Whar's the S?

[Primate]

Thanks KP. I was already planning on going to Stoner's. I also went to the one at John's in Feb. mine was the last on the stand for a clutch replacement. Tje Airheads have been great, period. Introduce yourself at Stoner's if you see me trucking the bike in on my silver Ranger, or, if you see someone riding in on a ratty black /6 with a silver spray painted engine ( don't ask--that's how I bought it).

Back to my issue--just haven't had free time to dive back in, BUT something new has surfaced, which I think will help ID the culprit. I tried firing it up again today, and all I got was rapid clicking from the starter. This happened a few days ago as well. I thought it was the battery, which is new, but had been sitting. All charged and doing fine now.

Culprit: Starter, solenoid? Connection somewhere between the button, relay and starter?

But could this also explain the misfiring that started this whole funfest? How?

[Deleted User 287]

Back to my issue--just haven't had free time to dive back in, BUT something new has surfaced, which I think will help ID the culprit. I tried firing it up again today, and all I got was rapid clicking from the starter. This happened a few days ago as well. I thought it was the battery, which is new, but had been sitting. All charged and doing fine now.

That usually indicates low voltage.

Check to make sure your battery cable connections are clean and don't forget the grease on the connections - dielectric or any plain kind will work, even Vaseline. And you can't ignore the somewhat hard-to-reach forward end of the positive cable that attaches to the battery.

And while you are looking at the cables, if they might be old, cut a little of the insulation on the positive wire near the battery connector and peel it back. If you see white powdery or greenish corrosion, it is time for a new cable.
It doesn't hurt to replace those every 30 years or so, anyway.

[Primate]

Thanks, I would have discounted that possibility, since there's never been a trace of corrosion since I've had it. Can't account for anything that happened to it from '74-'11, though.

[Deleted User 287]

You say the new battery has been sitting - how long and did you have a battery tender on it at the time?

And did you leave the battery sitting on concrete? That will just suck the life out of a battery, you know.

[Primate]

The battery's not the problem -- I could crank that baby til the starter fried and still have juice to spare.

And The cement in my garage is organic, so I'm not worried.

[bbelk]

you leave the battery sitting on concrete? That will just suck the life out of a battery, you know.

I always thought this was a myth. I can't think if any reason it would be true other than people saying its true all my life.

[Deleted User 287]

you leave the battery sitting on concrete? That will just suck the life out of a battery, you know.

I always thought this was a myth. I can't think if any reason it would be true other than people saying its true all my life.

Should I have used the winking smiley rather than the lol smiley?

[Major Softie]

I thought it was clear enough, but apparently not.

[Steve in Golden]

I have always been under the impression that it is bad to place an automotive / MC battery on a concrete floor. To this day, I will put it on a 2X4, not on the bare concrete. It just doesn't seem right!

Apparently at one time, this was a valid concern.

Car batteries used to be encased in hard rubber, a substance that was porous enough that battery acid could seep through it and create a conductive path through the damp concrete, draining the battery. The cases of today’s batteries, however, are made of sturdier stuff that far better contains their contents than those of yesteryear. As well, time has brought technological improvements to the seals around the posts and the vent systems.

These days, the problem of car battery electrolyte seepage and migration has been all but eliminated. Says battery manufacturer Yuasa http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php "Nowadays, containers are made from a solid plastic that does not allow any current to flow through it, so the batteries do not discharge, even if they sit in a few inches of water."

Interestingly, some experts (including Car Talk's Click and Clack) believe that storing car batteries on concrete floors might actually be a better idea than keeping them on shelves or other surfaces because the cold of the floor works to slow the self-discharge (leakage) rate.

snopes.com: Do Cement Floors Ruin Car Batteries?

You learn something new every day, it seems.

[Primate]

PRIMATE (staring at his feet, kicking at imaginary pebbles, admitting sheepishly): "It was the battery. I don't wanna talk about it right now."