Solenoid rebuilding and troubleshooting bike that won't turn over!

[Clerek]

I tried troubleshooting everything else I could think of, and the wires were terrible on the solenoid. So I unsoldered the old wires off of the terminals on the solenoid and soldered new ones on. With the new wires on I hooked up the old blue/white (which is now the white) and the red/white (which is now the solid red) to the negative and positive terminals on my battery charger. All it did was click...I thought it would spin or something, but I guess it is just the solenoid, and it wasn't connected to anything. If it clicks does that mean it is working? I am trying to troubleshoot my bike and it seemed like this was as good a place as any to start. They were all rusty! I will post an update after it is back on my bike.

Here are some pics of how I did it...

-Rick

[randy]

Nice work, yes if it's clicking it's operating. BUT, that doesn't mean the high amp contacts inside are clean. To do that you have to take it apart. It's been a while since I did mine, but if I remember correctly you'll have to de-solder the coil wires to take it apart ( you can see them poking through in your 3rd pic). Then you clean the contacts up with emory cloth and re-assemble. NO GREASE on those contacts.

[Clerek]

I thought should have taken the wires off and checked inside when it was desoldered, but for some reason I was feeling lazy, and didn't check to see if they were clean. I did get my bike started though today and it seemed to crank over just fine once the fuel got into the carbs. Should I take it back apart and check or do you think all is well if it started just fine?

Thanks,
-Rick

[Larrym]

Rainy day list: Soldenoid internal contacts

I'd say to put the soldenoid disassemble task on the "to do on a rainy day" list. It appears to work for now and when it fails you'll know cause there will be a big measurable voltage drop across those large terminals when you engage the soldenoid. Then you can tear it down into its component parts and emery cloth the contacts.

I just love the fact that these soldenoids can be taken apart non-destructively. Not the case on other bikes and so all you can do is toss it and order a new one...

Good soldering job. Looks like you've been at this before.