Hi there. I'm new to this forum and was hoping someone could help me out. My 2002 sportster will not start. It just turns over and occasionally backfires. It has a new battery and new spark plugs as of about a month ago. It started perfectly last night, I rode it ten minutes down the road to a friends and it just wouldn't start again. It was late so I didn't want to wake the neighbors so I left it there overnight and tried again this morning. Still just turning over and backfiring. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

Steve

 

Since it ran well to your friends house, I would be inclined to believe your problem is electrical. Check your plug wires and make sure that they are routed to the right cylinder. Some comedian could have inverted your plug wires at your friends house. Check battery contacts and fuses. Also check your ignition module connections. Just a starting point as to what I would check.

 

Check fuel level...You never know

 

Turn the gas on.

 

He said it was backfiring, I don't think its fuel.

 

i was thinking the same thing.. dont think backfire is possible if fuel is off

 

Thanks you guys. Plenty of fuel so it's not that haha. I'll check the plugs and wiring tonight and keep you posted. Thanks again

 

Backfiring out the exhaust or the carb? ,are sure you have spark. You need three things to run. Fuel, spark and compression.

I'd starts by looking at the plugs. Then plug wires. Then coil. Then ignition module.


Another thought outta left field. The bank angle sensor shuts off the coil. If that sensor is bad it wouldn't start.

 

I'm not sure what the bank angle sensor is? How would I locate that? I did check the plug wires this morning, and noticed they seem to be corroded somewhat. Could that be it do you think? The fact that it was fine and all of a sudden it's not confuses me

 

If they are corroded, I think it's time to get some new ones. You could be jumping the spark. One way to know for sure if the spark is jumping is to crank it in the dark and see if you can see some spark jumping along the wires.