That's the voltage regulator.

drums1 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:07:


The starter relay (or call it a solenoid, same thing) is bolted on the fender as well, but further down towards the front.  You can identify it by the large wires attached to it, one of which goes to the starter.
I think you are smacking the regulator hard enough to jolt the relay.  Try just tapping on the relay and see if you get the same results.

Thanks for the input, guys. I will find the relay and hope that is the problem. (cheaper to fix) Another poster had the same problem and most replies directed him towards the relay, also. Wish me luck--a new battery and a relay, and I'm rollin'. (hopefully before the snow flies)

Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I started  smacking random parts. I was told the relay is bolted to the rear fender under the seat. The voltage regulator was the only part I saw bolted there, so I assumed it was the relay. Never having worked on bikes before, I guess I should not assume things. So, yes, yes indeed, the manual, and the CD. Right after the relay and the battery and the licence and the insurance.

P.S. Greg. You sound just like an old ex-gunny sarg I work with. The sarcasm is killing me. But thanks, you've made your point.

Drums1,
  Remember to check your connections.   Your bike is 20 years old.  A little corrosion on a connector, especially a ground, will do some real strange things......

 Your last post really sound like a bad connection.  If it still acts up after replacing the relay, clean as many connectors as you can.   CRC or WD 40 can help.
 
T-Mack1
(new to Savage's, but 20+ yrs troubleshooting electronics and processing equip)

Well, dammit, I checked the relay at work today, and the dam thing works fine. I'm told it's the little yellow wire that runs from the switch to the relay, probably shorted somewhere. And I did check the fuses the other day, so you may be right about that, too. I'm gonna give it one more shot and do a little wire tracing and testing. If I still don't get it, then it's off to the bike shop, and probably give up on riding this summer. Maybe a winter course in motorcycle repair..........

So,  Dug out the service manual to look at the wiring diagram to see where the yellow wire goes.  It goes to a "Starter Solenoid Controller", which is the thing that first turns on the decompression solenoid then after a bit turns on the starter relay.

Looking at the wiring diagarm, there is a way that the starter could run without the ign switch being on.  There is a direct power feed from the battery (thru the fuses) to that controller. It's the Red wire with white trace coming off the fuses.  There is a 20 Amp fuse that only feeds to that.

So, here's a test you can do: first, find the fuse (only two fuses, one for lights & ign and the other for the controller).   Do your banging to get the starter to run; then pull the fuse.  If the start stops then you have to check the connections and wiring to the controller.  If the wiring and connections are clean and not shorting somewhere (especially ground wire, the black wire with yellow trace), then the controller is suspect.  To find the controller, follow the wires from the decompression solenoid.

T-Mack1