Also, there is a metal bracket holding the back of the start switch in the housing. If the wiring has been pulled out the least bit it will short out against the little bracket right where the wire is pressed into the switch. This would be my bet. Start here and then do my earlier post about grinding the housings.

 

just a side note: a loose grd won't blow a fuse.. for a fuse to blow, it has to be a power wire shorted to grd.. a loose grd will only cause a circuit to not function properly.. no path for the energy to flow after going through a load/elec device,IE.. bulb, relay, module etc...

 

Thanks guys for the advice so far, I bought a new starter relay and tried that, it still blew the ignition fuse. So I took the housing apart and checked the start switch wiring, I didn't see any bare wires, everything looked fine. So I put the housing back together.

Then I used a multimeter and checked for continuity between ground and the fuse holder (both sides). The left side read .320 and the right side read 0.00, I then disconnected the ground cable from battery and checked both sides of fuse holder again, same thing .320 on left side and 0.00 on right side.

So can one of you tell me what that means? I'm trying to figure this out on my own instead of taking it to a dealer that will milk the labor hours and steal my money lol

Again, thanks for any advice you may have. This is a great board, I haven't been a member long but already learned alot, every thread I read, I see lots of guys helping others, thats nice!!

 

I took the housing back apart again after checking everything else and finding nothing wrong, and guess what? the first time I took the housing apart, I only took the upper half off and looked at the wiring going into the starter switch. This time I took the whole housing off, and found 2 bare wires so wrapped them good with electrical tape, put a new iginition fuse in, and she started right up

I went back and re-read the advice you guys gave me and knew I was missing something thats why I took the lower housing off and checked again.

So thanks to all you guys help, you saved me money from taking it to a harley dealer or cycle city here in kpt.

 

I located a pinched set of wires going up and into the right handlebar starter,turnsignal, shut off switch. Wires pinched flat when the three screws that hold the parts together. Loosen the three screws taking care to keep the wires snug against the handlebar when retightening the starter etc bracket, replace the blown 15amp fuse on the left side of the 2003 Harley Sportster fuse box. Hope this helps someone.

 

I'm having this same problem after replacing my bars - it's driving me crazy. I thought I sealed the wires that were pinched and everything fires up like a charm when the switch housing is apart. When I put everything together and tighten it down, the fuse blows. I just need to find the right position and routing for the wires - there must be something in there that's shorting and I'm not seeing it.