Springer Quits While Riding
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 14,056
Likes: 11,078
From: San Diego, CA
I was assuming the battery was connected correctly..... You CAN cause damage, and get hurt, by connecting the battery wrong.
Ensuring the battery is connected correctly is now at the top of your list....! That needs to be done before hooking it up again, and/or doing any other troubleshooting...
It would be reckless of me to try to guess, from a pic, what those wires go to... You need to figure out what each wire is, and where it's supposed to go (pos or neg)... Get some help if you have to, but you need to be positive everything is correct before going any further... It could fix your issue..
A good tip is that anytime you are working on something for the first time, take multiple pics with a digital camera (or your cell phone) BEFORE taking it apart... You may end up throwing away a ton of digital pics, but the one time (like this) that you could use them, they will be worth their weight in gold...
Last edited by hattitude; Aug 28, 2021 at 06:33 PM.
Thread Starter
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Novice
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 19
Likes: 6
From: Olympia, WA
For a couple of open questions: yes, I use a battery tender.
Yes, I have ensured the negative cable is securely attached to the negative terminal on the battery.
As a starting point, I disconnected all cables , including the positive and negative cables and then reconnected these two cables. I then reconnected my Ignition Switch. Not knowing the purpose of the unconnected cables, I then connected each cable, one at a time to what I believed to be the proper battery terminal. At this point, the electrical system remained intact, the bike started and the lights worked as they are suppose to work. I love reverse electrical engineering!
So, I now remain at an impasse: what causes the bike to totally shout down until I recycle the start button and ignition switch? Research now directs me to the crank case sensor (what ever that is) and how I check this sensor.
I am feeling that I'm rapidly approaching the point where my novice knowledge of electronics has been exceeded and I need to take the bike to Harley for an electrical diagnosis.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 14,056
Likes: 11,078
From: San Diego, CA
One last question/suggestion.....
Did you just disconnect the ignition switch and clean the contacts between the switch and the Harness connector...???
Or did you completely disassemble the ignition switch and clean the contacts inside the switch....???
Here is a pic of what I mean........
Did you just disconnect the ignition switch and clean the contacts between the switch and the Harness connector...???
Or did you completely disassemble the ignition switch and clean the contacts inside the switch....???
Here is a pic of what I mean........
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 14,056
Likes: 11,078
From: San Diego, CA
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,273
Likes: 464
From: anywhere
bike
check the ground to your regulator. I had the same problem of the bike shutting down when hot. Seems like the regulators ground was compromised from oil changes. I took the regulator off cleaned all the oil off and put a star lock washer on each bolt between the frame and regulator, 6000 miles later bike is still not shutting off anymore
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 9,741
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From: Danbury CT
I had a similar problem on my 06 Softail. While riding I would come to a stop and the motor would just die. It would not hold idle. But I was able to start it up by just hitting the start button and all was fine. It ended up being the throttle position sensor which I replaced. After I replaced the TPS I was getting a lot of decel pop and I had to reset the throttle position in my PC5. All is well now.
Last edited by golfblues; Aug 30, 2021 at 08:22 PM.
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Novice
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 19
Likes: 6
From: Olympia, WA
I had a similar problem on my 06 Softail. While riding I would come to a stop and the motor would just die. It would not hold idle. But I was able to start it up by just hitting the start button and all was fine. It ended up being the throttle position sensor which I replaced. After I replaced the TPS I was getting a lot of decel pop and I had to reset the throttle position in my PC5. All is well now.
I did not disassemble the ignition switch: I only cleaned the pins and the contact. I've been considering simply replacing the ignition switch with a new one ... much easier for me and, besides, with my luck, if I were to disassemble the existing switch, I would totally screw up the reassembly.
I'll check the ground on the regulator.
I'll also check the TPS: thank you for that suggestion.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 14,056
Likes: 11,078
From: San Diego, CA
I did not disassemble the ignition switch: I only cleaned the pins and the contact. I've been considering simply replacing the ignition switch with a new one ... much easier for me and, besides, with my luck, if I were to disassemble the existing switch, I would totally screw up the reassembly.
But I took a pic, removed one piece, took a pic, removed another piece, took a pic, removed another piece, etc, etc, etc..... I forgot which may the ignition male connectors were oriented... I had 3 pics showing me how to reassemble that portion correctly... worked out well.
The OEM dielectric grease in the switch was thick, dry, and even crumbled in a couple places. The contacts were very dirty... but with a dremel and brass wire wheel, they cleaned up like new...
If you mess it up, then go buy a new switch... but unless the inner contacts are severely pitted/scorched, you should be good. To order a new one, you will have to order ti form the MoCo to have it keyed alike with your old key...