I was "clearing my head" after work yesterday and about 6 mile into my trip I lost power.
Luckily I coasted down the highway far enough to reach the driveway of an acquaintance.
We pushed her into the shed and I came home and scoured this forum for ideas on what had happened. Today with my list of things to check, thanks to all on the folks who have answered posts of this nature, I found that my ignition switch is bad (probably).
Upon disassembly I found he "start" side connection was melted.

Is the switch bad or is there a deeper evil I should find before throwing a new switch in?
How do I go about fixing the melted plug?

 

I recently had a similar problem on my rocker. Had to change out both start switches. Pain in the butt! 60 bucks.

 

Greetings PyroFLSTC

Bike died on me!
Lost power.


found that my ignition switch is bad (probably).


Upon disassembly I found the "start" side connection was melted.

Is the switch bad or is there a deeper evil I should find before throwing a new switch in?


How do I go about fixing the melted plug?


I would use a meter to determine if a wire is shorted to the frame or a component has failed.
You already know where the melted wire is so start there and meter back to where it comes from to determine what has failed before I put a new switch in I would locate the bad fault.

 

That is the defect in the ignition switch. Replace it with one from J&P and save a bunch of bucks.

 

Thanks guys.

This evening I found that the negative battery cable was loose.
Might have been the cause?

Rodzilla6 - $60.00 is a bit of hard earned cash, but I'm hoping that is the top of this iceberg.

cwsharp - Did some shopping on J&P Cycles and found a switch and harness for, what I think is a reasonable price. Plan on placing the order later tonight.

wtb3886 - I am better with a wrench than a meter. I'll probably get some help on that front, not sure where to start.

 

the problem lies in the poor connector.. it works loose, electricity arcs across the terminals, causes excessive heat, melts the connector to the point of the terminals getting filled with melted plastic.. end result.. no start, engine quits etc...

when you replace the switch and harness/connector with repair kit, make sure you put dielectric grease in the connector and it is plugged all the way in... checking it once a yr or every 10k miles isn't a bad idea..


ps.. this isn't just a harley issue.. i've seen melted connectors and switchs in various forms over the yrs of working on cagers.. i work for a dealer where the manufacture has recalled their vehicles for melted switches and blower motors and sub harness'.. the end result in the fix besides replacing the obvious bad parts, is to secure the harness to keep it from wiggling at the connection point.

 

Thanks, I was hoping someone would say this.
I'll replace the switch & connector using your suggestion. (and double check it)
Do you think zip-ties would be helpful in securing the connector?

 

Been posted in here many, many times to check Ur battery cables several times a yr..

Only time I had mine cut out on me, it ended up being a loose nut on the battery.

It happened about 500 miles after my dealer did the 15k service,, so I know they didn't check them..

Same with spokes if U have them, I found out the dealer don't check them either during reg services..





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