Hello,

This is my first tech post and I'm afraid it is a doosey... electrical always seems to be...

We had been riding for a total of 30 min and at this point we were traveling on a state route at 55 MPH. The bike lost all power and shut down. luckily we were able to coast off into a driveway. There was no sputter and I didn't notice any warning lights or physical symptoms. It just shut off like someone hit the switch. The bike appears electrically dead when switch in IGN position regardless of the run/stop switch position on the handlebar. No lights or noises.

When the ignition is turned to ACC, the speedo light comes on, it tries to turn down below 0 and bounces there a couple of tries and the odometer displays mileage. The odometer reset button toggles between main, a and b. According to the shop manual.. in ACC i should have HORN and Hazards. Horn is weak (doesn't really blow and almost can't hear it chirp) and no flashers/hazards.

I replaced the battery the week before, so i suspected a bad battery or loose battery terminal connections. I have checked the battery - completely charged 12.7V and passes test on charger for 100% and charge complete. Battery was fine when bike died. One interesting thing here.... when battery is mounted in the bike and terminals connected and the IGN key switch to IGN position i get almost 0 volts reading across the posiotive and negative terminals with my voltmeter. not sure if something isn't shorting in the system...

I have not been able to pull ECM codes

I have removed, cleaned and replaced battery cables. Also ohmed them with meter and twisted /tugged looking for bad connector issues while on the meter. they appear fine.

I have loosened cleaned and re-tightened all grounds i can locate (negative battery cable to transmission, both grounds on rear fender)

checked the positive battery cable connection to the starter - fine

I have meter tested the 40amp main fuse and all other 15A fuses - they are fine

I have disconnected and inspected the ECU connector and it was tight and no obvious loose/broken wires.

I have jumpered the relay contacts on the system relay and it does not improve the situation (pin30 to pin87).

I have a vance and hines FuelPak, but removed it for troubleshooting. No improvement.

I have the HD rear turn signal MOD kit installed that converts the amber signals to red and has them act as additional brake lights under breaking load. I removed this module as well for troubleshooting - no improvement.

Just looking for other ideas before I tuck my tail between my legs and have the dealer pick her up

Thanks in advance...

 

the main circuit breaker could have gone south. they normally reset after a few minutes tho.

 

Thanks Bagga. I have a 40 amp main fuse which tested fine, do the 06 dynas still have the circuit breaker? would love for it to be something that simple. do you know where they are ususlly located?

 

Here's what I found on my 2000 Fatboy. Bike would shut off running down the road. Still had lights, gauges were dead, could reach down an cycle the ignition switch off and on and the bike would fire. Turns out the bank angle sensor was bad. Not sure if this would apply to your bike...

 

For over a year my bike would just die going down the road, might start right up,might not, might go for 100 yards, a mile, all day. Was the ignition module, would heat up, stop elect flow, cool down and work. Might be that.

 

This sounds like the battery has an internal 'open' (or partially open) such that it will read fully charged voltage, but as soon as you put a load on it the voltage drops to zero. I'd suggest having the battery tested with a load tester to see if this is the issue. If the battery will deliver its rated current, then start looking downstream for issues like the main circuit breaker.

--Gary

 

Ok,, we are back in business!!!! and Gary was 100% dead on. I took the "new" battery to have it tested Saturday, and it was bad. Voltage was OK, but would not provide load. Complained about the tow fee I incurred and although they couldn't cover it, they did upgrade the battery for free.

Just a note... My charger has the settings for AGM batteries and also measures load and charging amps, but didn't fail the battery. I really expected to find it dead when we got the bike into the garage, but since it tested good I started on other routes of testing. Should have remembered the KISS Principle when dealing with electronics... if it seems to complicated.. it is. Always double check the battery......

Thanks Everyone!

 

My 04 Road King (EFI) quit on me yesterday, on day 3 of a road trip. Had to trailer home. About 50 miles into a tank of gas, sputtered out. Wasn't bad gas because 3 of us filled up from same pump, they are all fine. Battery turn over starter, lights come on, fuel pump primes when switch engages, i disconnected and reconnected quick connect on fuel line, doesnt appear to have fire to spark plugs, i did notice battery is stamped 2003, but I ride a good bit and it was kept on trickle charger by previous owner. Ive put abt 2500 on the bike in 8 months, he had it 5 years and only put 4500 miles on it. Maybe dead cell in battery? Coil? ECM? I do have a power commander, maybe remove it? I'm lost guys, any ideas would be appreciated.

 

To: Bike stalled at 55mph, now no power. Battery is fine
My bike did the same thing. It even quick a couple of times and I was able to mess with the ignition switch to get it started. I made a post of what was wrong and how to fix it on this site. The problem is that the ignition switch is too light for the load and the contact for the ignition connection melts into the plastic so deep it loses connection. The ACC contact is not affected and that is why you can still light up the speedo. Go to my posting on 7-3-2010 under Hdconvertible and it will link you to my website that has the document with all the instructions and cure. With pictures it is too big to post. Hope it cures yours like it did mine.