HD XL1200L starter problem [Archive]

MadDuck

18th July 2010, 15:37

I posted last weekend about my battery problem. Thanks for the responses. It charged fine BUT...alas...

Started the bike up this morning (BEFORE hauling out of the garage this time) and all is well. Geared up. Went to the servo and fuelled up then over to check the tyres....all good. Off up for a ride with the W.A.R.T.S and arrived in Warkworth....all good.

Time to leave. Geared up looking forward to long overdue ride on a beautiful day....all not so good.

The bike wont start. Turn the key and hit the run and start and the fuel injection does its little 'whirr' thingy it does.....then "CLICK" and nothing.

In my other thread Grubber made this comment:

Might pay to ascertain if the bike actually turned over at all first. If it did and would'nt start then i would say there is fuel problem or spark problem, if it didn't turn over then it may be battery or it may be starter. My Harley (when i had them) were chronic for bad starters. Bit of a design fault i think in the starter itself. There was a standard repair for them but it's a while since i had mine fixed so can't actually remember what it was.

Can anyone tell me more please?

The bike is now safely in Maha and Moms garage ... thanks for the ride home Maha. It would have been a bloody long walk :love:

j_redley

18th July 2010, 16:40

Maha

18th July 2010, 16:43

I've had a bit of a tap around with a rubber mallet but it still wont go...:shifty:

Mom

18th July 2010, 16:51

If the relay is clicking and the starter isn't turning, good chance that the starter itself may have packed up. Could be a case of worn brushes, or it might just be rooted. Best way to tell, is if you can get at your starter, with the key on bridge the two terminals on the back of the starter. It it turns over could be just the relay, if it doesn't you know your starter needs looking at.

Yeah it is just the relay making one click and then nothing. The fuel injection primes up then hit the starter and click. I am picking it is the relay.

Biggest problem is I dont know where the starter is, and I dont think the Duckmeister would be very impressed if I started totooing with her pride and joy :dodge:

Bikemad

18th July 2010, 16:54

bigger mallet?????????..........mate of mine had same trouble a few years ago...........from memory was a common mechanical fault with easy fix.........will ask him and post reply tomorrow

MadDuck

18th July 2010, 16:56

If the relay is clicking and the starter isn't turning, good chance that the starter itself may have packed up. Could be a case of worn brushes, or it might just be rooted. Best way to tell, is if you can get at your starter, with the key on bridge the two terminals on the back of the starter. It it turns over could be just the relay, if it doesn't you know your starter needs looking at.

Thanks. I have the manual and will see how accessable the starter is.

I've had a bit of a tap around with a rubber mallet but it still wont go...:shifty:

At least it was a rubber one :shit:

.... I dont think the Duckmeister would be very impressed if I started totooing with her pride and joy :dodge:

I may have to put my total trust in you....hmmm.

Mom

18th July 2010, 16:57

I may have to put my total trust in you....hmmm.

Trust me, I am a doctor :shutup:

MadDuck

18th July 2010, 16:57

bigger mallet?????????..........mate of mine had same trouble a few years ago...........from memory was a common mechanical fault with easy fix.........will ask him and post reply tomorrow

Cheers and thank you very much

White trash

18th July 2010, 19:28

From memory it's the sprag clutch on the starter. Harleys are forever shitting them. Easy and inexpensive to fix.

MadDuck

18th July 2010, 19:34

From memory it's the sprag clutch on the starter. Harleys are forever shitting them. Easy and inexpensive to fix.

Ahhh. Thanks Mr Trash. I know you say easy do you think I could do this myself? Or bike shop?

Mom

18th July 2010, 19:34

Ahhh. Thanks Mr Trash. I know you say easy do you think I could do this myself? Or bike shop?

Team work Duck, we can do this :yes:

MadDuck

18th July 2010, 19:42

Team work Duck, we can do this :yes:

Mr Trash knows my level of bike mechanics. If he thinks it should be bike shop then I will go down that road....in neutral...downhill....if you know what I mean?

Hell I dont even know what a sprag clutch is. Google is my friend though :sunny:

scumdog

18th July 2010, 19:49

I posted last weekend about my battery problem. Thanks for the responses. It charged fine BUT...alas...

Started the bike up this morning (BEFORE hauling out of the garage this time) and all is well. Geared up. Went to the servo and fuelled up then over to check the tyres....all good. Off up for a ride with the W.A.R.T.S and arrived in Warkworth....all good.

Time to leave. Geared up looking forward to long overdue ride on a beautiful day....all not so good.

The bike wont start. Turn the key and hit the run and start and the fuel injection does its little 'whirr' thingy it does.....then "CLICK" and nothing.

In my other thread Grubber made this comment:

Can anyone tell me more please?

The bike is now safely in Maha and Moms garage ... thanks for the ride home Maha. It would have been a bloody long walk :love:

Had a similar thing with normajeanes 1200, turned out in the end to be a broken earth where it bolts to the motor/frame in an out of sight place.

MadDuck

18th July 2010, 19:54

Had a similar thing with normajeanes 1200, turned out in the end to be a broken earth where it bolts to the motor/frame in an out of sight place.

Yeah I had in my mind last weekend its not just the battery but I dont know what. For it to start 4 times in the course of the morning then just go nah not starting doesnt make sense.

Bikemad

18th July 2010, 19:59

From memory it's the sprag clutch on the starter. Harleys are forever shitting them. Easy and inexpensive to fix.

thats the problem i was thinkin of.....good luck

Mom

18th July 2010, 20:14

For it to start 4 times in the course of the morning then just go nah not starting doesnt make sense.

No but it does mean is you have a frustrating and annoying problem that is more than likely some pathetically simple thing. Here was me thinking only old Yaymahas have these issues.

There is a really good shop all down hill from here Ducky. I would not want to push the tractor uphill for any reason :pinch:

MadDuck

18th July 2010, 21:13

There is a really good shop all down hill from here Ducky. I would not want to push the tractor uphill for any reason :pinch:

The manual is a very interesting read actually. Once you get past all the "WARNING" "WARNING" "WARNING" pages it doesnt tell you very much at all. Seems you should not do any work on the bike unless you are authorised.

Though I wish I had a camera for the comment in there about using deisel

nallac

18th July 2010, 23:20

check your manual for the starter checklist,go thru it to track down the prob.
If the HD manuals anything like my Buell one it'll be pretty good for fault finding.

oh and the tractors are pretty easy to work on...

doc

19th July 2010, 07:10

Do the simple stuff first. Check the earth/battery lead they do fracture. Then short out the two posts on the solenoid. Last short out two starter posts on relay 87 n 85 from memory. If this fails off to shop. Its a HD they arer pretty user friendly

Maha

19th July 2010, 07:12

davereid

19th July 2010, 07:45

The manual is a very interesting read actually. Once you get past all the "WARNING" "WARNING" "WARNING" pages it doesnt tell you very much at all. Seems you should not do any work on the bike unless you are authorised.

I have the factory manual, which is very much as you describe. But I also have an after-market one which is much better. PM me if you need a read.

nallac

19th July 2010, 10:31

See you arfter work then?
I have my mallet.

will see if i can stop in on my way to work this evenin,farkin graveyard suxs....

Has any one checked the battery voltage?......could've been ok to start with freshly charged battery.But is it being charged properly?,stator?,Voltage reg?.

MadDuck

19th July 2010, 16:12

will see if i can stop in on my way to work this evenin,farkin graveyard suxs....

Has any one checked the battery voltage?......could've been ok to start with freshly charged battery.But is it being charged properly?,stator?,Voltage reg?.

Thanks if you can Callan. Please remove the mallet from Mahas hands while there ah?

I did not check the battery voltage. Didnt think to as it started and ran fine. Lights and all signals on.

Thanks davereid for the offer I may just need to take you up on that.

Maha

19th July 2010, 16:14

White trash

19th July 2010, 16:30

If you can get the starter motor out, should be a piece of piss. I am unsure if you need any specialist tools or not but it's a relatively inexpensive thing for an HD dealership to fix SHOULD my extremely brief but undoubtedly correct internet diagnosis prove true :)

Maha

19th July 2010, 18:57

Team Warkworth (well Snells actually, thanks to nallac) got it going, seems something fell into the hands of said HD fixeruper as the side cover was ripped of (I mean gently removed:shifty:) ...anyway, I have gifted the HD an most essential tool incase of further attention....:bash:
I have ditched the rubber one and gone with Steel....agh aagh aaaaaagh!!!!

Mom

19th July 2010, 19:08

Technically my answer was right, there was no power getting to the starter motor :shifty:

I loved the "did you get it going?" comment, and Maha saying "no, that is the Honda".

Ah well, best she gets out for a thrash soonest :yes:

Hmmmmmmmmm...

Wonder how Ma Mere will like a trip back from Thames strapped on the tank :pinch:

MadDuck

19th July 2010, 19:31

..anyway, I have gifted the HD an most essential tool incase of further attention....:bash:

The colour clashes .....

Technically my answer was right, there was no power getting to the starter motor :shifty:

So it appears my forte is taking things apart .... not putting them back together so they work :oi-grr:

Thanks nallac and team Warkworth.....have you stopped laughing hysterically yet?

piston broke

19th July 2010, 19:35

seems something fell into the hands of said HD fixeruper as the side cover was ripped of (I mean gently removed:shifty:) ...anyway,!

was that the bolt to attatch the lead to the battery to the terminal?

j_redley

19th July 2010, 21:01

So all in all you just had a loose earth terminal?

Mom

19th July 2010, 21:05

So all in all you just had a loose earth terminal?

No, it was more the unattached lead to the starter that was the issue, it was not loose :shutup:

MadDuck

19th July 2010, 21:44

So all in all you just had a loose earth terminal?

:o ...... um yes

nallac

20th July 2010, 17:03

No, it was more the unattached lead to the starter that was the issue, it was not loose :shutup:

well it was kinda loose.....just floatin around, only held on by the red plastic battery terminal protecter.
i'm amazed it actually started for ya at all...

And don't worry about Maha and the hammer(he moved on from the mallet)
that shit will buff out...well maybe some of it will??????.

scumdog

20th July 2010, 22:02

well it was kinda loose.....just floatin around, only held on by the red plastic battery terminal protecter.
i'm amazed it actually started for ya at all....

Exactly the type fo break normajeanes Sporty had on its earth strap as I mentioned in an earlier post.

Always check the ends of the cables carfully - the shrink-tubing will hold things in place so it all looks kosher even though there's no or little electrical contact.

nallac

20th July 2010, 23:52

Exactly the type fo break normajeanes Sporty had on its earth strap as I mentioned in an earlier post.

Always check the ends of the cables carfully - the shrink-tubing will hold things in place so it all looks kosher even though there's no or little electrical contact.

well not exactly...it wasn't broken...just kinda forgotten to be reinstalled.........