Hi folks,

I just want to share my neverending story with my 2005 XL1200C.

I bought the bike with 4800miles and put around 4k on it in the last year. Everything was fine initially but the last 1k miles were just horrible. It started to have idling issues. Not at start or when it was cold but after a couple of miles it would just putter and go off when I stopped. While this was in the beginning only occasionally, it became progressively worse over the time until I could only keep it running with my hand on the throttle. Kind of a very uncomfortable feeling if you have to use your front brake and throttle at the same time to prevent the bike from dying.

So I started to look into things myself. I played around with the idle adjustment screw -> no improvement. But since she is running fine when I start her, it is also hard to test. It usually takes 3-4 miles before the problems start. Ok, so next I had a look at the carb. After getting it out and opening it, I could clearly say "Yep, its a carb". Thats about my knowledge. Well, at least it looked clean and after I assembled everything, it wasn't worse then before. The plugs were always super black and I also had the feeling I smell unburned fuel. Combined with black smoke coming out of the exhaust every now and then, my diagnosis was that it was running too rich?!? Either too much fuel or not enough air. Air cleaner was new and clean at that time.

So at this point, I decided to bring it into a garage as I'm obviously incapable of fixing anything. I brought it to a small garage where I had my tires changed earlier. He had a look at it and told me he leaned it out by turning the fuel mixture screw a quarter turn in and that should have fixed it. It was only 45$ for half an hour of labour, so not too expensive. Either way, I took off and while at first I had the feeling it is running better, the old problems were back pretty soon.

I rode it a while until I got so fed up again, that I brought her to the dealership. They ran their $118 diagnosis and found that the jets in the carb were aftermarket and they replaced it with original ones. The bike was apparently test-ridden and the problem was supposed to be fixed. They added another hour of labour and 20 in parts, summing up to a $260 repair. Thats a lot of money for me but if it fixes those annoying problems, it is totally worth it. However, it seems as it was all for nothing. I took off from the dealership, went on the highway and rode for 20miles or so. On the off-ramp, I pulled the clutch to shift down and the bike immediately died. This was a new record, normally it would do it at lower speeds (i was going around 50mph). Started it again and rode home with the constant throttling, that I'm already used to.

So thats where I am now. 2 garages couldn't fix the problem, which makes me start to believe that I am the problem. But what is there that I could do wrong? I'm really lost and not really in the mood to spend another hundreds to have something not fixed. Currently, I do not really now what to do next. I'm lacking the money to buy a fuel injected one and I also don't want to give her (it must be a her) the satisfaction to have beaten me.

Well, any ideas would be appreciated but I assume making a diagnosis from the distance is pretty tough. Anyway, just wanted to share my suffering. Thanks for reading.

Alex

 

I'd look into the coil. Or the ignition module. Symptoms of those going out is once they get hot they start acting up. Black spark plugs indicate unburned fuel meaning not enough spark or your carb is dumping fuel. But since it seems to happen after you ride a little bit id look at the coil or the ignition module

 

My first guess would be the CKP (crank position sensor), they run about $50.00 and take ~10 minutes to change.

Have you checked for stored Diagnostic Codes? There's a How To "sticky" thread at the top of this section.

 

Could be the coils or the crank position sensor as mentioned already. When coils are going bad, when they get hot they start causing problems and when they cool down the problems go away for a short time and then the cycle repeats.

Now before you keep dumping money into it, go back to the dealer, tell them their fix was wrong. Have them put your old jets back in and tell them to look elsewhere for the problem. The way I see it they charged you for something that you did not need done and they need to make things right with you.

 

Thanks again for the tips. I checked for the DTC's but nothing came up.

area ; first read; on second click

P ; none ; Pn 32883-04A
S ; none ; Pn 68980-04
Sp; none ; Pn 67436-04
t ; no rSP

So I might try replacing that crank position sensor. Its just hard to find. After some google search, I found that the parts number is 32804-04B but that doesn't exist in the HD store. Is this the right one?

Thanks
Alex

 

Yeah, guess that would be the right thing to do. I just had the feeling they don't take me serious anyway. As a foreigner on a "small" Harley, I'm probably not the type of customer they want. But this is just a very personal feeling. I only got attention when I walked through the showroom, naturally.
Anyway, they probably say something like they never said this will fix the problem as they were sneaky enough to always use the term "probably fix the problem". I might give em a call but I have no big hopes. Also, I need the bike to get to work and would be happy if I don't have to drop it off again.

 

Well, you paid good money to have it fixed. You want it fixed, not the money. Tell them what you learned could be the problem, no shame in mentioning you learn things off the internet. Just ask them to look at it with your insights added.

In America, cash is King!!!!! Nothing else matters.

John

 

The diagnostics is not showing any codes (just the PN...part number of the module it checked). You have no tach so you get no RSP.

My long distance troubleshooting guess leads to the Crank Position Sensor as it will exhibit a number of symptoms and not show up on diagnostics as cHarley said. Recommend you pull it and clean it first and see how the bike does. The CPS is at least cheaper part to replace first. I no longer have access to Ronnie's Harley OEM parts database from work (where I am currently at) to check the CPS part number for you. But you can give it a try (their website)...google Ronnie's Harley parts.

 

Thats how my 1988 was acting - I'd play with the carb...seemed a bit better, then back to its old issues. Drove me nuts. Replaced coil and installed a new ignition system, and it runs like a new bike. Not sure how the wiring is on the newer stuff, but I'd vote ignition.

 

Alright, thanks a lot guys. Much appreciated.

I called the dealership on Tuesday and they said I should bring it back in. But as if my bike could hear me complaining, it was running stable and smooth as never before for the last two days. I really can't explain it and of course I'm now to scared to bring it in just to hear "I don't know whats wrong, its running perfectly fine". Starting to lose my mind here.

Anyway, I give it a few more days and if everything comes back, which I expect, I go with the Crank Position Sensor and from there to coils and ignition.

Thanks
Alex