01 fatboy. I'll be riding down the road and she'll suddenly stall out. No spit and sputter, just complete engine failure. Lights and radio will still work though. When i flip the ignition off and back on she starts right back up. She'll do it at idle, slow around a corner or 60mph down the road. She's never done it running 80 or 90, but I'm not sure if that's a coincidence or not. Sometimes she'll stall out 6 times in 20 miles. Sometimes shell go 20 miles without a problem. I've rebuilt and tuned the carb, new battery, new spark plugs and a new ECM. Help me please

 

to me, it sounds like a bad wire connection .. you might want to start with all ground wires and go from there. could be the connector right at the ign. switch.

 

It's beyond frustrating... I understand that...

I would suggest taking a deep breath when it happens and try to diagnose what the actual issue is....

The good news it happens a lot, so you should be able to replicate the issue rather easily/frequently...

The bad news is that it happens a lot, so you'll not be able to enjoy your bike until you get it fixed...

I'm gonna guess it's not compression related, based on your description of the symptoms...

That leaves fuel and spark....

When it stalls do you know if it's due to lack of spark or lack of fuel....??

Have you tried checking the spark and/or fuel delivery at those moments it dies...???

I suspect you have not tried to check for a cause because you have randomly replaced both electrical and fuel parts... that can get expensive, unless you get a lucky guess early on in the diagnosis process.

We need to narrow down which is the issue, and then go from there...

When it dies, have you try to restart it without flipping the ignition on & off....??? Or does it only restart if the ignition is cycled on/off...???

It sounds like a quick cycling of the ignition switch gets things back on track, but it would be good to confirm that it's a spark issue...

You could get an inline spark tester, and carry it with you. When it dies, without touching the ignition switch(s), immediately check for both front & rear cylinder park... one at a time should work... That could confirm it's electrical..

Since it sounds like a spark issue....

It could be something easy like a loose ground wire... so it's always a good idea to check tightness, corrosion, and the integrity of battery cables. Especially where the battery ground attaches to the frame, under the nose of the seat,,, That is known to come loose and cause random electrical issues...

If it only restarts when the ignition is cycled on/off, do you mean the rotary switch or the kill switch on the handlebar?

The older rotary ignition switches have been known to build up corrosion and cause electrical issues. Some have replaced it, I took mine apart, cleaned real good, and haven't had a repeat of the "failing to start" issue that caused me to check it.

if it only restarts after the handlebar kill switch is cycled, it wouldn't hurt to take that apart and look for corrosion, bad/broken, or loose wires. maybe even test it with a multimeter.

There are a few generic electrical ideas about where to look/check, that don't require throwing a new part at it.... yet... There could be an entirely different list of stuff to look at, should you find it's getting spark, but the fuel delivery is the issue...

There are a lot of smart people on this site, but they will need a little more info to be able to accurately get to a possible cause....

Report back as you discover clues and you will get the help you need....

 

Loosen your gas cap, could be as simple as a venting issue.

 

Possible that the vss is faulty? I like Dan's idea of a wiring issue...have you cleaned both ends of the ground cable?

 

I had the exact same issue on my Fatboy. Turns out I had a broken wire and it damaged the Bank Angle Sensor. That circuit is the only one that recycling the ignition switch turns it back on.
Fixed the wire, replaced the sensor, problem solved.
Took forever figuring that one out.

 

You stated that you "flip the ignition" off and back on" - I am guessing you are talking about that **** on the center console. Make certain it is not the contacts under the switch, the big chrome switch/**** on the console that is not losing contact. Next time, try just barely jiggling that **** instead of for a full indent turn.

I just had mine apart to clean and check while doing some other maintenance and it is the world's simplest slide contact switch under the ****. If you think that might be it - Do a search here and you will find Mr H. has posted doing the disassembly and cleaning of the contacts. It is basically one single C-clip and it comes apart, with three metal contacts and pressure springs. The connector is a simple flat three-blade. Makes you think twice about the security of these bikes when you see how simple it would be to start one if the alarm is not activated.

 

Do you remember where that break in the wire was? I've been doing a ton of research and signs are pointing towards BAS

 

Here's a link to how to clean your ignition switch.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...le-riding.html
Happened to me once. Found this link and haven't had a problem since.

 

I found my issue by checking the voltages at the plug. It's in front of the rear tire. If I remember, one of them is about 5.5 volts and mine had no power. I just pushed the wire out, cut it and stripped it back and checked that I had voltage.
A new Bank Angle sensor and I have not had an issue since. On our older bikes, that is the only circuit that will die and reset with a turn of the ignition.
Good luck!