the battery needed jumped, and when I jumped it, I accidently reversed the charger leads, pos. to neg. neg to pos. > Now with a new battery, key off, the thing chatters , I replaced the solinoid, and CDI box, if I use the charger to start it, it will start without pressing the starter button at all and with the key in the off positino. the only way to stop the starter from turning over, is to disconnect the battery . HELP!!! I could use a schematic at a minimum, and or help on troubleshooting it. Thank you!

 

On your solenoid there are two big screw lugs with fat wires on them. Look at them to make sure they are not shorted to each other. On some solenoids it is possible to twist the two lugs around such that they are touching. You don't want this to happen.

Next, find the two small wires (through a connector) that feed the solenoid. Unplug this connector. Hook the battery back up. Does the starter motor still attempt to turn?

The solenoid is just a remote contolled high current switch. When you apply 12 volts across the two small wires feeding the solenoid about 3 amps of current flows into a coil inside the solenoid. That generates a magnetic field, which suck down a big steel plate, which shorts those two big screw posts together. That connects the battery to the starter motor (drawing 30 to 40 amps) and the starter motor spins. You can't feed the 30-40 amps of starter motor current through a tiny little start button switch - it would melt - hence the requirement of the solenoid...

I hope you're seing the logic here... First check to see if the solenoid screw post are shorted together manually (thus connecting up the starter motor battery around the solenoid). Next see if the solenoid is being told to connect the battery to the starter motor (by having 12 volts across the solenoid actuating coil pins). By disconnecting the input wires you are guaranteeing that 12 volts *cannot* be getting to the solenoid actuating coil.

If you find that the starter tries to turn with the starter with the actuating coil wires unplugged, and the solenoid screw post lugs aren't physically shorted together, then your solenoid is bad. End of story there...

One more hint to keep in mind: If the solenoid actuating coil is being driven (sucking down that steel plate inside) the process makes a "click" noise coming from the solenoid. Listen for it. It's a clue...

Get the starter motor to stay still when the battery is hooked up first, then we can look further for any other problems. If your solenoid is bad try your old one. It may not have been bad. Got a meter?