1340 Shovelhead starter motor problems

Hey guys,
I have a 1981 Harley Shovel (1340) that has been sitting for a few years so my old man picked it up cheap.
The starter motor turns the engine over, but only sometimes, sometimes it just sounds like its spinning, I pulled the primary cover off and everything seems okay, but what would be causing it? Also, when it does work it turns over really slowly like the battery is flat, but I had a car battery and jumper leads straight to the solenoid and it still went slow? The car battery is on charge now but thought if it was a battery problem a car battery would turn it over easily.
Any tips? Cheers guys.

Hey, welcome to the forumSounds like the bendix(starter drive gear) is giving up on you...What model Shovel do you have??

A Factory Service Manual and Parts Catalog will be your best friend when you have old iron....I'd do a test on the solenoid and check the brushes,but I'm thinking starter drive is the problem...I believe it's a Prestolite starter in the bike...Good luck,keep us posted on what you find

Cheers mate.
Yeah I was thinking the vendor but not sure how to test if it's alright or not?

NZ, welcome to the forum. As I have a kick only bobber, I would advise you to get the service manual for the year motor you have. They ain't cheap but worth their weight in gold! There's information on how to troubleshoot just about anything including the starter.

check this out for troubleshooting....

Training Manual

Just realised my last post said vendor when I meant bendix haha not sure how that happened. Cheers I'll take a look tonight.

That's a mighty good link, Mighty Mouse! Thanks!

Perhaps one too many NZ lagers LOL.

:roflmao: Could come in handy if your truck won't start

Here's a link for Hitachi starters

http://dawinfo.com/LV-Series-Service/LV-Service-8.pdf


The starter drive should only rotate in one direction,if it goes both ways it's toast...Good luck...

Had a look in the manual and not alot of info there regarding my problem, had another look at it today. The bendix seems alright, it engages, but thats about it. Then the starter shaft just spins. So I'm thinking the starter shaft? Meaning it will need removing and rebuilding?
The other thing I'm still not sure about is when I hook up this car battery it turns over (sometimes) until the compression stroke where it slows right down and struggles to turn over that stroke, its a dry sump and been sitting so oil has drained into sump but that wouldn't affect it I think. Guessing this is just a problem with the starter worn out? Or solenoid contacts? Thinking I'm just gonna pull both out and rebuild them and go from there.

That would indicate the starter drive(bendix) is toast....

A crankcase full of oil will cause drag on the flywheels,but once you turn the engine over a few revs,you should get some oil puke out of the crankcase breather and the rest of the oil will return to the tank...

To get accurate testing,you have to make sure all contacts are corrosion free,clean and tight and the battery is fully charged and will handle the load..
(be careful using a car battery,or you could find yourself replacing the stator or regulator or both)

Yep,you're gonna have to pull the starter to replace the bendix,(what I think is your main problem)check,clean or replace the solenoid contacts and check the brushes...good luck,keep us posted....:devil:

Just thought I'd say, Lucifer, that your new "hound from hell" avatar has YOU written all over it! But I still liked Mighty Mouse best.

Hope NZbobber gets his starter straightened out.

LOL that's a real Tasmanian Devil...heh MM is a cool little guy....my cats loved him too

Bit of an update, pulled out starter, bendix seems fine but the piece that sits behind it which is supposed to be attached to the bendix (with a circlip? just guessing) has come off and isn't attached, also brushes a rooted and actuator could do with a clean. Cheers guys.

I'm having the same problem now.
Voltage at trip wire for solenoid should be what? 12V?
Do I check the voltage at the point where the green wire connects to the solenoid?
Is there a way to check the starter amp draw or if the starter is getting worn out?

Thanks HRK!
I have a second ground that goes from the starter mount bolt to the relay. Is that what you are talking about?
Is there a way to test the solenoid and starter to see if one of them is wearing out?
I'm thinking it's the starter b/c it's old.
Maybe I should take them both apart and inspect/clean them?

Thanks.