no start

[billsixren]

I have 1980 GL1100 that was given to me by my uncle. when i first tried to start it there was a clicking noise down near the battery then it stopped. Tried it again no clicking, nothing. The dashboard lights will light strongly. No headlights or blinkers. I replaced the selonoid still same. battery is good, getting dash lights yet no turning over and no blinkers or head lights ? thanks

[WingAdmin]

First (and cheapest) thing to check is the connections on the battery, solenoid, and starter. Make sure they are tight and clean.

Second, slightly more expensive (like $10) option is to remove the "dogbone" fuse and replace it with a sealed 30 amp blade fuse holder. Sometimes when they fail, they fail in a way that they will power some items, but not allow enough current for higher load items, such as headlight or starter. Do a search for "dogbone" here and you'll find messages detailing how to do this.

Last most expensive item is the battery. It may seem fine, but not be putting out enough current to actually crank the starter. You can try jumping it from a car battery, but do NOT run the car engine while you do this. Preferably, disconnect the car battery from the car before jumping the bike.

If none of those work, it's time to start measuring available power working from the starter backward.

[billsixren]

Thanks a bunch for the tips. If it ever warms up i'll get out there and dig into it. Take care