GARY
I had this problem.
I deleted the pref files
com.apple.help.plist
And I think
com.apple.helpviewer.plist

And this solved the problem.

Also try this:
(1) Quit Help Viewer if it is open.
(2) Open your Home > Library > Caches folder.
(3) Trash the com.apple.helpui folder.
(4) Empty the Trash.
(5) Restart.
The first time you launch Help for your Mac or a given application, you may still notice a slight delay in Help Viewer performance displaying the Help. This is due to the building of a new Help Viewer cache. Help Viewer performance will be considerably improved in subsequent launches of the specific Help information.

did both, much snappier now
thanks all for quick accurate responce

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Gary Dorn
Architect
Perth,  Australia