Ironhead 74 Sportster Starter Issue - No Crank

[doodah man]

If you are able to crank it over strong with direct power from the battery, then there has to be a faulty connection or wire in the system.

[VintageVinny]

Thank you doodah man, that makes sense. The solenoid to starter cable may be where I'm losing voltage, so I have ordered a replacement.

[ryder rick]

Usually a bad battery cable will make itself known by getting hot.

[VintageVinny]

With a fresh battery in the multimeter:

Starter cable resistance shows 3.5 on 200k, .33 on 20m, and .48 on 20k ohms

Pos cable resistance shows 3.4 on 200k, .31 on 20m, and .45 on 20k ohms

Neg cable resistance shows 2.5 on 200k, .25 on 20m, and .38 on 20k ohms

Do these sound normal ?

[ryder rick]

Resistance checks on battery cables is not a effective test.

Better to do a voltage drop test when cranking across the cable.

[VintageVinny]

Thank you Ryder Rick for that clarification.
That validates my previous post, that when the starter is activated,
the voltage at the end of the starter cable drops from 11 volts to .9 volts

[oldboy]

Also, check worth making is to touch your meter leads together and see what the ohm reading on the lowest scale is. Should be 0.00 to 0.01. What do you get with your meter?

[VintageVinny]

"ohm reading on the lowest scale - Should be 0.00 to 0.01."

Putting the 2 leads together, it's reading 1.3 on 200k, .15 on 20m, and .19 on 20k ohms.

Should I deduct these figures from the other readings, or get a new multimeter ?!

[VintageVinny]

Taking readings from the starter solenoid short fat lug -
Without the starter cable attached, solenoid output is 11.5 volts when starter button is activated.
With the starter cable attached, solenoid output is 0.9 volts when starter button is activated.
Can someone explain what would cause this ?

[sungod]

The solenoid to starter wire is suspect for corrosion, frayed insulation,loose connections,grounding condition or all of the above.Replace it.