Hey guys, question for you. My daily rider is a 98 evo FXDL Dyna Low Rider. It has low miles and the original stock electronic ignition. It runs perfectly, no issues with this bike at all.

I recently picked up a 96 FHL Electra Glide. It runs well overall, but I'm troubleshooting an issue with it. I just cleaned the carb and changed the pilot jet from a 45 to a 48 to clear up a low rpm backfire through the carb. That worked nicely. I reused the 190 main jet that was in it (though I think that is too big...it does have aftermarket pipes and a Screaming Eagle ignition box and air filter, so it might be close ?not sure). Last weekend I put about 50 miles on it. It runs strong, but had a very noticeable stumble (possibly ignition miss) at 3000-3500RPM most of the ride. The last couple miles the stumble got much worse, and was very bad from 2500-4000RPM. When I finally got it home it was barely running, and totally loaded up with fuel, like gas out the exhaust rich!

I'm going through the carb again, and will be playing with jetting. It very well may be a carb problem. However I feel like it could be a failing ignition that was causing the miss, and the carb is not jetted overly rich, there was just lots of unburned fuel due to ignition missing.

I'm going to be upgrading the ignition on my Dyna soon to a Ultima (along with a cam and air filter). So long story short, I'm wondering can I swap my perfectly working stock Dyna ignition pickup and box over to the Electra to try and rule out ignition problems?

Are the connectors the same? Ignition coil interchangeable? My bigger question, is the timing curve the same between the two bikes?

I appreciate the help!

Also any chance a failed VOES switch would cause this problem I had? It looks like it could default to the retarded timing setting when the vacuum switch fails...that could cause it to not rev freely I'm sure, right?

I've got alot more testing and troubleshooting to do, just wanted some input. Thanks!

 

For testing purposes, I see no reason why you couldn’t switch the parts, however, the wiring of the nose cone sensor/module will be a time consuming hassle.

I think your issue is fuel. Check for vacuum leaks at the intake seals (I know this usually causes a lean condition but over compensation of the lean condition from leaking intake seals can cause your issue).
To me, you seem rich mid to higher range, and I think both the 48 and 190 is a little fat/rich. What needle do you have and is it shimmed?

What did the plugs look like before you swapped out for bigger jets? Are you absolutely sure everything in your carb is clean? Double check the o-ring spring and washer in your idle screw. Make sure that is clear and previous owner did not leave out the washer or leave the old o-ring in the bore and now you have a second one on the screw (it can happen).

Double check your vacuum line to the voes and make sure voes holds vacuum. It can start to leak with age.
I’m at 46 and 175 with stage 1 and bike runs well. After market ignition Parts is not the fix for a rich fuel condition. If I switched anything electrical with the other bike, it would probably be swapping the coil, plugs, and plug wires. However I would physically pull the riveted plate/cover and look at the nose cone cam sensor, they can start to fail and ooze sealer as they get long in the tooth. YD

 

Yes, on the ignition swap... 96-98 were the same (duetch connector) The only difference would be if one is injected and the other carbed.. The rotor is different is all.. The SE ignition module does have a different timing curve than the stock non programable (but it won't complicate things, a little more aggressive curve is all). Curve 2 is the most common curve used.... Do you have brown goo coming out of the cam position sensor?

 

Thanks for the input, much appreciated. You are probably right about it being a fueling issue. I will check the intake seals for leaks. I have 2 new seals, so I will replace them anyways. My gut feeling is that a 190 main is too rich. I run a 48 pilot in my Dyna, and it's perfect. I think the 48 pilot in the FLH is fine as well, it removed the low rpm issue that was there when I bought it. I have a stock needle. I currently have it shimmed with one small washer (per the Nightrider CV carb mods/tuning page. Same setup I use on my Dyna. Also drilled out of the vacuum hole in the slide slightly larger)

Previous plugs were old, and slightly darker than they should be. It's probably been running rich on the top end for quite awhile. I will doublecheck the o-ring and washer on the mixture screw, I know exactly what you mean. I just installed new ones from a carb rebuild kit, I'm 99% sure I put both back, and I know the old one came out (it fell apart when removed).

I will pull the VOES and check it, and all the vac lines. I have a hand vac pump for bleeding brakes, so I will see if it operates correctly.

The timing pickup cover on the nose cone has been replaced, so no rivets. The sensor does have brown goo oozing out of it. I'll grab a pic of that. Does that generally mean the pickup sensor is failing?

 

Thanks! I kind of rambled on my original post, but this clearly answers my main question, even though I didn't ask it clearly. Appreciate that!

Both are carbed with the standard Keihin CV, which I'm very familiar with from dialing in my Dyna.

I do have brown goo coming out of the cam position sensor. Does this mean it's failing?

 

It is a good indication... Before buying anything I would d
Swap and Ride to confirm...

 

Yes.
If you replace it with a Dynatek 2000i you will be much happier than running that screaming eagle module.

 

That SE ignition module was made by Dynatek.... Does it have selectable curves (dip switches on the bottom)? If so it's the identical curves as the 2000i......

 

The original one was but of the 2 that I have neither has dip switches.
I forget when Dynatek stopped making them for Harley but it's been a few years now.

The 2000i is slightly better IMO because there are fewer connections and thus better voltage across the system.

 

Here is a pic of the ignition pickup. It definitely has the brown epoxy or sealant starting to fail and coming out of the wiring harness area. I started going through the carb again tonight, will get it back on later this week and see where I'm at. I've got a variety of main jets now, 165, 170, 180, 185, and will figure out what works best. Will update when I get the carb sorted.