[RoyalRider]

I have a 2006 Electra, put a new battery in it, battery is fully charged with battery tender, and yet when I push the starter button, NOTHING. No click, no groan, no nothing. Anybody got any ideas?

[The Garbone]

The Underpants Gnomes are now taking RE starter motors?

http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/103595/

Just a guess...

[UncleErnie]

Kill switch?
Put the battery in but didn't hook it up?  Red+ to + and black- to -?

[RoyalRider]

kill switch is in where it belongs bike will start with kick starter, battery is hooked up correctly.

[birdmove]

    I use mine so seldom (the starter-that is). Time to check all the connections. There must be a starter relay. You can take a test light to that. When you push the start button, if the test light doesn't light, then I think the relay could be bad. If it does light up, then it could be the wiring from there to the starter, or it could be the starter itself.

    Someone smarter than me will certainly comment here soon also.

   jon

[1Blackwolf1]

  Side stand up?  Clutch pulled in?  Nuetral light on?    Those are the easiest possibilities.  After that grounds and general wiring. 

[Joe28]

When you hit the "E" button, does you amp gauge go into the minus?
The I'd say the relay is B.A.D.
Mine went and I just installed a relay I had from Lowes from a lawn tractor.
You have to pull the wire off the clutch assy er the neutral light will come on every time you pull in the clutch.
Short story.......
I had my Military maybe 3 days.
I went out and while I was gonna put my helmet and gloves on, I'd fire the bike and let it warn.
Hit the button, natta.
I'm hitting the buttons, cursing, called my wife who called my buddy who came and abused me for buying a green bike.
We load the bike into his truck and haul it home.
I RIP the bike apart looking for SOMETHING, only to find out-
I had left the kick stand down!
Joe
It's always something.

[UncleErnie]

It's easy to take the sidestand switch off.  2 allenhead bolts at the brace by the hinge nd follow the wire up to a white plastic connector. 

Also. those solenoids aren't the best.  Try rapping it with a big wrench and see if that gets it to work.  If so, The Store's new solenoids are allegedly a little better.  (Mine is, anyway...)

[Tiny Tim]

It's not the sidestand switch. That prevents ignition not the starter turning.

The most likely cause is stuck or faulty starter solonoid. It's located on the front of the battery holder and has two thumping great red wires and two small ones connected to it. To test this take an old wrench or screwdriver and, making sure the ignition is on, kill switch in run and neutral light is on, splash across the big terminals. The starter should spin.

If this works then use a test meter to check for 12v on the two small wires (black and blue/white. The black is a switched earth from the neutral witch in the transmission or a pulled in clutch. The blue/white is a +ve from the starter button.

If pressing the starter button gives you 12v across these wires then the problem is the starter solonoid. If not then the problems either in the starter button or the earth from the gearbox / clutch lever.

[PaulF]

It is now my official stance that the Royal Enfield brand has the worst wiring in motorcycledom. The sole reason I am selling mine. Worse quality than Lucas on a bad day.

In addition to losing my starter selenoid and losing my delay box, I also had another problem that you may be experiencing. My neutral safety switch, located under the clutch lever and secured by two screws, went open-circuit on me and fed 12 volts through my ground. No ground, no start. Check it with a multi-meter. Symptoms were, sometimes would crank the ES with the clutch lever pulled in, sometimes not. And sometimes not at all, regardless.

Yet another problem is located within the wire harness, right about under the seat. You have to slice open the harness to get to it. There is a junction where 3 ground wires meet. All those wires are as thick as a human hair and meet a tiny junction secured with a drop of solder. Yup, you guessed it. it broke. Had to find it and put a proper solder connection on it, re-tape the harness back toghether.

One good thing about this bike. Its turning me into an electrical pro overnight. Neither may be your problem, but if all else fails, check those two things.

Minda of India is the new Lucas.

[luoma]

I've had the same problem with my 06 Electra. Replaced the solenoid, replaced the battery, removed the switch at the sidestand. After trying everything else, I bypassed the switch itseld and wired in a simple push-button switch just to see if that was it. Bingo, bad switch gear. Only problem was that by doing that, I also (apparently)bypassed the TCI circuit that protects the sprag. Fried it, so now I am kick start only until I can afford the repair.

Starts easy, runs great, don't really miss the starter.

[Tiny Tim]

Electics being something I know something about, I am confused by PaulF's comments.

The switched earth from the transmission which illuminates the neutral light also provides an earth to one side of the solonoid. An alternate earth is available from the clutch lever switch. These two paths make it impossible to crank the bike if it is in gear with the clutch out. If either of these methods don't work 100% of the time then you have a fault. Pauls symptoms point towards an intermittent fault either with the solonoid or the starter button.

As for the wires "as thick as a human hair" I have to say that I'm intimately familiar with the witrring harness and dont know of any single strand conductors let alone any this thin. Single strand conductors are never used in auto electrics as they won't stand up to the constant vibration.

Have you owned the bike from new Paul or is there a chance that someone before you has made a mod?

[PaulF]

Tim, I should'a photographed it, but a didgital camera is the last thing on my mind when swearing at the bike.

So, do this - get out your pair of wire strippers / dykes and choose the smallest setting. That setting was almost too big to strip the ends of those wires. I've owned it since new. 2008.

Starter selenoid has just been replaced. With the neutral safety switch, it now runs.

I have not disassembled the starter button because of the assumption, being such a simple device, there's nothing there to go wrong. Is there?

[Philbomoog]

I'm wondering if my starter relay is playing up. The starter motor spins quite happily but the engine does not fire up until I release the 'start' switch. Seems a bit odd.

[PaulF]

I'm wondering if my starter relay is playing up. The starter motor spins quite happily but the engine does not fire up until I release the 'start' switch. Seems a bit odd.

If the starter motor spins when the button is pressed, your selenoid os OK.

But let us know if you have any problems with the starter button, because now I'm curious.

[PhilJ]

In a good system with battery in good shape, it's hard to tell when it's really fired up (running). On the few occasions  that I use electric start I've always had the feeling that it has started before I release the starter switch.