I went to go start my 05 883c the other day and it turned over once and then I lost all power except when my switch is in accessory. My first thought was a bad battery or ignition switch so i pulled the battery and put it on the load tester, the battery does show as bad so i pulled it and put it on the charger. As I was waiting I was pondering over why everything would come on when in accessory but nothing at all in ignition, made me think the switch could be bad as well. Next I checked for continuity between my ignition wire (where it connects to battery) and gnd, what i found was that the ignition hot (plane red wire from ign switch) is being shorted to gnd when the switch is in the ignition position. This leads me to suspect a short (to gnd) in the red/black wire circuit leading to the ign, lights, instruments, spare fuses. So i stared pulling these fuses till it opened back up. I found that when i pull BOTH the lights and spare fuse that the short disappears. My bike does not have any aftermarket electrical parts but it does have a HD optional alarm system. Does anyone know if the security system would be using this "spare" fuse? I have been studying the wiring diagram and it shows nothing for the spare fuse. Does anyone have any ideas what may be causing my lights and spare fuse outputs to be shorted to gnd? The dealer told me they replaced the ignition switch a few years ago because it "was shorting out".. but its a basic switch, if it shorts that means its working(r to r/bk and r/gr), it has no gnd.

Any help would be much appreciated as i would hate to short out my battery. Im also quite flustered as to why none of my fuses blew. I may be over thinking this, idk... THANKS

 

May just be the ignition went out again. Can get a decent priced 3 post from JP for cheap and shipping is pretty quick. Had to replace mine a bit ago, though I changed mine from the Previous Owners idea of a toggle switch ignition. Not sure too much what else could be causing your issue though. Let us know what you find out though if it isn't the ignition.

 

Check your Kill switch (Run/Stop), in the right switch housing?
Don't break your front brake light switch while disassembling the switch housing. Retract, and secure (zip tie, rubber bands, or similar) your front brake lever while working on the switch housing. It doesn't need to be pulled in, to Medieval proportions. A light squeeze of the lever, is sufficient.
I'm guessing. Check the wiring diagram, again, for interaction with ignition switch and kill switch.
Keep us updated.
EDIT: Probably not the kill switch. You should have a headlight with the Run/Stop switch set to off.

 

Gotta say, this sounds like a bad battery connection. Mine would do the same thing. There was a enough juice to deal with a light load, but put the heavy load on it and there just wasn't enough juice.

I would start by cleaning up the battery cables at both ends, and then check again.

 

Definitely over thought this one.. Remembered the lights are always on in the ignition position, the continuity i was seeing was from my incandescent light bulbs (DUH moment). Which is why it didn't blow a fuse, its supposed to be that way. Battery just had a bad cell. Can't believe i saw past this before... thanks for the responses though