slow turn over with start up

Hello all,
I am having a small problem. The problem is that I have almost no idea how an engine works. Here is how my problem has reared its head today.
I have a new battery (with proper fluid levels) and new spark plugs. Since I have had this bike, which has only been about six months, when I press the start button, she seems to respond a little sluggishly. When I say that, I mean the electrical genesis of the whole thing. There doesn't seem to be any problem once the signal hits the spark plugs and as long as I can get a fairly rapid "ing-ing-ing" out of that switch, the rest of the process works fine. As of this morning, this has become a real finger crossing kind of thing. It was cold in this part of Texas this morning (37F and windy - although she is tucked away for the night in a cozy garage) but I have been commuting with her in temperatures colder than that all winter.
My question is: What are the possibilities? There seems to be a disconnect between the thumb button and the rest of the system. Is there an auto-like starter that may need replacing? Could it be an ignition coil? Or an electrical connection in that little switch itself?
The bike has a scant 9500 miles on it but 3500 have been put on it during my short ownership. It has spent a lot of time languishing in someone's garage. By the way, she is a 1981 750LTD.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer to an extremly new enthusiast.

Regards,
Jon

take the starter switch apart and clean it really well, apply wd 40 to the contacts...not too much. find and clean the connections to your starter solonoid and clean those real good too and see if that makes a difference...it should turn as soon as you hit that starter button...steve

Hi, and thanks.
I tried to take your advice and do that just now. I seem to have screwed things up worse than they were before.
I took the ignition button assembly on the right handlebar apart and sprayed some junk in there (wd40 and, later, some electrical cleaner stuff that I bought). I don't really know how I would take that apart any further and scrub it -- I am afraid to get a q-tip or something in there, I might leave a hunk of cotton behind and that probably wouldn't fit anyway:) Do you have any suggestions about what household items to use to scrub it?
Anyway, now I am at a point where the button does activate the solenoid (evidenced by the loud clicking sound), but it does not make any noise beyond that.
Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Jon

Jon, First, if you don't like the frigid winters up there in San Angelo, try moving down to some civilized part of the world... like the Hill Country! Second, are the bluebonnets out yet around that man made lake you have up there? I rode around that lake a few years ago and was shocked at how great the bluebonnets were.

To your starting problem... first, this type problem needs to be tackled systematically. Here is the way the system works that you are messing with...

Power goes to ignition switch and once key is turned on flows through the switch to the starter button. When the button is depressed, it flows through the button to the starter solenoid. Power flows TO the solenoid directly from the battery. The starter is directly connected to the solenoid. The power from the button comes in and TRIGGERS the solenoid which is essentially a relay and the solenoid closes and allows power to pass through the solenoid and go to the starter.

To check this system, I find it useful to do this:

1. check starter function. Make sure battery has good charge. Use a SLOW voltage trickle charger... The charger should have real small aligator clips and be rated to charge in about 12 hours at 1 amp. Once the charge is good, get a piece of 12 gauge wire. Leave the key off as you don't want to power the coils. Take the wire and touch one end on the PLUS terminal of the battery. Look at your solenoid. note there is already a wire coming from the PLUS terminal and connected to the solenoid. There is ANOTHER lug on the solenoid where a cable is connected. This is the wire to the starter. Take your 12 ga. wire, holding the one end on the PLUS terminal of the battery and the other on the the starter cable lug on the battery. The bike's starter will engage and the engine will turn over. Don't do this long... If you can't get the starter to kick over, the problem is most likely with the starter clutch or perhaps the starter itself is bad. More troubleshooting is needed but you know what the problem is... If the starter DOES turn over (suspect it will), then lets do this...

SECOND - test the solenoid... OK... I have explained how the thing works in general. Find the small wire coming in from the starter button... I think it might be a black wire but it probably is some other color. It will be about a 16 or 18 ga. wire. It does NOT connect to the battery lug or the starter cable lug but will have a separate connector on the solenoid. Turn the key ON this time. Take that 12 ga wire and touch one end to the POS terminal of the battery and the connector on the solenoid where the starter button connection comes in. THIS IS A TRIGGER and the starter should turn over. Don't hold it there long as the bike will try and start. If the starting action is quick and positive, the solenoid is good. I strongly suspect you have no problems with the solenoid. If you don't get a strong and smooth starter action, then suspect the solenoid and perhaps replace it.

THIRD... I suspect your starter and solenoid will test out fine. If they do, the problem is somewhere on the path the trigger voltage follows to get to the solenoid. Power goes to your ignition switch via the main wiring harness. It comes out of the switch when the key is on and goes to your kill switch. If you take your right hand switchgear apart and get the multimeter out, turn the ignition switch on and meaure voltage at the input to the kill switch inside the switchgear. Just look for the wire going into the switch and touch the POS/red lead to it and hold the NEG/black lead on a frame ground while the meter is in VDC scale. You should have about 12 VDC. Now you will see where the wire goes to the button inside the switchgear. You can check voltage here. If you get voltage to this point, look at your button. It takes three hands but push the button and check voltage coming off the plate BEHIND the button where the button contacts. This is a very likely failure point but DO check the other places first. If you find a lack of voltage in any of these places, you have found your problem... OK, note the color of the wire OUT of the button contact. This wire runs into a big connector on the right steering neck of your bike which connects back into the wiring harness. Undo the connector and find the PIN on the connector associated with the button-out wire. Still, with the key on, and the button pushed, check for voltage here. This connector often works loose because of its connection. Clean it with the contact cleaner and put some dielectic grease in this connector.

I suspect SOME part of this troubleshooting will identify the problem as there is little esle to check. The button cleaning... you can spray with cleaner but I wouldn't spray with WD40 as this type lube will only attact crud. The most effective way to clean is to unscrew the plate and clean it with FINE steel wool or emory board as it and the metal brad set in the back of the button tend to oxidize and make poor contact. You can buy a new button if the metal brad in the back is worn. I think www.z1enterprises.com can get them so check if you don't see it on the site.

Your problem seems frustrating but it could have been checked out systematically in about the same amount of time needed to type all this babble and should prove easy to fix once you have gone through these troubleshooting steps. Some of the steps don't provide problem resolution steps so if you find a problem, in say the kill switch, just stop back and I will tell you how to fix the issue if you encounter it.

Hello,
First things first -- no, the bluebonnets are not in bloom yet here. This is my first spring living here and it looks like it will be a nice one soon, I am looking forward to that. I hear that the Hill Country is beautiful and am looking forward to riding down that way soon. Thanks so much for your extremely helpful post. I really appreciate you taking the time to write all that. Sorry I haven't had the decency to reply sooner, I was faced with a couple of 14 hour days at work and could only get around to trying it out this morning.
Anyway, my wire doesn't turn the bike over when I touch the positive on the battery to the starter post on the solenoid. Although, in the interest of time, I skipped the battery charging step. I have taken the battery to AutoZone where they are now slow charging the battery, but, as the battery is quite new, I don't suspect that will change anything. By the way, how does the battery get recharged as you go? There must be some sort of alternator equivalent, no?
So it looks like it may be the starter, which I can't even find on the bike. It seems to be behind that metal plate where the wire leads. (the clymer manual on these bikes kind of stinks by the way). Is the starter clutch sold separately from the starter? What is its function and how would I figure out which one it is?
Again, thanks so much for your valuable time. Maybe I could buy you lunch sometime when I get around to exploring that Hill Country area.

regards,
Jon

Hello,
First things first -- no, the bluebonnets are not in bloom yet here. This is my first spring living here and it looks like it will be a nice one soon, I am looking forward to that. I hear that the Hill Country is beautiful and am looking forward to riding down that way soon. Thanks so much for your extremely helpful post. I really appreciate you taking the time to write all that. Sorry I haven't had the decency to reply sooner, I was faced with a couple of 14 hour days at work and could only get around to trying it out this morning.
Anyway, my wire doesn't turn the bike over when I touch the positive on the battery to the starter post on the solenoid. Although, in the interest of time, I skipped the battery charging step. I have taken the battery to AutoZone where they are now slow charging the battery, but, as the battery is quite new, I don't suspect that will change anything. By the way, how does the battery get recharged as you go? There must be some sort of alternator equivalent, no?
So it looks like it may be the starter, which I can't even find on the bike. It seems to be behind that metal plate where the wire leads. (the clymer manual on these bikes kind of stinks by the way). Is the starter clutch sold separately from the starter? What is its function and how would I figure out which one it is?
Again, thanks so much for your valuable time. Maybe I could buy you lunch sometime when I get around to exploring that Hill Country area.

regards,
Jon