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97 classic won't start

5K views 21 replies 4 participants last post by  zedteamk2 
#1 ·
Took my first test ride on my new tires. Got it started ok when I left home, but I kind of ignored the few times I pressed the button and nothing happened. Drove 10 minutes, went into the store and the bike won't even turn over.
The lights do dim a little, but nothing else.
I short the starter solenoid an the bike turns over and fires up.
So, new solenoid I guess. Anything else I should check?
 
#6 ·
The fact the lights dim means there is at least a partial connection. The most common cause of your problem would be a dirty connection, but it is guesswork. If you have a meter and are prepared to follow instructions, then thats a certain way of finding the cause.
Firstly though, you must be sure your battery is good, and the connections on it are clean and tight. Nothing works until you have made sure of that.
 
#8 ·
Ok, could you do the following:

1.Take voltage reading across battery Probe cable ends, not battery post itself.
2. Turn on key and take another reading.
3. Leave key on for 5 minutes and then take another reading.
4. Turn off key and after five minutes, take another reading.

Post back with 4 readings.
 
#10 ·
Sorry I was not clear on that.
The battery cables themselves have crimped on ends that attach to the battery posts. I would like you to touch those ends with your probes, not the lead battery posts themselves. That way, we can tell if there is a bad cable connection with the meter.
 
#15 ·
Nah you can get the solenoid for 15 bucks on ebay. Actually I believe that the way the switch was acting actually burnt out the solenoid. My testing confirmed that the solenoid was definitely busted, but I had that same problem with two different solenoids so it seems in my case I needed to do both to fix the problem permanently.
 
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