Still some odd starting/electrical problems

[BEJinFbk]

I also purchased two 10 gauge wires and four eyelets: one for the negative battery terminal (the wire that extends from the main, really thick negative cable to the body), and one as a replacement for the block to body cable. The current block-to-body cable was incredibly thick, and not so much stranded as much as it was weaved. I've never seen a wire like this on a car before. It wasn't even insulated. I suppose I should assume that it was a last-minute replacement.

It's not unusual for the factory to used a large gauge strap like that for the engine block ground.
It needs to be the same size as the main lead to the starter, so a 10 gauge wire won't cut it.
If you replaced the large strap with a chunnk of something smaller, that may be a problem.
And since it's a ground lead, no insulation is needed. In my climate, those straps can easily last for decades.

Have you had your battery tested? I had a bad connection between a terminal post and the
plate inside the battery once. It was an intermittant problem that was a real bear to find.

[rgk]

Could this be it?

"Sometimes they get flat spots ther and you have to bump the starter to make it work. and extra gound strap is a great idea and be sure to use a star washer, that digs into the paint for a better ground."

...

"Bad main contacts inside the solenoid will give the symptoms described. They could be burnt or worn out. The factory sevice manual is real good on trouble shooting this kind of stuff."

http://www.v-twinforum.com/forums/harle ... arter.html

[rgk]

Cut off wiring going to the alternator that had corroded at the starter terminal, crimped on a new terminal, replaced the starter (which was indeed bad, but I did not bother delving into why), and replaced the in-tank fuel pump, which had ceased working. All these things, in addition to a corroded ground strap and dirty engine block, were causing issues simultaneously.