HD Ignition Problem
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4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 8
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HD Ignition Problem
Need help diagnosing a no electrical power problem. '95 Fatboy no crank, no lights, no anything. Replaced battery, still nothing. Checked wires for looseness at ignition switch, seems fine. Where to go from here? Thanks for your insight!
Stage I
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1
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From:
RE: HD Ignition Problem
Please do not take this as disrespect or thinking that I am a know it all. After 8 years of being a mechanic I have found that some of the most simple things are missed even by the most sesond of mechanics. Start with fuses and relays first, they are the cheapest items to replace and they are usualy the problem with electrical. Next make sure all grounds are conected properly and clean (rust free). Next the battery, making sure it is conected snugly at the terminals and free of corrosion. Check the switch making sure all wires are conected and clean. Lastly, scratch head and ask like you did. The odds that some one else has had the same problem is high. Like madmax1 before me said check the coil. He does make a good point about borrowing a part because this are expensive to just start changing. I used to keep about 50 different coils and 5 or 6 different ECM's and so forth and so on just to check car's and truck's that had problems. Good luck, and forgive the miss-spelled words I normaly cut and paste from word so that I can spell check. 
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 583
Likes: 5
From: Maine
RE: HD Ignition Problem
If there is no power anywhere on the bike, check the main circuit breaker. It is a 30 amp. If you have power to some places and not others, check the ignition switch. As mentioned about, check and clean all grounds.
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,281
Likes: 8
From:
RE: HD Ignition Problem
With no power anywhere at all, I would look at the ground side of the battery cables but at the end where it joins the bike, not the battery end. Also check by the rear of the tank where the ground wires from the bike are bunched up and bolt to the frame (grounded). Don't take anything for granted, remove and clean them. As a last resort, use a test light clipped to the POS of the battery and work through the ground circuit starting at the NEG of the battery and working away from the battery. This is not always the best way of doing it because the smallest connection will light the light but will not run the bike. It's used only to locate an OPEN circuit.
Quick way of testing if it is the ground circuit is to use a battery jumper cable attached to the NEG of the battery and connect it to a good source of ground like the engine case itself and try to start it then. If it starts, then you know where to look for the problem .
Quick way of testing if it is the ground circuit is to use a battery jumper cable attached to the NEG of the battery and connect it to a good source of ground like the engine case itself and try to start it then. If it starts, then you know where to look for the problem .
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,070
Likes: 0
From: Vermont
RE: HD Ignition Problem
had the same problem on my 97 fxstc , check for frayed wire going to 30 amp circuit breaker and breaker itself. the wire chafes on the frame and grounded everything out.it's a real bummer to fix at midnight !!!!!!!!! check it out.good luck
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Road Master
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,057
Likes: 0
From: Weatherford, Texas
RE: HD Ignition Problem
I had something similar happen to my 05 Springer Classic....lookked at all the relays, fuses battery etc....while at the parts dept. One of the guys walked by and asked how many miles? I told him 3,000 he said funny thing we had a fat boy in here with same mileage and similar problem. There was a pinched wire from the fuse box to the starter and after 3,000 miles it rubbed down to the wire, shorting out the system....so went home and damn if I didn't find the same thing. Moved the wire where it should have been in the first place, a little black tape and all was well.....20,000 miles later no problems at all......hope you find the solution!!!
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