Do you use a battery tender ? I ask this because a freinds shovel with Dyna S would run sweet for an hour or so and then start to run on one cylinder. Turns out his stator was grounded and when the battery ran out of charge it would run like crap.

 

A Dya S definitely requires Full battery voltage.
Hell so does Points if ya get too low!!!!

 

I haven't had to use a battery tender yet, although I might over the winter.

 

Ive experienced this a couple times. Once with points it went so dead that the motor would shut off when I pushed on the brake. The other time was with a dyna and the bike just ran like crap.
I did have trouble with a dyna S that would die on me about an hour from home. After a while it was twenty minutes. I thought I had a fuel problem because id pull the carb right on the side of the road and clean it out then it would start. Later on I realized that by the time I cleaned the carb the ignition would cool down enough to start it again. Anyway, it was the ignition and after I put some points in it that never happened again.

 

I can't get enough miles on it for a good test because its so cold. I put on a new dyna 5 ohm coil, because it had a 3 ohm coil on it. I'm happy to know it has the right one now, even if it doesn't turn out to completely solve the problem. If it continues to have a problem, I can either put the points back on it or just replace the dyna s. I'm pretty sure dynatek would test the dyna s for me if I sent it in to them.

 

The electronic ignition module on my 1984 Softail died suddenly in 1995. I was unwilling to pay the exorbitant price for the "upgraded" module then available, so I bought a Blue Streak points conversion kit. I was so pleased with the performance of the points that I never changed them. I ran the same set for 9 years.
I am currently rebuilding my Softail and have a brand new points kits waiting to be installed.
> I can repair/replace a set of points in minutes
>They never just fail unexpectedly as electronic units can/do
>They do not overheat or send me on wild ghost hunts.
>I can keep a new set of points in my tool bag.
>I am more than pleased with the performance so I see no need to replace them.

 

^^^ Only IF you maintain the mechanical advance mechanism...
The cheap *** imported advance mechanism is the very best reason to go to Full Electronic Ignition....
The Stock Unit Is Still a good bet...My last one lasted about 20 years....

 

When the ignition module failed on my 1985 Wide Glide, I was surprised to find the Screaming Eagle module was far cheaper than the OE one.

 

When mine failed, I was several miles from the house and it began to rain shortly after I began the long trek home. I had a similar experience in 1986 with a 1980 Ford F150 electronic module. It would get hot and quit. An hour or so later it would cool enough to start working again. I retrofitted a points distributor on that truck and never went back to EI.
There are just some things that I want to remain primitive. Carburetors work and I can fix them when they begin to fail. Point and condensers work and I can fix them when they fail. Chains work and I can replace them in minutes when they wear out. I have yet to have one fail even when long past it's service life. Kick starters work and I can repair them when they wear out.

BTW, the 1985 FXWG is one of my favorite Harleys. They really got it right that year.

 

HBR; What advance mechanism are you using??