Won't start

1976 R 75/6. Problem has been intermittent for a couple of years, now here to stay : Battery voltage 12.88 volts AGM less that 6 months old. When I hit the start button , battery voltage drops to app 5 V. Idiot lights also dim. Removed can from starter relay. When I hit the start button The contacts of the starter relay arc but never completely close. Normal ? Also, with ignition off and move the starter relay with hand can see a tiny arc between the contacts . Boyer Microdigital ignition. Never had problems with it for5 years. Help, please.

9 times out of 10, starting problems are usually battery related. Be sure the battery is good...you have remove it and have it load-tested at a local auto parts store.

Dropping to 5v during starting suggests a bad battery, but if something else is amiss in the starter circuit, it might be drawing way too much current, resulting in the low battery reading. Typically, a good working starter system will see the battery drop to no less than 10-10.5v during cranking.

20774 said:

9 times out of 10, starting problems are usually battery related. Be sure the battery is good...you have remove it and have it load-tested at a local auto parts store.

Dropping to 5v during starting suggests a bad battery, but if something else is amiss in the starter circuit, it might be drawing way too much current, resulting in the low battery reading. Typically, a good working starter system will see the battery drop to no less than 10-10.5v during cranking.

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+1 -- I'll go further than Kurt -- the battery is kaput. Even with a dead short to ground, you should be seeing more than 5V, and you would be smelling something burning nastily somewhere.

Sorry about the bad news, but AGM's (like most batteries) can fail early from several causes, such as a fractured internal cell-to-cell connection -- one that has enough conductive area to carry the full no-load voltage, but doesn't support a large amp draw. I've become accustomed to the reality that pretty much any battery is a crap shoot in the first year, then usually reliable for the next 5-6 years.

Hopefully you can make a warranty claim for a replacement.