Selonoid trouble

my selonoid off my 79 iron head when off the bike and hooked up to a battery won't pull the plunger in if i push it in it stays in until i take the pos. off does this mean i need a new one? also starter just spins when on the bike.

Replace it - end of problem and check the starter also to see if it's engaging the gear.

in had no problem getting the teeth together with the primary case off all i hadd to do was push on the selonoid.

i think since i got the starter off i"m gonna take it and have it tested if thats fine might buy a selonoid. thanks every one for their input.

Sounds like the solenoid to me. If it won't pull the plunger in nothing else will happen. That's it's only job. Buy a new one or make up a manual 'button'.

Don't want to be contrary just for it's own sake but what was said here makes sense but is not entirely correct. The result of this test does not necessarily indicate voltage problems technically. It indicates resistance and therefore current issues. You can get a good voltage reading at the starter and still have cable issues because the current flow during the measurement is only across the very high impedence of the measuring device and therefore does not always drop significant voltage. It is often only when you flow higher current (try to start) that the voltage drops across high resistance in the form of bad cables or dirty connections in addition to the resistance of the solenoid and motor windings. That said, I think this is about an Ironhead. My experience with Ironheads is that they are very fussy about voltage levels and demand a NEW battery every year minimum. That usually won't make it not turn over but the current supply is usually low enough that it won't light the sparklers while cranking. Sometimes they will actually fire as you let off the start button because the current drain of the starter goes away and makes that current available to the ignition and Bob's your uncle. If you have removed the solenoid from the starter motor and applied a good 12VDC to it directly and it does not slam home my guess is that the windings in the coil (solenoid) are partially shorted and are not creating the EMF to move the slide. If you want to measure voltage do it while you crank the engine. Measuring current is the true indication but meters capable of measuring 100Amps DC are several hundred dollars. You still may have other problems but if the solenoid doesn't move it is one of them. If the starter does not engage the ring gear it could just be dirty or not spinning fast enough to throw the gear down the shaft splines. Could actually be caused by the high current drain of a shorted solenoid starving the starter motor. Thats may not be the terminology used in The Motor Company manual but I hope I am making sense.