2006 Touring Classic Electra Glide, stock. Around 23000 miles. I bought bike used 12000 miles ago.
Looking for ideas or experiences that may not be in the service manual or something I missed in the service manual. Darn thing is huge. I have checked connections and such per manual.
About a 1/2 mile from the RV park we are staying at the BATTERY and ENGINE light came on, and I noticed my
voltmeter was reading below 11 volts, typically is just at 14 volts. I was not someplace I could pull over.
We arrived at the RV, we could smell something electrical got hot. Was pouring rain so I let the bike set for the night.
On Oregon coast, so it was Oregon rain.
Thinking I had a charging system issue, the next morning I got out the service manual (and youtube) and tested the Stator, Voltage regulator and battery.
All tested good. The battery was at 11 volts, which I expected because we drove about 1/2 mile with no charging from what I could see on the dash. I used a battery charger to charge it.
I also charged the battery before each of the tests below. Replacing the battery straight away so not worried about load testing it.

I had my wife sit on the bike and run it to 2000 rpm when I was checking the stator AC voltages. Bike started fine for the test.
Bike ran fine while we were testing. STATOR AC voltages, continuity and ground checks were all good.
Bike started fine and ran fine when I tested the voltage regulator. and I didn't notice any weird noises or smells.
Voltage regulator was providing a charge. And was real stable as RPMS varied.
I started to go through the steps to enter DIAG mode to pull any codes and when I switched the ignition switch to Ignition, with run switch on and reset button pressed the starter engaged!
Scared the crap out of me! And of course bike was in gear, since I was not actually planning on NOT starting it. So I thought, crap I must have hit the
start button on accident. So this time I pulled the clutch in and turned the ignition switch to ignition with the run on, and the starter
engaged. Well darn. This is a different symptom now. Started raining so I quit for the night.

The next day I pulled out the service manual again and followed the guide for a starter running issue.
Relay tested good, starter switch tested good and Wire to starter tested good per flow chart. So that left the Solenoid according to the service manual.

But now, the next day after testing everything is working fine. Getting the feeling I have an intermittent issue with wiring...

Still wanting to check the DIAG I left the starter relay out while I went through the steps to get to DIAG,
(which resulted in starter engaging earlier). Left relay out just incase starter was acting up again.
the DIAG code was P0562 ECM low voltage. Cleared code. (coded has not reappeared)
The DIAG error lined up with the errors I had witnessed the night before.
No codes have reappeared.


During the times when the engine was running after the starter self engaged, I could have swore I heard what sounded like a fan motor turning,
I know it was not the starter cause I didn't hear the teeth meshing, but maybe it was the starter spinning without engaging?
After the engine stopped, you could here what sounded like something still turning for a second, like a fan motor coming to rest after the power
was disconnected. The ONLY thing I could think of was maybe a spinning starter that was not engaging. Like the starter was running buy was not engaging.
But today, no sounds like that and no smells. And it could have been my 5 senses trying to event something to solve the issue.


Put relay back in, installed seat, and ran bike four times now, at idle, all voltages correct, starter is normal now and there is no funky
fan motor like noise. We are traveling around in an RV for another month then heading home. The bike is our main transportation. Sort of
difficult to do somethings while in a RV park.
I ordered a stator, voltage regulator, the right handlebar run/off switch, starter relay and new starter.
Also ordered a starter rebuild kit just to try to rebuild the old one, if that was the issue.
Ordered a new battery as well, current battery is almost three years old.
I am keeping this bike, so eventually I will probably need some of those parts anyways in the future. And three places we stay at for extended
times are hours away from anything.


Me? No idea, but something caused the a low voltage error and the engine and battery light to come on.
Something got so hot it smelled. Maybe I have a wire someplace that either shorted or got wet and shorted.
Can not really tear down to check the entire harness till I get home.
Water was leaking out of the start switch, I removed it and let it air our for a day in the sun, But those switches are
waterproof, still there could be a pin hole leak. I had replaced the old controls with new old stock about 2 years ago.
The switches all still look new.

I have not taken starter apart, can't till next week. You have to remove the starter to check it, so I can rebuild it or replace it at that time.
Starter wont be here till next week.
Service manual has steps for checking starter (Starter testing 5 chart Starter spins but does not engage)
Could this issue be intermittent and occur with out pressing start button?
Would this starter issue cause charging system to stop providing power?
Currently starter is not just turning, its engaging functioning correctly.

My plan is to replace items one at a time and wait for the issue to reappear, if it does
I will replace battery and starter relay right away. Also, plan to install a Solenoid Starter Button
on the starter just till I figure all this out. I wont keep it on. The Starter button I can isolate the start switch, wiring and the relay if I have to.
The battery started the bike through the 4 test idles just fine, and the charging system was close to 14 volts on the fairing meter.

I am also thinking since I may have to pull the primary cover to replace the starter, I can check the condition of the stator, if is looks
over heated or wire issues I will replace it. Don't want to replace the stator right away if something else was causing the issues
cause If I recall a heavy load or no load (like battery disconnected after engine running) will destroy a stator. I do not think the stator was the initial cause of this issue , because of the starter issue
I went through the next day.

This is probably just an old bike issue, unavoidable, just have to live through it.


Looking for ideas and what to maybe think about.


Parts will start arriving in mail till Friday..

Thank you

Tim

 

Way too much.
You gotta boil that down...

 

Tldr

 

Apologies thought I was posting to a issues part of the forum not discussions.

I will move on.

Thank you for setting me straight.

For those that care:
I did manage to find a you tube video "1989-2007 Harley Davidson starter fix!!!! " He included a sound that was associated with his starter sometimes.
Happens to be the sound I heard sometimes. So I will rebuild the solenoid. That's one problem corrected. And he pointed out the solenoid
can be rebuilt without pulling starter. Thank you "Mother Trucker"

I guess just searching Youtube videos may be more efficient then asking for assistance on a forum.

Consider this matter closed and I wont be posting or reading anything here any more.

Have a great life.
.

 

@wl7coe

Welcome to the forum from Utah!

Trying to figure this out in a RV park, dodging rain storms takes some perseverance. There are a lot of good videos on YouTube,

Cliff Notes version as I see it: What caused the smell and Voltage to drop, and why did the starter engage turning the ignition on.

If your starter was running, due to water in the switch that might explain the noise, smell and drop in Voltage. How long was it since you had started the bike and noticed the low voltage and smell?

Looking at the second to last paragraph it seems feasible the starter could have been stuck on but I'm not sure. Find out how water got in the switch and maybe that will fix it

If you pull the Derby cover and the Primary oil stinks like a burnt circuit board the Stator may have gotten pretty hot.

 

Well that did not end well.

 

After he said he wouldn`t be posting or reading anything here anymore, he read Vernal`s post and put a like on it...

 

Too bad he got pissed and left so quickly. He sounds like he knows what he's doing. Intermittent electrical issues are always a ***** and the more complicated the system, the worse they can be. If the solenoid was the issue, might be shorting to ground. No fuse in that circuit if I remember fight so can pull down the battery faster than the charging system can keep up. He said he was going to rebuild it so that might solve his problem.

My guess is he probably could have ridden a lot longer as he was still charging. Engine would have died if short eventually drew the battery down very low and pulled more power from the charging system, starving the ECU.

I'm not trying to get into here with anyone. But I have to say that I found his post to be one of the best I've ever ridden by someone looking for help with a problem. First, he tried to solve it himself before asking for help. Then he did a great job describing the problem, what he checked and the additional symptoms that showed up during his checks. Can't ask for much more than that. Not sure how he could have "boiled it down" and not degraded the info being shared. And I don't blame him for looking for help. If I was in an RV park (probably with the wife) and my mode of transport just bit the dust, I'd be more interested in getting it fixed quickly and would certainly appreciate any help. Given his situation, I can understand why he got pissed. He was on a mission and the first reply was simply getting in his way.

 

I tagged the OP with my post so he got an email stating I replied. He contacted me with a pm and thanked me for the reply and when he read my post he put a "like" on it.

I too thought he was doing a good job trying to find the problem and address it, and letting us know what he did.

To bad the way it went.......................

 

Sorry if I don`t agree.

All he had to do was get to the point.

People here are more than willing to help a guy, but many of us aren`t ready to read 90 lines of test to learn what the issue is, and you can see that by the number of responses he got to his post.