Bike turned itself off and will not turn back on.
Thread Starter
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Novice
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: brazoria county texas
Bike turned itself off and will not turn back on.
I have done a lot of reading different posts on here with my symptoms and feel reasonably sure it's probably the ignition switch, but here is what it did. I was going down the road at 55 miles an hour, just about to pass someone when it started to miss a little bit and the tachometer was getting jumpy. Then, it turned itself off and stayed that way. I wiggled the key when I got pulled over and it lit up for a split second and no more. I just got done putting a brand new battery on it a couple of weeks ago so I double checked it and it is good. Stator is good. Regulator is good. Everything checks out except the key is really loose in the ignition. It wiggles a lot. So, if there is a question in all of this, I suppose it would be just how often does this happen? Have any of you guys have the same crap?
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 817
Likes: 26
From: PA
Jumper from negative battery to frame would indeed be the same as the cable. If this isn't it, in the electrical section of this forum there is an electrical trouble shooting decision tree to determine the cause of an electrical problem. They can also be found by a google too. Something like "motorcycle won't start problem". I found a half dozen. There is a way to bypass the switch to see if that is the culprit. Using these decision trees allow a problem to be tackled in an orderly manner.
Just read on another thread guy had a similar problem and it was due to a bad crank position sensor. This is what he wrote:
"could be a bad crank position sensor that's what it was on my 99 road king when your bike shuts down check to see if your getting any spark mine wasn't that's how I new it wasn't fuel replaced sensor no problems for years now very common problem good luck"
Share how you solved the problem if you get a chance.
Just read on another thread guy had a similar problem and it was due to a bad crank position sensor. This is what he wrote:
"could be a bad crank position sensor that's what it was on my 99 road king when your bike shuts down check to see if your getting any spark mine wasn't that's how I new it wasn't fuel replaced sensor no problems for years now very common problem good luck"
Share how you solved the problem if you get a chance.
Last edited by beammeup; Aug 19, 2015 at 05:53 AM. Reason: additional info to consider
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 3,146
Likes: 50
From: A barrier island in NJ
10 to1 odds say your negative battery cable is not making good contact. This is a notorious problem with the Sportsters. Completely remove both battery cables, wire brush all ends, apply some dielectric grease to all 4 ends, and then reattach the cables. 10 to 1 says your problem is solved, all for the price of some time and dielectric grease.
Road Captain
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 586
Likes: 126
From: Boston
10 to1 odds say your negative battery cable is not making good contact. This is a notorious problem with the Sportsters. Completely remove both battery cables, wire brush all ends, apply some dielectric grease to all 4 ends, and then reattach the cables. 10 to 1 says your problem is solved, all for the price of some time and dielectric grease.
+1 for this. Happened to me in June coming back from laconia. Same symptoms, neg cable completely corroded off at the connection to the chassis. Ordered a new one and i'm back in biz.
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Novice
Joined: Jun 2015
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From: brazoria county texas
Battery cable in a place where I can't see it makes perfect sense. I will hook up the cables to bypass the possible corroded cable and see if I get juice.
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3rd Gear
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Pennsylvania
I was letting my bike warm up today when I noticed the negative cable was completely off the battery. A second later the bike died. I spent the next hour trying to reconnect the cable with no luck.
Is there a trick to this that I am missing or am I just even less mechanically inclined then I thought? I have a 94 sportster and the battery is an aftermarket, I don't know if that makes a difference. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Is there a trick to this that I am missing or am I just even less mechanically inclined then I thought? I have a 94 sportster and the battery is an aftermarket, I don't know if that makes a difference. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Thread Starter
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Novice
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 22
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From: brazoria county texas
while the battery read good voltage, it failed the load test at the parts store. Turns out, the 23 amp stator was not tamed by the stock regulator and it was over charging. Burned itself to a crisp.