SO i just posted about my new to me 09 electra glide ultra, bad *** sound system. well was doing a poker run today and the stereo just cut out. I had full operation of the head unit but the sound was dead!!!! I turned it off and on a bunch of times, sometimes sound would come out, sometimes it wouldn't. Well now there is no sound coming out whatsoever. It still displays the information like it was playing, just now noise to the speakers. It was the harmon kardon stereo head unit and i'm wondering if I should even bother with warranty fixes. I will take it up to the HD dealer and see what they have to say. I have a few options, buy a sony with ipod capablities and the biketronics retro bike connection thing so i can keep my handlebar controls, or just go get a new harmon kardon stereo from HD dealer. I have an amp with the boom audio speakers with a tweeter pod. It sounded amazing until it went out. What to do, what to do? I have heard those stock head units suck horribly anyhow, I might just take it to this place that does awesome bagger work with stereos and see what they say. What do yall think?

 

check the power to the amp - blown fuse???

 

So if its a blown fuse shouldn't I find out WHY this happened and if it will happen again?

 

After you pull the side cover and check for blown fuses, take the batwing off and check for loose wires. Could just be a bad connection somewhere. Maybe someone did a sloppy install of the boom audio.

 

fuse was ok, all wires nice and tidy, took it in after trying to fix it myself and sure enough the HK head unit is toast. The guy said they fix hundreds of them over the summer, and said he wouldn't be surprised if the numbers weren't in the thousands. What gives? aftermarket stereos last longer than the HK ones? I feel they look better than the aftermarket ones, but I want dependability over cool looking. THe thing that makes me angry is, I still had to pay a 50 dollar copay and I bought the damn bike a week ago. I tried to say I wasn't gonna pay it, the guy didn't give a **** and said, "ok". so i folded, said order the damn thing. So a new HK head unit will be here in the next 2 days and I have to go back up there to get it replaced. wouldn't be a huge deal but i work nights and I value my sleep. what do ya'll think, get the head unit swapped for aftermarket, next year I have a bunch of lONG road trips planned and love my tunes, would be a big bummer to have to deal with this again, and on the road.

 

HD radios not known for terrific longevity, but some get lucky.
Look at it this way......you just got back a nice chunk of what I assume is an extended warranty. Those head units can be spendy, and your bike was not new.
Get it fixed and enjoy the ride!

 

Ditto... an almost 5 year old bike and he's complaining about paying $50 for a new head unit. It's a no brainer. That's why I always buy an extended warranty on my big bikes.

 

yeah, I know 50 dollars aint no thing, but just sucks it happened ONE week after buying it. dumb luck I guess. I am getting it replaced by the HD dealer. Will ride it until it breaks again, it breaks again I will just upgrade the unit. I have heard the radios are awful, so we will see. I did buy the 3 year extended warranty just for issues like this.

 

My 2013 was doing the exact same thing. When it stopped working I could turn it off for a few minutes then turn it back on and it would work, sometimes for 5 minutes and sometimes for 15 minutes. A sure way to get it to work is to take it to the dealer, we could not make it quit once it was in front of the shop foreman. They replaced it and for now all is well.

It was diagnosed with a thermal problem.

I have had 2 StreetGlides and have had zero radio issues with them.

 

My '08 has 55,000 miles with no radio problems. If I ever do have a radio problem I'll send it to Iron Cross Audio and have it fixed.