Breakdown on the 4th wtf
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 497
Likes: 575
From: Maryland
Glen Rock, not too far from Lancaster. Was on my way to ride a road represented by some as the PA Tail of the Dragon. Never made it! As to the problem, no luck so far. Pulled the accessible harnesses apart (under the seat, fuse box and instrument panel) looking for bad pins, connections, etc.. Everything looks good. Put a load on the battery cables and they took it, there's also no evidence of fraying or damage so I don't think it's those. New 30a circuit breaker, 15a fuses all good, and full voltage through the appropriate fuses with ignition switch in aux and on positions. With the ignition switch in aux the led on the panel occasionally lights but as soon as i put a load on it (horn) it dies, then comes back on. A couple of times with ignition in on position the panel lit up but died when i hit the start button. Thought maybe the ignition switch contacts were bad notwithstanding that juice was flowing through so I took it apart and sanded the contacts a bit. No help. So it looks like there's a short in the system somewhere. But where? I can take care of mechanical problems with the help of the book, but truthfully, electrical things baffle me. Any ideas?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,423
Likes: 30,642
From: Pennsylvania
Take the battery out and have it load tested.
It may be showing enough voltage, but not have the amperage.
A battery can internally short and still show good voltage. Does not cost anything except your time.
It may be showing enough voltage, but not have the amperage.
A battery can internally short and still show good voltage. Does not cost anything except your time.
HDF Community Team
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 3,013
Likes: 1,190
From: New Hampsha
Having it load tested is a good idea, but, if this is your problem, and you have a volt meter, all you have to do is measure the voltage at the battery with a load on it. A weak battery or one with an internal short will show a big voltage drop. Try the headlight first, and if that doesn't tell anything, try the starter. If the starter doesn't show a big drop, and the starter still doesn't spin, then the problem is more than (just) the battery.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 497
Likes: 575
From: Maryland
Thanks for the replies. I can't start the bike. I do have a load tester and tested the fully charged a battery holding a charge of 13.1V. With load applied the voltage dropped to 10.3. Tester showed it as good. But I don't think the battery was the problem. The bike was running fine until the speedo started fluctuating wildly a couple of times, pretty much peg to peg, then the bike sputtered and died, within a span of about a minute. I've had several electrical components go bad on this bike (stator, voltage regulator, CKP to name a few) but none ever caused the entire electrical system to go offline. Grounds good and clean, ignition switch contacts inspected and clean, and juice is flowing through the switch to and through the fuses. Do I need to test every wire in the harness to try to find a short, or is there a better way? Or am I missing something obvious? Thanks again.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 15,944
Likes: 7,037
From: Sandy Eggo's North County
It's a "ground" you should be looking for. Start checking ALL of your grounds.
Inside your control switchgear
The headlamp (notorious ground fault here.)
Batt neg. to frame.
You might pickup some di-electric grease for these. The grease should reduce corrosion and reduce water/vapor into your connections.
And a voltage drop from 13v to 10v (under heavy load) is borderline. Much rather see 11.5v under load.
Oh, 1 more thing.
CARRY SOME TOOLS!
Inside your control switchgear
The headlamp (notorious ground fault here.)
Batt neg. to frame.
You might pickup some di-electric grease for these. The grease should reduce corrosion and reduce water/vapor into your connections.
And a voltage drop from 13v to 10v (under heavy load) is borderline. Much rather see 11.5v under load.
Oh, 1 more thing.
CARRY SOME TOOLS!
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,170
Likes: 680
From: Forest Hill, Md
TommyB, hopefully it'll be one of those Oh crap, here's the problem, type fixes. Hate tracking down a gremlin.
What was the road you were heading to? Have friends that live out by Glen Rock. There are some excellent roads. There are also some of the worst roads and we found those yesterday heading to Wacker Brewery behind Lancaster Harley. LOL
What was the road you were heading to? Have friends that live out by Glen Rock. There are some excellent roads. There are also some of the worst roads and we found those yesterday heading to Wacker Brewery behind Lancaster Harley. LOL
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 28,842
Likes: 16,580
From: Wisconsin, USA
I've had those exact symptoms from a bad battery, and a bad battery ground. When the battery goes bad it will misfire, and adding any load like putting on your directional will cause the misfire/stall.
Last edited by Ron750; Jul 11, 2022 at 01:22 PM.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 497
Likes: 575
From: Maryland
TommyB, hopefully it'll be one of those Oh crap, here's the problem, type fixes. Hate tracking down a gremlin.
What was the road you were heading to? Have friends that live out by Glen Rock. There are some excellent roads. There are also some of the worst roads and we found those yesterday heading to Wacker Brewery behind Lancaster Harley. LOL
What was the road you were heading to? Have friends that live out by Glen Rock. There are some excellent roads. There are also some of the worst roads and we found those yesterday heading to Wacker Brewery behind Lancaster Harley. LOL
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Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 497
Likes: 575
From: Maryland
That's interesting. The problem seemed to begin after I went over a bump, not particularly noteworthy, other than immediately after that the speedo needle went haywire, then the shutdown. The ground's good, that much I know. Is it possible the bump shorted the battery such that the circuit was no longer closed, or would support no load? The bike was running when this happened, and I would think that the stator would have supplied the juice necessary to keep it running. But I know next to nothing about electrical systems. So if a shorted battery would shut down the whole electrical system, that's a possibility. Would it?
HDF Community Team
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 3,013
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From: New Hampsha
I would think that the stator would have supplied the juice necessary to keep it running.