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Is it a starter, solenoid, HELP!

19404 Views 26 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Charlie D, 
LawrenceVTX
Yesterday my bike wouldn't start after riding it around town. It had all the classic symptoms of a dead battery (click click click click) and it was the original that came with the bike (it's a 2003 1300S). It had done something similar in November, but I tightened up the connections and it seemed to get better. Occasionally it would skip a little when starting it, which would reset my trip odometer.

So I went to my local battery store and picked up a new one. I put it in the bike and now it won't start. :banghead: Battery has lots of charge, but it seems like it won't make it past the compression stroke.

Is this a starter or solenoid issue? If so, is there a way to test it?

Help!
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LawrenceVTX said:
After going back and re-doing my front valve adjustment, put the bike back together and ......just like before.........stops short of the compression stroke.

I pulled the battery and checked the voltage (read 12.5Volts DC). Tried to jump the relay by pulling the rubber cover down and jumping the two wires, but it threw sparks and freaked me out a little. I know the switch is probably not the culprit, and both the terminals are tight, any ideas? I'm almost to the point of taking it to the mechanic.
Click to expand...

My problem was similar to yours and it turned out to be my battery that was only 1.5 months old. My bad battery showed 12.5 volts, but when I hit the starter button, it dropped to 4 or 5 volts. My starter wouldn't even engage at all.

The place I bought the battery from said the internal welds were bad although it read 12.5 volts. Try a new battery.

FWIW, I tried to jump the solenoid as well and mine sparked a lot. Freaked me out, too.
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