Had to happen.....sooner or later
Dirt don't hurt
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 21,065
Likes: 4,561
From: Haslet Texas
O.K., ready to tear into it with the info provided here. Took off seat, looking around under there, getting ready to pull battery and noticed a bad indent on one off the wires under the seat. Lifted it up a little and sure as ****, the bottom was worn through & grounding on the frame. And now you ask: Why the indent? My wife made me a nice seat fitting foam pad covered with a nice furry cloth to cushion my old ***. Well, the knot (1/4" dia) of the tie-down/tightening string that wrapped around the seat underneath just soooooooooooooo coincidentally landed right on that wire and put pressure on it and eventually it wore through. You know, kinda like the odds of being hit by lightening. Anyway, knot's re-located, wire is heat taped back up and the 'ol girl's back on the road.
Thanx for the info though. Good for future reference.
Thanx for the info though. Good for future reference.
Murphy strikes again.
Glad you got it found and fixed.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 95
Likes: 0
From: Holland, Mich.
Aw crap !!!!!!!! Just when I thought I had it fixed. Left watering hole last night, jumped on bike. Dead. Found a guy who helped jump start it, got it running and left. Got about 10 miles down the road and pop-pop backfire and TOTAL death. Not even the lights would come on. Luckily I was on top of a hill, turned around and coasted back to a farmhouse where the people let me put it in a barn overnight. Hooking up trailer soon to get it. (wifey wasn't to happy she had to come and get me, bitchin' the whole time to get a new bike)
O.K. gentlemen, where do I start?
O.K. gentlemen, where do I start?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 5,081
Likes: 2,159
From: Ohio
Don't know if your familiar with a VOM but that is how we find amp draws at our International truck dealership:
Put a VOM on amps, remove the positive battery cable, install the VOM positive and negative leads between the battery cable and battery post, with ignition still off and if showing numbers on the VOM to the left side of the decimal point being 1.0-3.0 amps you have are going to have problems. We pull fuses and relays one at a time to find out which accessory is drawing the amps as the VOM will drop when you find the gremlin and if no amp draws are found then it is the hard electrical issue.
You can use this method and would head toward and unplug the voltage regulator as your problem especially since it died while riding, your problem will be somewhere that has the ability to have a positive and ground connect with ignition off, a stuck relay can also cause this and located with the earlier testing. Need to also keep in your mind that if the voltage regulator tool a chit, it may not drain now but be in a no charge condition so try to stay ahead of the gremlin with thought and not discouragement.
Good luck and the gremlin can be exposed with equipment and patience
Put a VOM on amps, remove the positive battery cable, install the VOM positive and negative leads between the battery cable and battery post, with ignition still off and if showing numbers on the VOM to the left side of the decimal point being 1.0-3.0 amps you have are going to have problems. We pull fuses and relays one at a time to find out which accessory is drawing the amps as the VOM will drop when you find the gremlin and if no amp draws are found then it is the hard electrical issue.
You can use this method and would head toward and unplug the voltage regulator as your problem especially since it died while riding, your problem will be somewhere that has the ability to have a positive and ground connect with ignition off, a stuck relay can also cause this and located with the earlier testing. Need to also keep in your mind that if the voltage regulator tool a chit, it may not drain now but be in a no charge condition so try to stay ahead of the gremlin with thought and not discouragement.
Good luck and the gremlin can be exposed with equipment and patience
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 5,081
Likes: 2,159
From: Ohio
Don't know if your familiar with a VOM but that is how we find amp draws at our International truck dealership:
Put a VOM on amps, remove the positive battery cable, install the VOM positive and negative leads between the battery cable and battery post, with ignition still off and if showing numbers on the VOM to the left side of the decimal point being 1.0-3.0 amps you have are going to have problems. We pull fuses and relays one at a time to find out which accessory is drawing the amps as the VOM will drop when you find the gremlin and if no amp draws are found then it is the hard electrical issue.
You can use this method and would head toward and unplug the voltage regulator as your problem especially since it died while riding, your problem will be somewhere that has the ability to have a positive and ground connect with ignition off, a stuck relay can also cause this and located with the earlier testing. Need to also keep in your mind that if the voltage regulator tool a chit, it may not drain now but be in a no charge condition so try to stay ahead of the gremlin with thought and not discouragement.
Good luck and the gremlin can be exposed with equipment and patience
Put a VOM on amps, remove the positive battery cable, install the VOM positive and negative leads between the battery cable and battery post, with ignition still off and if showing numbers on the VOM to the left side of the decimal point being 1.0-3.0 amps you have are going to have problems. We pull fuses and relays one at a time to find out which accessory is drawing the amps as the VOM will drop when you find the gremlin and if no amp draws are found then it is the hard electrical issue.
You can use this method and would head toward and unplug the voltage regulator as your problem especially since it died while riding, your problem will be somewhere that has the ability to have a positive and ground connect with ignition off, a stuck relay can also cause this and located with the earlier testing. Need to also keep in your mind that if the voltage regulator tool a chit, it may not drain now but be in a no charge condition so try to stay ahead of the gremlin with thought and not discouragement.
Good luck and the gremlin can be exposed with equipment and patience
Last edited by 1997bagger; Jun 7, 2014 at 07:57 AM.
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 327
Likes: 0
From: Vine Grove KY
Reading some another thread and this is just any idea could he have that dirty ignition switch problem. Again throwing out that idea
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Dirt don't hurt
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 21,065
Likes: 4,561
From: Haslet Texas
Aw crap !!!!!!!! Just when I thought I had it fixed. Left watering hole last night, jumped on bike. Dead. Found a guy who helped jump start it, got it running and left. Got about 10 miles down the road and pop-pop backfire and TOTAL death. Not even the lights would come on. Luckily I was on top of a hill, turned around and coasted back to a farmhouse where the people let me put it in a barn overnight. Hooking up trailer soon to get it. (wifey wasn't to happy she had to come and get me, bitchin' the whole time to get a new bike)
O.K. gentlemen, where do I start?
O.K. gentlemen, where do I start?
Sounds like what happened when one of the wires on my ignition switch went bad.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 10,238
Likes: 799
From: Indiana
Nah man, that was flipping DIRT......... in the hyper hooter valve..........