help...bad starter, solenoid or main fuse?

my wife hasn't let me ride this year until i got a new back tire.
Finally got one delivered, took the wheel off myself and got the new
tire on.
My battery was too low to start the bike so i hooked up the portable
jumpstart thing and had the engine running in no time. i started it up
about a half dozen times when all the sudden i was getting nothing:
starter wasn't turning over and i wasn't even getting the pronounced
"click" when i pushed the start button.
I thoughtthe ground jumper (black) may have got knocked off the frame
or something along those ends. I have power to the headlamp, horn and
turn signals but, as i said, i don't get the "click" when pushing the
button; the headlamp dims when i try to start it, which if i'm right
means the solenoid in OK. So i'm thinking maybe its the main fuse? Or
could it actually be the starter? Like i said, i had it cranking the
engine on up until my questionable connection to the jumpstart thing.
Anyone able to help? Thanks

Oh...82 honda nighthawk 750sc

 

It couldn't be the main fuse, *everything* would be dead...

Maybe the starter brushes are worn out? But I think your battery is too
old to take any more than just a "surface charge". It probably has no
capacity left at all from sitting for so long. It probably sulfated and
charging it won't help...

 

thanks for the fast reply....
if it were the starter brushes would that acount for the missing
"click"?

 

Dimming headlight might mean little if the battery has just barely enough
juice to light it. I'm not sure what a jumpstart thing is, but if it is
strictly an electric gizmo, without a storage battery, than it may not do
anything if your battery is shot.

If you jump the bike, with a car (turned off), will the thing click or turn
over?

If so, cough up $28 and buy a new battery for your bike, if not remove the
cable and clean the ends thoroughly, tighten to nuts ( the one under the
lead as well if there is one) and try again.

good luck

 

to be more specific:
what i have is a "portable power station". Its the kind of thing you
keep in your car so you can jumpstart yourself is no other car is
available to hook up to. It's got 2 jumper cables: 1 red and 1 black.
The red one you hook up the positive terminal on the battery, the
black one goes onto the engine frame or block or some other ground.
You turn it on and you can start your car/ bike etc. It's basically a
big storage battery with power to crank.
When i turn on my key the lights are dim etc. As soon as i hook up the
portable jumper the lights would get brighter and i had enough juice to
start the bike. But now i get the power (bright lights) but the bike
won't start: not so much as a "click"

 

Sure sounds like a bad battery. Specifically, a shorted battery cell.
I had a battery with a shorted cell. It took a surface charge reading
12.6+ volts (fully charged). When I turned the ignition to ON, the
lights came on. But when I pressed the starter button, ALL the lights
went out, and the starter did not turn over nor make a peep.

You can check to see if you have the same problem: charge the battery
and then take a volt meter reading. IF the reading is 12.4 to 12.6 VDC
(fully charged or near fully charged), then hit the starter. IF all
the lights go off and the bike does not start, take another voltage
reading. If it's a bad cell, you should see a reading below 12.0
volts.

You can also buy a battery tester for $50 or less that has a "load"
test capabilty (basically a resistance coil). The analog meter needle
will give you the static voltage (battery at rest), and the voltage as
the battery is load tested. A load test will indicate a shorted cell
as an immediate voltage drop with the needle off the scales as soon as
you press the tester's oad button.

Ride safe,

Manjo

 

I really don't think it's your starter brushes. You should hear the
solenoid click if the brushes are bad, though. The reason you don't
usually notice the solenoid clicking is that the starter starts turning
immediately and the "ying ying ying" covers up the solenoid's click...

So maybe the motorcycle battery in your starter pack is now as weak as
the battery in your motorbike, and both need extensive charging or even
replacement to give you enough juice-tricity to crank it up?

 

---------------------------------------------------
The reason for the lights going out when the starter button is pushed on
some (most?) bikes is because the button has a second set of contacts that
disconnect all non-essential circuitry (all lights, etc.,) when the starter
motor is cranking.
....brian
'01 VT750CD

 

I had the same thing happen on my GSX1100F/88, and it turned out that
there was an "overload (thermal?) protector/fuse" under the seat on the
starter relay that popped out a tiny red "pin". Then the starter was dead,
but after pushing the pin back in after a while everything worked just
fine.