So ordered a new solenoid, installed it, ( 06 800 ) bike still clicks but does not engage starter. Getting good voltage thru solenoid at 12.7. Tried reading voltage at starter but I couldn't get a good enough contact with terminals to get a reading without taking plastics off. I did do a test on the battery, whIle turning key voltage drops to 6.8 at battery. But at rest and on charger battery reads 14v, then on its own battery reads 12.8.

I couldn't get my truck close enough and wasn't going to move everything around yet to get it in there so I tried jumping it from another sportsman 550. Still didn't work.
so, new battery first before I tear in to it to get to starter or am I missing something else?

thanks and as always I appreciate the info.

 

Battery shouldn't drop to 6.8 volts. Load test the battery after a full charge. All it takes is a bad cell and a battery is crap even if it's new out of the box. Look over this good piece on batteries and testing.https://www.batterystuff.com/blog/ho...ry-is-bad.html Plus at times you can loosen the starter nut,move the cable around to get a better connection. Plus the problem may be the starter itself.

 

Yes sir, fully charged when tested. Battery is about 3-4 years old and unfortunately rarely get used and I don't like leaving battery tenders on all my bikes all the time. So I guess it's one or the other. Thanks I'll pull it out tomorrow and get it tested.

I'll have to work on getting to the starter as well just to check connections.