky! This 2000 26K mile model has been great the last few months, until a few days ago I went to ride, pushed the starter button, and nothing. No solenoid click, nothing. With the key on, the instruments and side lights come on, and the turn signals and brake light work, but the headlight doesn't come on. The idle and side stand indicators work properly, and I tried the starter with the side-stand up and the clutch pulled in, and nothing. I checked all the fuses behind the side cover, and replaced Main A even though it tested good. Main B looks fine and tests for 0 ohms, but with the ignition on I get 12V at Main A but nothing at Main B. From reading the forum (thanks!), I was pretty sure it was the starter button, but when disassembled it looked not so bad, and after steel wooling the contacts and liberal use of contact cleaner, still nothing. I even (carefully) tried laying a small screwdriver blade across both sets of contacts in the black, wired portion of the disassembled switch, with the key turned on, but nary a peep from either the headlights or the starter, Any thoughts? 

When you had the starter button start did the brass contact bounce up and down on the spring or was it stuck down in its grove. If it’s  stuck, it might be clean but not in contact

[Moonshot_1]

My experience cleaning the starter button, sometimes it takes a couple of times of cleaning and reassembly before it starts to work. So I'd do it again just to rule it completely out.

Is your kill switch on? Been there done that.

You've checked the other switches like the kickstand switch and clutch so if you done the previous stuff and are at this point, relay path is next.

[oediehl]

I just ordered a replacement starter relay. I was looking around for the relays that I'm more typically used to seeing---plugged in in a block beside the fuses--- and didn't realize that the doohickey with the main fuse was indeed the starter relay. Doh! Fingers crossed. The thing that gets me is that all the electrics seem OK, except the headlight and the starter. That kinda points to the starter button. I was tempted to try putting a tiny drop of solder on those two sliding contact balls, since they looked like they'd make just marginal contact, but I'm worried I'd just make things worse. Will likely wait for the new relay before trying anything else.

[Chrisj CMA]

I just ordered a replacement starter relay. I was looking around for the relays that I'm more typically used to seeing---plugged in in a block beside the fuses--- and didn't realize that the doohickey with the main fuse was indeed the starter relay. Doh! Fingers crossed. The thing that gets me is that all the electrics seem OK, except the headlight and the starter. That kinda points to the starter button. I was tempted to try putting a tiny drop of solder on those two sliding contact balls, since they looked like they'd make just marginal contact, but I'm worried I'd just make things worse. Will likely wait for the new relay before trying anything else.

Sounds like the brass contacts are stuck down in the slot. If so, you need to clean out the slot with a razor so the contact is free to move up and down on the spring. Be very careful and slow getting the contact out if it’s REALLY stuck

[oediehl]

I'll try that tomorrow

[GiG]

Starter relay is easily bypassed - use a wrench across starter terminals 

Would not recommend soldering switch contacts, probably destroy the switch…   

[oediehl]

I jumpered the contacts on the starter relay, and she started right up. I ordered a new relay---hopefully that will do the trick. Thanks for responding

[oediehl]

Well, the new starter relay did not fix anything. The thing that's sticking in my head is the fact that the headlight will not come on. Even if I jumper the starter relay posts and the bike starts right up, still no headlight, high or low beam (and no high beam indicator). That makes me think again of the starter switch, which I took apart again. It looks OK, though the little contacts on the slider look kinda level with the white plastic housing. When I turn the key on and test for voltage across the contacts in the black non-sliding portion, I get 12V across both pairs (though the polarity is reversed between the upper and lower pairs). If I manually jumper either of those pairs, nothing happens---no headlight, no starter. I looked in the headlamp housing and checked/contact-cleanered all the connections there. I'm going to go check the headlight bulb itself, but It would be an amazingly bad design if a burned-out bulb would stop the starter from working.  I'm thinking maybe somewhere else there might be some wiring that's disconnected, or a bad fuse. A PO had installed a series of decorative lights, but that had been disconnected from the battery before I got the bike. I don't think a bad kill-switch would disable the headlight either? Sheesh!

[oediehl]

Well, dagnabit, the problem was the starter button assembly after all. I bent the little contact points in the sliding portion up a bit and put it back together, and to my amazement, frankly, Voila! I still can't figure out why that works, and why just jumpering the contacts in the non-sliding portion of the button didn't. I think I've wasted too many brain cells over the decades..

[Chrisj CMA]

Well, dagnabit, the problem was the starter button assembly after all. I bent the little contact points in the sliding portion up a bit and put it back together, and to my amazement, frankly, Voila! I still can't figure out why that works, and why just jumpering the contacts in the non-sliding portion of the button didn't. I think I've wasted too many brain cells over the decades..

Those contacts are not supposed to be stationary. As in stuck in that slot. There is a spring under it. The contact is supposed to spring up and down freely. So now they will get pushed back down soon and it will stop working again

[oediehl]

Thanks. I saw the spring-loaded ball on the underside of that sliding apparatus, but I didn't see any means of opening the sliding piece. It kinda looked like a solid piece of plastic---how would one get to the internals of that piece?

[Chrisj CMA]

Thanks. I saw the spring-loaded ball on the underside of that sliding apparatus, but I didn't see any means of opening the sliding piece. It kinda looked like a solid piece of plastic---how would one get to the internals of that piece?

Call me

850.865-five three 78

[oediehl]

I found some pics on the forum; I think I see how it works. Thanks. Probably just leave it as is until it starts acting up again. There's probably no place where you could buy just that little switch mechanism?

[Chrisj CMA]

The most problematic part is digging the brass contacts out of the groove if it’s been heat welded in there too long. Once it’s out just use a small razor like an exacto blade to clean up the slot so the contact can bounce up and down on the spring

[oediehl]

Thanks much! Appreciate the insight.