Help! Electrical Gremlin?
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Road Master
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 18
From: SE Michigan
Help! Electrical Gremlin?
My 1991 FLHS Electra Glide Sport has been cutting out and coming right back on within a second or two. I know it's electrical since I have a battery charging monitor I installed on the handlebars and the LEDs "reset" when it happens just like when I first turn the ignition switch on.
I've replaced ALL the circuit breakers going from 30 amp to 40 amp on the main breaker and from 15 amp to 30 amp on the "ignition, lights, and auxillary" breakers in the console. ( am running all halogen lights so went heavier to rule out nuisance tripping) Also cleaned the negative cable ground connection, positive connection to the starter, battery is brand new. Checked all my wire ends at the breakers and they all look good and see no other obviously chaffed wiring. Also brand new sparkplugs and plug wires. Also checked the plug to the stator and put dialectric grease on.
On my last test run it ran for over 2 hrs. without cutting out so I thought I had found the problem. Then 2 miles from my driveway it cuts out and comes right back on briefly. Don't think it's the ignition switch as it does it in all three positions; ignition, lights and ignition, and accessories.
Maybe the cutoff switch but why so intermittent then???? Thanks in advance for your consideration, guys.
I've replaced ALL the circuit breakers going from 30 amp to 40 amp on the main breaker and from 15 amp to 30 amp on the "ignition, lights, and auxillary" breakers in the console. ( am running all halogen lights so went heavier to rule out nuisance tripping) Also cleaned the negative cable ground connection, positive connection to the starter, battery is brand new. Checked all my wire ends at the breakers and they all look good and see no other obviously chaffed wiring. Also brand new sparkplugs and plug wires. Also checked the plug to the stator and put dialectric grease on.
On my last test run it ran for over 2 hrs. without cutting out so I thought I had found the problem. Then 2 miles from my driveway it cuts out and comes right back on briefly. Don't think it's the ignition switch as it does it in all three positions; ignition, lights and ignition, and accessories.
Maybe the cutoff switch but why so intermittent then???? Thanks in advance for your consideration, guys.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 957
Likes: 2
From: Carlsbad Springs Ontario
Found broken conductors " inside the wires " on a newly purchased FLT Police with 115000 klms.
Check the wiring harness at the pivot point were the wires bend when you turn the bars left or right .
Carefully cut off all the taping to get to the individual wires , do a " wire pull test " . A buddy is helpful here , with needle nose pliers hold one end of individual wire and hold other end of same wire , pull hard to see if the plastic insulation breaks in two . This will indicate a broken/intermittant conductor inside the wire.
Check the wiring harness at the pivot point were the wires bend when you turn the bars left or right .
Carefully cut off all the taping to get to the individual wires , do a " wire pull test " . A buddy is helpful here , with needle nose pliers hold one end of individual wire and hold other end of same wire , pull hard to see if the plastic insulation breaks in two . This will indicate a broken/intermittant conductor inside the wire.
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 18
From: SE Michigan
Found broken conductors " inside the wires " on a newly purchased FLT Police with 115000 klms.
Check the wiring harness at the pivot point were the wires bend when you turn the bars left or right .
Carefully cut off all the taping to get to the individual wires , do a " wire pull test " . A buddy is helpful here , with needle nose pliers hold one end of individual wire and hold other end of same wire , pull hard to see if the plastic insulation breaks in two . This will indicate a broken/intermittant conductor inside the wire.
Check the wiring harness at the pivot point were the wires bend when you turn the bars left or right .
Carefully cut off all the taping to get to the individual wires , do a " wire pull test " . A buddy is helpful here , with needle nose pliers hold one end of individual wire and hold other end of same wire , pull hard to see if the plastic insulation breaks in two . This will indicate a broken/intermittant conductor inside the wire.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 14,744
Likes: 402
From: Phoenix '53, '88, '09 Big Twins
these switch contacts have been known to burn out with STOCK lighting loads ( and some later 90's models had a recall)...with your upgraded lighting you are putting a load on the ignition switch and the wiring which could be a problem.
( on my 95 I ran a 10ga fused feed up front and ran all my lighting on that through relays ----110/90 high/low, 2 X 55 spots).
you can also check wiring for shorts.
put a test light on the load side of you breakers and with the bike ON, motor off- shake the darn bike- move the bars, jump up and down on it, wiggle everything that could move- see if the breaker goes or the test light changes.
if the test light stays on but the bike shuts off, then you have an open circuit somewhere between wher ethe test light is, and the rest of the bike.
( I have had my positive cable chafe on the oil tank and short on a bump- causing a momentary shut off...it was a bugger to find as the cable "looked good"
You are just going to have to spend some time on this...
Mike
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Road Master
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 18
From: SE Michigan
Thanks for the tips, Mike. Yes, I also thought about those Molex plugs under my dash as being a possible source.
Problem with the ignition switch is it's buried in that fork post and the part is no longer available anywhere as I suspected it once before and it turned out to be my voltage regulator ( turn signals wouldn't work due to low voltage).
Guess I could cut the wires to the OEM ignition switch and just mount an aftermarket one on the handlebars somewhere??
Like you said I'll just have to spend some time on it and I may never locate the problem short of a total rewire.
BTW I have the 55W halogen spots running off the hot side of the ignition breaker on their own inline fuse.
I've seen some posts mention a "relay" as being the source of the problem. On my bike I think all the relay does is give power to starter when the starter switch is activated right?? Could that be causing a total shutdown on my bike at all?
Problem with the ignition switch is it's buried in that fork post and the part is no longer available anywhere as I suspected it once before and it turned out to be my voltage regulator ( turn signals wouldn't work due to low voltage).
Guess I could cut the wires to the OEM ignition switch and just mount an aftermarket one on the handlebars somewhere??
Like you said I'll just have to spend some time on it and I may never locate the problem short of a total rewire.
BTW I have the 55W halogen spots running off the hot side of the ignition breaker on their own inline fuse.
I've seen some posts mention a "relay" as being the source of the problem. On my bike I think all the relay does is give power to starter when the starter switch is activated right?? Could that be causing a total shutdown on my bike at all?
Last edited by Tactical111; Sep 16, 2012 at 11:15 AM.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 684
Likes: 9
From: Indian Head, PA
The starter relay on your bike reroutes power from the bike to the solenoid when the starter button is pushed. Let go of the button and the relay sends power back to the rest of the bike. It is possible that if this relay is dirty or going bad, you could have intermittent contact causing what you describe. If you've never changed your original start relay, you might want to throw a new one in there. They are cheap enough.
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 18
From: SE Michigan
Thanks, D1gger, good point as power to the rest of the bike drops off when the starter relay is activated. I think I have a spare so will just change it out though it's only a few years old. Just have to try to eliminate possibles one by one until it stops cutting out.
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Road Captain
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 684
Likes: 9
From: Indian Head, PA
Keep in mind the starter relay is different than a normal fog light relay. Starter relays switch between 87a and 87b tabs when energized, fog light relays turn both 87 tabs on when energized. On the outside they look the same and will fit the same sockets, you have to look at the diagram printed somewhere on the case, or at the tabs to see if the 87 tabs are labelled 87a/b or just 87 to be sure.
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Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 18
From: SE Michigan
I think I only have one relay and it's right next to the main breaker on the oil tank on the right side under the side cover. My spot lamps power comes off the ignition breaker/hot side under my console and I have them on their own in line fuse that runs to a toggle switch to turn on the fog/spot lamps.