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thewoodman
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« on: October 02, 2017, 11:24:02 AM » |
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Since I've burnt 3 or 4 starter relays in the last few years, and after reading the starter relay thread, I decided to make the switch to an old style Ford truck or heavy duty lawn mower relay over the weekend.
I started a few weeks ago with a heavy duty gold wing relay which came with a new plug-in socket and new wires to connect up and couldn't make it work, so I went to get the aforementioned mower relay which is much sturdier that the stock Valk piece. Now matter how I wired the new relay, I got no response.
I thought that perhaps the starter switch had gone bad, but I have bright lights when the ignition is on and the lights go dark upon hitting the switch, making it appear that the starter switch is working properly.
Now I've got a dead bike. The lights wirk just fine; battery is 100% charged according the both the trickle charger and my new Schumacher mega battery charger. If I jump the relay cable leads, bypassing the wire harness plugin, what I get is a very slow starter that sounds like the battery is almost dead. If I can't figure it out, it's off to Grumpy's real soon and this kills our fall week ride which was planned for next week.
ANY IDEAS !? Let me know where to look since it bothers me that I can't figure out this on my own.
Thanks in advance.
the woodman
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 The first step in getting somewhere is deciding that you are not going to stay where you are. TheWoodMan |
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Firefighter
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« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2017, 11:56:52 AM » |
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I would suspect that what ever is causing your 3 or 4 starter relays to go bad is also what is causing your current trouble. Do these relays get wet and dirty? That will cause them to burn out. Since you have changed to some other relay, it will be difficult for me to commit much further.
I would check battery voltage positive and negative to your starter and hopefully find a bad connection. Hope you find it soon!
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2000 Valkyrie Interstate, Black/Red
2006 Honda Sabre 1100
2013 Honda Spirit 750
2002 Honda Rebel 250
1978 Honda 750
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Steel cowboy
Member
Posts: 1284
Moving ahead so life won’t pass me by.
Spring Hill, Fl.
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« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2017, 05:25:44 PM » |
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I would suspect the starter is drawing more amps than it should be. Heat is a byproduct of excessive amp draw. If the starter relay is burning up The wiring could be at fault too, along with corrosion at the terminal, wether it's at the starter side or relay. If you has VOM with an amp clamp you could test the true amp draw of the starter.
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2001 black interstate
2003 Jupiter Orange wing
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Rio Wil
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« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2017, 07:29:27 PM » |
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Seems your current problem has the typical symptoms of a bad battery......bright headlights and no or slow cranking. Try jumping from a good battery. Place a voltmeter on the battery when cranking. if it drops below about 10 volts the engine won't fire
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thewoodman
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« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2017, 11:51:29 AM » |
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Just in case the battery was bad (though it read 12.97 volts) I put a new Duracell in it with no change. Starter is drawing way to much juice and the jumper switch gets real warm after a 1 second bump. Took it up to Grumpy's this morning since he has some spare parts and the time to work on it that I wish I had. Might be a few things at the same time. Time and $$ will tell.
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The first step in getting somewhere is deciding that you are not going to stay where you are. TheWoodMan |
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DeathWishBikerDude
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« Reply #6 on: October 04, 2017, 01:09:53 AM » |
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The only item I had to replace was the handlebar mounted starter switch and main fuse.The terminals get corroded after years and blows the fuse.
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thewoodman
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« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2017, 06:03:17 AM » |
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Just spoke with Bill a short time ago and it all boiled down to a bad (loose) ground strap connecting the motor to the frame that I never knew it existed. Sure helps to have a guru local to us in Florida.
Ride's on again.
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The first step in getting somewhere is deciding that you are not going to stay where you are. TheWoodMan |
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JimC
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« Reply #8 on: October 04, 2017, 07:03:12 AM » |
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Woodman
What ground wire? Is it hidden somewhere, or in plain sight?
I may clean mine just because.
Jim
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Jim Callaghan SE Wisconsin
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thewoodman
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« Reply #9 on: October 04, 2017, 01:11:11 PM » |
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I don't know yet. Won't pick it up until tomorrow. Curious about where the mysterious culprit is and will let you know.
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The first step in getting somewhere is deciding that you are not going to stay where you are. TheWoodMan |
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Firefighter
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« Reply #10 on: October 04, 2017, 01:52:43 PM » |
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Glad it's figured out. These bikes have a ground wire from engine to frame and then from frame to battery. Items grounded to the frame may not ground well enough if the frame to battery grounding is bad. I had low voltage to the frame where the coils are mounted which caused low voltage or bad grounding to the coils which caused engine trouble. I ran a separate ground from battery to the frame and all is well.
Always check battery voltage and ground to where ever the trouble is like ignition, starter ect.
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2000 Valkyrie Interstate, Black/Red
2006 Honda Sabre 1100
2013 Honda Spirit 750
2002 Honda Rebel 250
1978 Honda 750
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