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Posted by Troll
- September 16, 2013, 20:28:29 PMThe plastic side cover with the single chrome screw holding it. The coolant reserve tank and all the electrics are hiding back there.
Posted by DC
- September 16, 2013, 19:35:56 PMQuote from: Troll on September 16, 2013, 08:05:54 AMOkay, I'm not sure which right side cover you mean. Do you mean the small one inside the larger cover with the socket hex cap screws (3 or 4 round head ones, I can't tell)? Or do you mean the entire right side cover with the oil filler cap on it? I know this sounds dumb (I'm not sure how it's constructed) but won't all the oil come out if I take the entire cover off?The relay is the under the right side cover, towards the rear and should have a pretty beefy cable attached. The relay also houses the main fuse. The starter motor is between the front of the engine and the lower part of the radiator. This design uses a relay for current switching, and a roller clutch on the starter that is constantly engaged, but freewheels when the engine is running...it has no "solenoid" in the automotive sense of the word. Check for loose main cable at the starter, and the relay, but there is also a ground wire from the battery to the frame to the engine. If the ground cable is loose at either connection, you will get a significant power loss. Putting power from your battery with a jumper cable, directly into the terminal on the starter will get the motor to crank the engine. The starter relay does this for you at the push of button
To get either off, it looks like I would have to remove the highway bars, floor board, bracket, one or more of the exhaust pipes, and a bunch of other stuff. Is this right? I tried undoing one of the socket hex cap screws but it seems frozen and if put much more oomph behind it, I'm afraid of stripping the head out.
Are there pics of the innards under that cover anywhere?
Posted by greenbarn
- September 16, 2013, 12:12:28 PMQuote from: John Hopkins on September 16, 2013, 11:27:13 AMMAKE SURE the bike is in Neutral - If you jump the relay/solenoid you will bypass the keyswitch and ALSO THE NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH. It will start in gear.....Now imagine the starter solenoid is an ordinary switch..when it is in the 'start' position that battery lead connects across to the only other thick wire connected to the solenoid..after checking that the wires are tight in their solenoid connectors you can bridge the two connectors with a thick piece of wire..If the solenoid is faulty the starter will turn the engine over even with the ignition switched off..If that happens you need to replace the solenoid and at least clean the contacts..If the starter does not turn the engine over you need to check the starter motor connection which is quite a job on these bikes..it is possible that the motor needs removing and to do this you should have to remove the radiator.
John.
Posted by John Hopkins
- September 16, 2013, 11:27:13 AMIf you have fitted an AGM battery it has two round screw in plates on the top, one for + and one for - you have to screw the adaptor into these before you can attach the ground and live wires, the adaptor can work loose without you noticing it, leaving the connectors and leads tight..I would start there because if one of the connectors is loose the resistance will not allow enough current to reach the starter motor..
Next is the starter solenoid behind the right cover..one of the battery leads goes straight to that if that is loose the same thing happens..
Now imagine the starter solenoid is an ordinary switch..when it is in the 'start' position that battery lead connects across to the only other thick wire connected to the solenoid..after checking that the wires are tight in their solenoid connectors you can bridge the two connectors with a thick piece of wire..If the solenoid is faulty the starter will turn the engine over even with the ignition switched off..If that happens you need to replace the solenoid and at least clean the contacts..If the starter does not turn the engine over you need to check the starter motor connection which is quite a job on these bikes..it is possible that the motor needs removing and to do this you should have to remove the radiator.
Starter motors can be damaged in all sorts of ways..A poor connection can cause the voltage to arc and overheat the wiring, brushes wear out and the brush holder can slip against the commutator and damage that, bearing wear can cause the rotor to sieze and short against the stator..
All in all it's not as difficult as it sounds and a loose connection is usually the cause..
John.
Posted by DC
- September 16, 2013, 10:50:25 AMThanks Troll. I will pull the cover and check out the connections.
Posted by Troll
- September 16, 2013, 08:05:54 AMThe relay is the under the right side cover, towards the rear and should have a pretty beefy cable attached. The relay also houses the main fuse. The starter motor is between the front of the engine and the lower part of the radiator. This design uses a relay for current switching, and a roller clutch on the starter that is constantly engaged, but freewheels when the engine is running...it has no "solenoid" in the automotive sense of the word. Check for loose main cable at the starter, and the relay, but there is also a ground wire from the battery to the frame to the engine. If the ground cable is loose at either connection, you will get a significant power loss. Putting power from your battery with a jumper cable, directly into the terminal on the starter will get the motor to crank the engine. The starter relay does this for you at the push of button
Posted by greenbarn
- September 16, 2013, 07:43:03 AMNot positive on the 1500. On my 800 its in the front, under and behind the lower radiator mount, right next to the road - = subject to corrosion. It looks like a small electric motor.
Posted by DC
- September 16, 2013, 07:09:01 AMQuote from: chief on September 15, 2013, 19:06:14 PMIt sounds like it might be a power connection problem.
Quote from: greenbarn on September 15, 2013, 20:53:55 PMDumb question, but how do I get to where that's connected? Do I have to remove any side covers?Sounds like you most certainly have a connection problem.
If you have 14.5 running, then the battery is charging (i.e. your charging system is working).
If you have 12.5-13 V not running and/or disconnected, then that indicates a charged battery (but not necessarily a GOOD battery)
You need to check the connections on the starter. You could have a loose wire, or corrosion problem. Look for a connection that looks like it's been hot - discoloration, melted plastic, etc.
Posted by greenbarn
- September 15, 2013, 20:55:24 PMSay,.... what's the odds of a guy calling himself "DC", having a battery problem??
Must be a guy on a refrigerator forum going by "AC" having a wiring problem, I suppose... 
Posted by greenbarn
- September 15, 2013, 20:53:55 PMSounds like you most certainly have a connection problem.
If you have 14.5 running, then the battery is charging (i.e. your charging system is working).
If you have 12.5-13 V not running and/or disconnected, then that indicates a charged battery (but not necessarily a GOOD battery)
You need to check the connections on the starter. You could have a loose wire, or corrosion problem. Look for a connection that looks like it's been hot - discoloration, melted plastic, etc.
Posted by DC
- September 15, 2013, 19:16:17 PMIt's almost the same exact battery that was in there to begin with, spec'd as an upgrade to the stock battery.
The original was a Yuasa YTX20CH-BS. The replacement was the Motorpsort version of the Yuasa.
Posted by chief
- September 15, 2013, 19:06:14 PMI'm assuming you purchased an appropriately spec'd battery.
If it was on the tender, it would have to be a massive parasitic power drain to exceed the charging capacity of the tender - or a problem with the connection. It sounds like it might be a power connection problem.
Posted by DC
- September 15, 2013, 18:55:05 PMSo here's the latest . . . . .
The new battery was completely charged as of Friday. Before I pulled the old battery out, I took some readings as follows:
OLD BATTERY
- Bike not running = 12.82v
- Bike running = 14.34v - 14.46v
- Disconnected from bike = 13.16v
Then I installed the new battery.NEW BATTERY
- Bike running = 14.5v
After installing, I started it up without any click, click, click, and it was off and running. So I took the bike for a good healthy ride, to give it some exercise. Again, this was Friday.Saturday I did not run the bike, but kept it on the Battery Tender Plus(tm) overnight.
Sunday morning, I go to take it for a ride. Press the starter, then click, click, click. It did not start. Pressed it again, then a couple of clicks and it turned over fine.
So now it's not a battery problem? 
Posted by kw-retrorider
- September 15, 2013, 17:27:56 PMAll good info above, but will add this:
- don't have pigtails for charging the battery in place, but agree they should be shielded(covered) when not in use, so they do not drain the battery.
- the easiest thing to do when you suspect the battery(and I do) is to try to charge it, like you did....after that, take it out and take it somewhere that they can put a load check on it....auto zone, battery warehouse, etc.
- while it's out...batteries are marked with date of manufacture...if it's older than you think...it's probably done....if it drops a cell (which it can do without warning), regardless of the reason..it's also done.
Look forward to a good result....
Posted by chief
- September 15, 2013, 13:38:42 PMThe Battery Tender will charge AND store the battery, so you don't have to worry about overcharging etc. You can leave it on all the time if you want. That's what I do in the winter when there are weeks between rides.