Weird FLHR electrical problems
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Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Volusia County, FL
Weird FLHR electrical problems
Friend of mine has a 04 RKC... he was heading home the other night and said all of his warning lights came on. He shut the bike down, and waited a minuted, and powered back up and it went away. He fired it back up and got about a mile down the road when it did it again. He got the bike home (shutting down and restarting each time).
He had the battery replaced about 6 months ago by the dealer. We are trying to figure out what the deal is. The only electrical add on he has is those Kyurakan (however you spell it) Lizzard lights....
All connections are tight that we know of. Bike is a carb bike, not FI...
He had the battery replaced about 6 months ago by the dealer. We are trying to figure out what the deal is. The only electrical add on he has is those Kyurakan (however you spell it) Lizzard lights....
All connections are tight that we know of. Bike is a carb bike, not FI...
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Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Volusia County, FL
Well, he unhooked the Lizzard Lights and recharged the battery. Everything seemed fine until his "Check Engine" and "Security" light came on in the speedo. We immediately turned around and headed home. As we were going, the headlight kept getting dimmer and dimmer, along with the rest of the lights. We were about halfway home when the speedo just stopped working completely. We kept going... we had just pulled into the driveway of a friend of his' house to leave the bike when it shut down. If you cycle the ignition switch off and on, the cluster won't respond, and the bike won't even try to start.
In December, he had the same problem. The dealer told him it was a bad battery and put a new battery in it. It lasted this long.
Either the alt or something in the charging system is toasted... now just trying to get HD to find it and fix it is going to be the fun part.
In December, he had the same problem. The dealer told him it was a bad battery and put a new battery in it. It lasted this long.
Either the alt or something in the charging system is toasted... now just trying to get HD to find it and fix it is going to be the fun part.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
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From: Baton Rouge, LA
Also, check connectors, especially those on the battery and attached to the starter (under the rubber boot). I would put my money on the stator for the battery-drain problem, but that shouldn't cause the bike to stall until battery voltage is very low. Since you were able to repeatedly restart the bike the stator wouldn't likely be causing this issue. My second choice would be the voltage regulator, but then again it too would not cause the stalling problem, IMO.
Seasoned HDF Member
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From:
consider,
you will need a digital voltage meter
1-start at the battery..are the connections tight? tug and try to move..
2-what is the state of charge for battery?
3-what are the volts AT THE BATTERY before start/everthing off and then as you press start.
4-what are the volts as engine is running?
later you can go into checking the rest of charging system.
you will need a digital voltage meter
1-start at the battery..are the connections tight? tug and try to move..
2-what is the state of charge for battery?
3-what are the volts AT THE BATTERY before start/everthing off and then as you press start.
4-what are the volts as engine is running?
later you can go into checking the rest of charging system.
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Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Volusia County, FL
Well, here is the scenario. He started to have this problem the first time. He took it to the dealer, and they looked over it and replaced the battery. (This was in December of last year.) The battery on the bike WAS the original, or so he was told. Things were fine until the other night, when the cluster warning lights came on (check engine and security). He was close to home so he got it home. He thought it might be his Lizard Lights, so he unhooked them (thought it might be a bad module). He recharged the battery, and thought things were good until last night when he got the same warning lights again.
We started back for home. His lights kept getting dimmer and dimmer. After a few miles, the speedometer stopped working (needle went to 0 and the mileage display went blank. CEL and security lights also went out). We kept riding to get to another friends house to store the bike, and as he pulled the clutch in to stop at the house, the bike just died. There is not enough power to even initialize the speedometer, much less to start the bike.
The battery is not even a year old yet. My bets are on the alternator, but he is afraid when he takes it back to the dealer, that they are going to find nothing wrong with it again.
We started back for home. His lights kept getting dimmer and dimmer. After a few miles, the speedometer stopped working (needle went to 0 and the mileage display went blank. CEL and security lights also went out). We kept riding to get to another friends house to store the bike, and as he pulled the clutch in to stop at the house, the bike just died. There is not enough power to even initialize the speedometer, much less to start the bike.
The battery is not even a year old yet. My bets are on the alternator, but he is afraid when he takes it back to the dealer, that they are going to find nothing wrong with it again.
Last edited by neonhomer; Aug 12, 2008 at 08:07 PM. Reason: Spelling corrections
Big Kahuna HDF Member
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Batteries go bad...brand new batteries go bad! That's why I said to recharge and load test it. That way you are sure of its condition. Assuming it is good start checking the other stuff. It's not rocket science, get the manual and start running thru the tests of the charging system.
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