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shovel starter relay too many amps?

77_electra_glide

77_electra_glide

New Member
the 'tan' wire from the battery '+' to the starter relay appears to be pulling too much current when i hit the start button. the original wire was about 16-ga and had some fabric insulation around it plus what looks like shrink tubing. This wire broke, which i chalked up to old age (maybe it burned thru?). i replaced it with some 16-ga wire i had in the garage. this smoked after about 3-sec of the relay clicking away; starter did not turn. my wiring appears to be right. any ideas?

also, the starter works fine when you jump the relay terminals.
 
I probably could help if I had a schematic of your bike. Are you working with a diagram you could upload. Or a link that would show your schematic would be just as good..
 
77_Electra_Glide...welcome to the HDTimeline Forum, and your first post. Smoking wire, maybe this will help you identify which one...

1975-78FXFXS.jpg
 
thanks for the help so far. i've got a schematic. the fl is a little different than the fx. just need to figure out how to attach it (?).
 
I ran in to exactly the same thing this evening with a '75 FL 1200 I'm working on. I figured I had a short somewhere up by the ignition switch but am scratching my head and decided to pack it in and do some research. Here's a link to a wiring diagram I ran across at SmokeRiders.com (unfortunately I'm new here and can't post direct links so stick the http stuff in front of the following):

smokeriders.com/diagrams/Harley_Davidson/Twins/1975_FL_FLH.gif

I'll share anything I come across.
 
fitter said:
I ran in to exactly the same thing this evening with a '75 FL 1200 I'm working on. I figured I had a short somewhere up by the ignition switch but am scratching my head and decided to pack it in and do some research. Here's a link to a wiring diagram I ran across at SmokeRiders.com (unfortunately I'm new here and can't post direct links so stick the http stuff in front of the following):

smokeriders.com/diagrams/Harley_Davidson/Twins/1975_FL_FLH.gif

I'll share anything I come across.
Click to expand...
thanks fitter. this diagram is pretty much the same one i got out of the service manual. according to the guy i trust the most on this, the starter relay is the culprit. he suggested i check the voltage drop when the starter button is pushed. if it drops more than a volt, then the relay has likely gone bad. i'll let you know what i find once i get some time again to work on it.
 
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