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So I was experiencing an intermittent problem late last fall before I put the bike away for winter. Bit of history...it's a 2012 Ultra Classic with just over 42,000 miles on it. A couple of winters ago I installed higher bars with internal wiring and heated (HD brand) grips. Last winter I upgraded the audio with amp & speakers. Everything worked perfectly till last fall.
The issue...the red key light would come on (stay on solid) intermittently. Sometimes on, sometimes off. Bike runs fine with no issues other than when the light is on, it won't start in gear (with the clutch pulled in). Kick it into neutral and starts fine. Also at times when the key light is on, the 6th gear indicator light does not illuminate. I have a b1154 (clutch switch input short to ground) error code. Makes sense as it won't start in gear when the key light is on.
I'm going to open it up and try to figure it out now as hopefully the "rodent" was correct and we will have an early spring. My question is could it be a bad clutch lockout switch, or is it more than likely a pinched wire somewhere? The switch would be easy enough to replace. If a pinched wire or bad connection somewhere, that would be more difficult to chase down and find. Any recommendations as where to start looking?
Hey Lefty,
The BK/R wire from the TSSM to the clutch switch has 12V on it, when you pull in the clutch the switch closes and the TSSM senses current flowing. If the bike is in gear and the TSSM sees the current flow it will ground the start relay coil so when you hit the start button the coil can energize and the green wire going to the solenoid will be energized.
If the TSSM senses current flow for 60 seconds it throws that code. If it was a short to ground it would have to be between the TSSM and the switch on the BK/R wire. You could pull the TSSM connector and check continuity between the BK/R and ground and also between BK/R and BK/GN and see if it's not the switch sticking closed at times. I think some have cured a sticky switch with WD40.
Hey Lefty,
The BK/R wire from the TSSM to the clutch switch has 12V on it, when you pull in the clutch the switch closes and the TSSM senses current flowing. If the bike is in gear and the TSSM sees the current flow it will ground the start relay coil so when you hit the start button the coil can energize and the green wire going to the solenoid will be energized.
If the TSSM senses current flow for 60 seconds it throws that code. If it was a short to ground it would have to be between the TSSM and the switch on the BK/R wire. You could pull the TSSM connector and check continuity between the BK/R and ground and also between BK/R and BK/GN and see if it's not the switch sticking closed at times. I think some have cured a sticky switch with WD40.
Thanks for this Vernal. Something to look at. Electrical is not one of my strengths or something I'm not real comfortable with. Things mechanical...not a problem.
Reading a bit about the TSSM in my service manual, I didn't realize that it also serves as a bank angle sensor. This brings something else to mind. I had a little slow speed "incident". Riding in an absolute downpour of rain, my visor fogged up, didn't see a hard left bend and ended up more or less riding the bike into a ditch (water & mud) and the bike ended up laying on it's left side for a while till I got some help to pick it up and get back level. Cleaned out the mud & grass that had jammed into the lower fairing/footboard/shifter area, started the bike and rode on. It was shortly after this that red key light would be on intermittently and give me the mentioned issues. Could this be related to the problem...seeing as the bike was on it's side for a while? Maybe some dirt got into the clutch switch as well, as this was the side that was down?
Thanks for this Vernal. Something to look at. Electrical is not one of my strengths or something I'm not real comfortable with. Things mechanical...not a problem.
Reading a bit about the TSSM in my service manual, I didn't realize that it also serves as a bank angle sensor. This brings something else to mind. I had a little slow speed "incident". Riding in an absolute downpour of rain, my visor fogged up, didn't see a hard left bend and ended up more or less riding the bike into a ditch (water & mud) and the bike ended up laying on it's left side for a while till I got some help to pick it up and get back level. Cleaned out the mud & grass that had jammed into the lower fairing/footboard/shifter area, started the bike and rode on. It was shortly after this that red key light would be on intermittently and give me the mentioned issues. Could this be related to the problem...seeing as the bike was on it's side for a while? Maybe some dirt got into the clutch switch as well, as this was the side that was down?
Sounds like dirt getting in around the switch is a good possibility. Might be an easy fix, just pop the cover and clean it up.
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Clutch Lockout Switch?
