Starter Problems

Trying to get my 76 900 to turn over after 10+ years of neglect. I hooked jumper cables to the battery leads & all lights came on. Then tried to turn over with ign. switch,nothing. Checked elec. connections,pulled starter & it spun fine. Jumped across selenoid nothing? Can someone help with a few suggestions?

Try this:

Starter Solenoid Checkout

Some simple steps to determine what is working and what's not:

1.Fully charge and test the battery(most bike shops can load test the battery, and then use a floating ball hydrometer to check specific gravity in the charged cells).

2.Clean all battery terminals of corrosion.

3.Tighten all starting related connections(Positive RED(+) battery terminal, Negative BLACK(-)terminal) and from the terminal to the engine case. All connections must be clean and tight.

4.Clean the cable from the starter solenoid to the starter motor.

5.Clean and check the "bullet connectors" going to the coil side of the starter solenoid.

6.Try again to start the bike.

7.If no luck, go to step #8

8.Wearing eye protection, bridge with pliers or a screwdriver the two heavy duty(large)terminals on the solenoid. If the bike cranks, your solenoid may be bad.

9. If the starter won’t turn over, one of several things has happened; The starter motor has seized due to brushes binding up, lack of lubrication in the bushings of the motor, the battery is weak , the engine has seized or it could be a combination of any of the above. Some websites for starter motor rebuild kits are:

A. www.mawonline.com/newsite/rick_s_motorsp...-starter_brushes.htm
B. www.cyclewareables.com/pages/street_star...kits/startmtrkit.htm

10.The dealer may want $$$ for a new solenoid, but take your old one along and visit the nearest riding lawn mower shop. They have solenoids for about $15 that with a little work will fit. Be aware that the new solenoid from the lawn mower shop may require a ground wire for it to work.

11. I’d recommend upgrading from the existing battery cables to at least 6 gauge welding cables.
They are available in two colors(RED and BLACK) have more flexibility due to being constructed with finer conductors, and will fit in tighter areas.

12. The welding cable is sold by the foot, so take careful measurements or bring your old cables along. Most battery shops might be able to supply the cable too, so call to find out. The battery shop should be able to crimp/swage on the end of the welding cable the terminal ends or lugs using either a dedicated crimping machine or a tool that looks like a bolt cutter that has special dies to terminate the cable.

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I'd suggest puling the sparkplugs,squirt some marvel mystery oil or similar fluid(PB Blaster is good too) and let it sit for a while and then try turning the engine over using a wrench on the crankshaft(CAUTION!! make sure you put the wrench on the larger "Nut" not the bolt holding the mechanical advancer to the crankshaft)It's possible to break off the shear pin(roll pin) in the crank shaft.

Thanks for the advice. I have already bridged across the solenoid with no luck. the bike doesn't have a battery in it. Hooked starter motor to jumper cables it is ok. Hooked jumper cables direct to battery leads on bike. In my Haynes manual shows a starter relay in the wiring diagram? Could this be my problem?

If you follow the Positive(+)Cable going to from the battery terminal, it should go directly to the starter solenoid and from there to the starter motor.

The energizing coil of the solenoid gets its voltage/current from the right handlebar rub/stop switch.