Bike dies when hot, won't start till cool.
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Stage III
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3
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Bike dies when hot, won't start till cool.
Hello,
I have a 1999 Sportster 1200 XLwith about 17K miles. Everything seems fine but after about 30 minutes it pops and just dies. This has happened three times - once while turning into a parking lot, once while just cruising along at about 55 mph and once at a stop light. I apologize for playing the "girl" card here but I really know nothing about mechanics. I don't know the term but when I try to start the bike back up, it seems like it's trying to but doesn't fire up. If I let it sit for awhile it starts up just fine, runs for a while and then dies again and I have to wait for it to cool down or whatever - about 30 minutes. I thought it might be a fuel problem because the ignition seems to work okay but research indicates that it could be either fuel or something about an ignition module.
I took it to a local repair shop and they told me that this was a common problem with Harleys and said that they'd need to replace all the wires and lines on the bike. They quoted me around $1000 to do this and I sensed that they saw an easy target in me. The bike is used but was well maintained by the original owner. The only mechanical history it has was that the gas tank had to be replaced because the owner dropped a box of tools on it. Does anyone have any ideas of what this could be? I'm not afraid to try some simple repair but if I need to, I'd like to at least sound a little more educated before I try my next repair shoppe. Harley repair shoppes are few and far between where I live.
Thanks so much for your help. I sure appreciate this forum.
Echo
I have a 1999 Sportster 1200 XLwith about 17K miles. Everything seems fine but after about 30 minutes it pops and just dies. This has happened three times - once while turning into a parking lot, once while just cruising along at about 55 mph and once at a stop light. I apologize for playing the "girl" card here but I really know nothing about mechanics. I don't know the term but when I try to start the bike back up, it seems like it's trying to but doesn't fire up. If I let it sit for awhile it starts up just fine, runs for a while and then dies again and I have to wait for it to cool down or whatever - about 30 minutes. I thought it might be a fuel problem because the ignition seems to work okay but research indicates that it could be either fuel or something about an ignition module.
I took it to a local repair shop and they told me that this was a common problem with Harleys and said that they'd need to replace all the wires and lines on the bike. They quoted me around $1000 to do this and I sensed that they saw an easy target in me. The bike is used but was well maintained by the original owner. The only mechanical history it has was that the gas tank had to be replaced because the owner dropped a box of tools on it. Does anyone have any ideas of what this could be? I'm not afraid to try some simple repair but if I need to, I'd like to at least sound a little more educated before I try my next repair shoppe. Harley repair shoppes are few and far between where I live.
Thanks so much for your help. I sure appreciate this forum.
Echo
Road Captain
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 666
Likes: 1
From: Cavendish, Pei
RE: Bike dies when hot, won't start till cool.
Sounds electrical to me , maybe the pick-up or the ignition module,or coil. . Don't let them snow you it is not ALL the wiring .. There was another post a while back with a similar problem not sure how it was resolved ...Mark...
Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,276
Likes: 8
From: Minneapolis Area, MN
RE: Bike dies when hot, won't start till cool.
Welcome to the forum!
It sounds like that shop may be trying to rip you off. $1000??? You could do a lot with $1K. Get a second opinion.
If you do some work on your own ride, you should check to see if your battery terminals and cables tight and free of corrosion. Also, check for loose wires (or wires with worn through insulation) at the starter, ingition sensor, ignition module, stator, regulator....essentially all wires that you can see.
Look for cracks in the rubber vaccuum line which runs from your carb to the VOES switch and the fuel petcock.
I think an easy first thing to do would be to find a friend to check your timing.
You also need to find out what is failing when your bike does this. Are you getting spark? Is it getting fuel? Clogged petcock or dried / cracked vaccuum line. Is it getting air? Have you cleaned your air cleaner lately? If it's only when the bike is hot, it may be the cam positioning sensor.
Gotta narrow it down. I'd say find a friend that works on their own bike.
It sounds like that shop may be trying to rip you off. $1000??? You could do a lot with $1K. Get a second opinion.
If you do some work on your own ride, you should check to see if your battery terminals and cables tight and free of corrosion. Also, check for loose wires (or wires with worn through insulation) at the starter, ingition sensor, ignition module, stator, regulator....essentially all wires that you can see.
Look for cracks in the rubber vaccuum line which runs from your carb to the VOES switch and the fuel petcock.
I think an easy first thing to do would be to find a friend to check your timing.
You also need to find out what is failing when your bike does this. Are you getting spark? Is it getting fuel? Clogged petcock or dried / cracked vaccuum line. Is it getting air? Have you cleaned your air cleaner lately? If it's only when the bike is hot, it may be the cam positioning sensor.
Gotta narrow it down. I'd say find a friend that works on their own bike.
Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 29,598
Likes: 19
From: Oregon
RE: Bike dies when hot, won't start till cool.
Question? What else is out when it quits? I agree that it sounds electrical. Something must be heating and separating from expansion and that could be a lot of things.
Do you still have lights, horn, anything at all? If not, I'd go straight to the battery.
I'd leave the master switch on and wiggle the battery terminals. I mean wiggle and twist them hard. If the lights flash off and on you could have bad cables, dirty connections or even a bad battery.
I once had it happen like that with a brand new battery. One of the terminals (where the cables bolt on) was broken inside the battery. I could wiggle it and get the lights to come back on. Then the bike would start. Darned if it didn't take me a while to figure that one out. I found it out by accident when I was just messing around wiggling things.
Anyway, if you still have lights and all, then maybe it's ignition, like the module as someone mentioned. If no lights, focus on the battery and cables.
Dirty wiring connections can do this. Get a small wire (brass?) brush, disconnect and clean all terminals that you can find.
Remember to disconnect the positive (+) battery cable before messing with the electrical, after you've wiggled the heck out of the terminals and cables.
This is probably not an expensive fix if you can find it.
Good luck and welcome,
JB
[/quote]
Road Captain
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 666
Likes: 1
From: Cavendish, Pei
RE: Bike dies when hot, won't start till cool.
When checking or unhooking any battery terminals ALWAYS disconect the negative side first,. This will prevent any sparking at the battery, or grounding of the positive terminal with your wrench. .Mark..
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Stage III
Joined: Apr 2007
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From:
RE: Bike dies when hot, won't start till cool.
Wow! So many fast responses! You all are great. You offered tons of info (some of the stuff you mentioned make no sense to me but I'll look them up in a repair manual) and they all seem pretty doable. When the bike dies, the light in the spedometer dims but doesn't actually go out. Otherwise, I have horn, headlights, blinkers, etc. In the past, I checked the battery cables but probably didn't feel them up too much, just sort of gave them a wiggle.Spark plugs are new, battery is charged...I really think heat is a factor. I have a couple of friends who do a little work on their bikes but neither of them were confident enough to diagnose the problem. With this information, maybe I can charm them into checking out the items you all suggested.
I thank you all so much for your help and expertise!
Cheers,
Echo
I thank you all so much for your help and expertise!
Cheers,
Echo
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