[nate728]

Now that the weather is starting to break here in the frozen NE, a few days ago I decided it was time to start fiddling with my Electra.

Went to start it with the e-start and I got nothing - not a sound. Finding that odd I take a look at the volts, and that looks fine. Lights come on, horn works, blinkers work.

So then I put the battery tender on, wait a few hours and in that time the light on the tender goes from red to green. Try the e-start again - nothing again. At this point I kick it over and on the second kick she sputters to life. Every time there after she kicks over perfectly.

In all of your collective wisdom, any suggestions on what it could be? It is the original battery (she's an 09), so I'm leaning towards that but wanted to see if anyone else had encountered this before I spend the dough on a new one.

Thanks
Nate

[DocVSK]

An easy place to look would be the "tool" box on the left side of the bike where you solenoid is. Listen for a click when you hit the e-start button. If you don' hear it, it could be your starter motor that has gone or just a bad/poor connection somewhere.

I would refer to this thread, as there is some good advice:
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,14237.0.html

[Arizoni]

The E starter won't work if the motorcycle thinks it isn't in neutral although pulling in the clutch lever should bypass that safety switch.

It also won't work if the starter solenoid doesn't work or if it only partially engages the electrical contacts inside it.  If the solenoid clicks loudly when the starter button is pressed but nothing happens the starter motor could be at fault.  If a armature brush was hung up and not making contact the motor wouldn't run.  A light tap with a mallet might jar it loose.

[tooseevee]

It is the original battery (she's an 09), so I'm leaning towards that but wanted to see if anyone else had encountered this before I spend the dough on a new one.

Thanks
Nate

           I think you're expecting a miracle to expect a 2009 battery to still be up to the job of cranking your engine to life after yet another long winter of sitting. Guarantee it'll let you down again this season & the worst thing you can do is continue to try to crank the engine to life with a weak battery as it goes dead again.   

[Lane]

Yeah, I had the same think happen to my AVL.  You can test if its the solenoid just like on the old fords, jump across the post with a screwdriver and see if it spins the starter.  The solenoid is in the left side box.  If so, the solenoid is pretty easy to replace.  I went to Tractor Supply Co. (TSC) and found one that looked pretty much the same for a lawn tractor and it worked!   

Have fun and good luck!

[nate728]

Thanks for the input guys. I was able to figure it out. Turns out there was a loose connection from the solenoid to the starter. Too bad I realized this out an hour into the job, and only after taking the seat off for another project!

Either way I got a valuable lesson in solenoids!