starter relay

[david lee]

whenever i press the starter button i hear a clicking sound coming from the relay and have to jiggle the plug to engage the starter.could it be faulty as the contacts are clean and never been changed. thanks all

[HotRodShovel]

hey..I've been knee deep in relays the past couple of weeks so I may know this.  The clicking when energizing the starter usually means low voltage.  If it makes contact after you jiggle it then maybe you have a loose connection somewhere in that line.  Sometimes it can come from a loose battery ground. 
I think if you look around you will find a bad connection and most times just snugging it up will fix it.  If not then it could be the relay took a dump.
Good luck.

[david lee]

voltage was low but managed to start it and went for a bit of a ride.when i tried to re start it back home nothing battery flat and know the charging system is good but will say its only the 2nd time in 12 mths ive ridden it.ive got the sealed battery on charge and its about 2yrs old.it was fully charged about 6 weeks ago before ridden.thanks

[HotRodShovel]

The first thing I would do is look for loose connections because clicking on start is classic low voltage relay noise.  I'm sure you will find a loose terminal someplace.   My bike would start cutting out at 3000 rpm.  Couldn't figure it out.  Changed my ignition, nothing.  Had it on the lift with the seat of and running it...3000 rpm like clockwork it would start chopping.    Good thing I had the seat off because I noticed the positive battery terminal lead vibrating at 3000..  not before, not enough vibration I guess.  Tightened it up and done.

Look around.  Check grounds etc.  I hope its tat simple and it might be.

[76shuvlinoff]

Is it the big Ford style relay? Those need to have a good ground.

[david lee]

Is it the big Ford style relay? Those need to have a good ground.

no.its the stock one.the battery is taking a charge,after a couple of hours its gone down from 3 to 2 on the charger.thanks

[tomfiii]

When jiggling the plug are you moving just the plug or wires ,as the plug contact may have a bad connection to the wire end.

[david lee]

When jiggling the plug are you moving just the plug or wires ,as the plug contact may have a bad connection to the wire end.

will check when i put the fully charged battery back in thanks

[HarleyCharley]

Those cube style relays are just marginally adequate for handling the solenoid current and after sometime of use, the contacts fail because of arcing. I keep one in the saddlebag just in case I need one on the road.

charley

[david lee]

Those cube style relays are just marginally adequate for handling the solenoid current and after sometime of use, the contacts fail because of arcing. I keep one in the saddlebag just in case I need one on the road.

charley

makes sense being the original one and cheap to replace thanks

[HotRodShovel]

Take a look at Centech Wiring.   centechwire.com  They have several wiring options but sell individually a real nice waterproof wired relay for about $24.  I have one for many years on my Shovel and just put a new one on.  Will stash the old one for a spare.  Its in a different league from the $1.50 ebayl/amazon chinese relays.

Give it a look....