clicking starter

[jeff hawks]

this is my first bike i got a 2003 xb9r firebolt i love the thing more than my lady but about a month ago I started clicking when I hit the starter it wouldn't engage and then I'll just hit it over and over again until it finally we would engage will it finally went out so I bought a new starter and put it on there and it still clicking it won't engage no more but it just clicks thanks over and over clicks and I look at wires everything I and think of I went through the manual I'm not very good with voltage meters and all that so I'm kind of lost there but I'm really trying I hope there's somebody out there that can help me get to the bottom of this starter the brand new starter and it clicks too so I don't know what to do I was thinking maybe voltage regulator or are Stater can somebody please help me thank you so much in advance

 

[34nineteen]

yeah i hear you man haha motorcycles can be a real bitch sometimes but buells are pretty robust motorcycles however do need maintenance and attention from time to time sort of like your lady your problem is fairly common and simple to diagnose as many older motorcycles have these same issues i would take the battery to a real battery shop not just a place that sells auto parts a place that actually sells all kinds of batteries and have them test the battery fully make sure they it is fully charged too not just left on a tender that will never work right and can actually damage the battery the next thing is to check and clean off of your grounds there are a few on that bike at the seat rail seat rail to main frame attachment point across the top of the motor and barrett often says to check for a ground point on the steering head of the bike but i dont think that applies to your model on only ulysses models he means well but its hard to know all the details of all the models and dont forget the check the relays like barrett requested you can sometimes find those in an auto parts store but do a search on here for the replacement part numbers and like what barrett also said if you need a replacement battery make sure to get a really good quality one and not a cheap one from walmart or other discount house as these batteries need as many amps cca to start reliably buy once cry once ya know ive owned several of these bikes and often times they have these issues but i do what i and barrett mentioned above and it solves all of my problems and gives me more time to spend with my tool on my lady that my tools on a motorcycles you should also download a free service manual from buell mods as it has a lot of troubleshooting charts and wiring diagrams to help narrow down the problem before spending a lot of money a lot of people buy these and just throw money at them and wonder why it doesnt fix the problem dont be this guy cause it sucks to spend a bunch of money for no reason if you can look around for a mechanic in your area too but make sure they are actually either very familiar with buells and actually want to work on the bike a regular harley shop is not a good place as most harley mechanics do not want to work on buells and the japanese motorcycle shops usually dont work on harleys even though its a buell get it haha either way good luck

 

[Cooter]

Salutations Mr. Hawks;

The fine gentlemen above are responding to your enquiry in kind, and as such are attempting to help you, help yourself. You have purchased a fine machine, but make no mistake young pad wan, it is finally old enough to start dating, and requires a very small amount of skill to be as dependable as your lack of technical ability deems. The skill required is very small, but it is required. Treat it with some mechanical empathy and you will be rewarded with a positive experience. Treat it with abuse (including ignorance) and your experience will be negative, and no fault of the machine in question.

In order to help you, the responders above must wade through an (understandable) lack of knowledge, but also a lack of communications skill.

The unbreakable law is:

The answer you seek can only be as good as the question asked.

A poorly worded question, including zero punctuation, will get you incorrect answers. Combine that with an inability to perform the most basic checks yourself and a probable lack of tools and you have created a perfect storm of unnecessary and added cost, time, and stress.

We are just a group of enthusiasts, with varying degree of skills and experience, but you have the attention of two of the best of them on this forum that have already given you the knowledge you requested.

As intelligent and experienced as your responders have been, they are not clairvoyant. I would kindly ask you to provide some information they have no way of knowing in order to expand their focus to the correct the issues you are asking questions of:
How many miles are on the motorcycle?
How is it's general condition?
Are you aware of any maintenance recently done?
Are there any modifications done that may affect its running condition?

Machines don't 'fix themselves'. Ever. If it's not starting in your shaded, comfortable, garage, find out why or it won't start when it is much more inconvenient for you, and that is now YOUR fault, not the machine you should have fixed in the shaded, comfortable, garage.

The "clicking" you are hearing is the starter solenoid and common to almost every single vehicle with an internal combustion engine, car, truck, boat, whatever. It does NOT mean it (or the starter) is bad. It means it does not have enough voltage to keep the spring compressed and contact the high amperage terminals inside it to turn the starter over. ANY diagnosis of the electrical system begins with testing battery voltage first. If it is not above 12.5VDC, STOP, and diagnose why.

If the voltage is above 12.5VDC, continue with diagnosis the starting circuit.

If the voltage is below 12.5VDC, CHARGE the battery FULLY, with a BATTERY CHARGER (not a little tender thingy) then continue with charging system diagnosis.

If you do not possess the skill or tools to perform this, I cannot foresee helping further, and I hope you have a good job because mechanics are expensive for a reason.


What is your motorcycles resting battery voltage.