2012 Iron 883 - Mreed's forum on 4" DIY air cleaner - Cycle Shack 3" slash down slipons - relocated LP/rear directional lights (dealer) - Fuelpak (removed) - X14iEDs (currently installed)

So I was riding my bike earlier today, and much to my surprise it just died while I was going 40mph. Pulled over to the side of the road, and it started right back up. It died again within 30 seconds. This time it would not start back up. At some point while this was happening, I think the ignition light came on (little red key), which just means that the engine has not completely shut down.

Here is what happens when I try to to start the bike:

Turn key to on - clock lights up for a second (time reset to 12:00) then goes out, neutral light and oil light come on.
Put in run position - no fuel pump kicking in and obviously won't start.
Turn to off and turn off ignition - neutral and oil light stay on for up to 30 seconds.

I have already checked the fuses and could not see any that were bad, as I have read that a blown fuse can cause this. Going back in time about 3-4 weeks ago....

I had a Vance and Hines Fuelpak installed on the bike (did it myself, it's only 1 wire to negative battery terminal and 2 plugins to factory ECU harness). Bike ran great. I wanted to relocate the turn signals and license plate so I could installed removal saddle bag mounts. Bought the genuine Harley Davidson part and paid the dealer where I bought the bike to install it. They originally quoted me for 1.5 hour the day before, then 2.5 the day I dropped the bike off. Needless to say, it took the guy 3.5 hours to do the work. I was only charged for 2.5 hours. When I got the bike home I started noticing things right away. As I was installing the saddle bag mounting hardware (EZ bracket docking posts), one of the fender bolts was torqued down so tight I couldn't get it off. I had to removal the shock bolt to relieve enough pressure from the fender just to get the bolt loose. The other 3 came out fine. These bolts per the HD instructions that come with the turn signal/LP relocation kit are only supposed to be torqued to 21-25 pounds. Next I noticed that the technician didn't even take enough care to re-install the $.98 retention washer on my Badlander (2 up) seat to prevent the metal bracket from scratching the fender. This story continues, but at the time I had a broken ankle, so I wasn't riding.

A few days later, when I got brave enough to go for a little ride, after the bike warmed up (15 minutes of riding), the bike began idling low at stop lights and signs. It even stalled on me several times, but would always start right back up. The problem then became even more persistent, to the point where it would just stall from idling for a couple minutes. I talked to Vance and Hines several times thinking maybe it was a Fuelpak issue, even though the bike ran fine for a week before the HD dealer touched it. Finally I got to the point where I just decided to remove the Fuelpak. In the process of removing the Fuelpak, I discovered that the dealer had installed the battery incorrectly. They secured the battery strap with the negative battery terminal bolt, and the negative battery terminal with the battery strap bolt. The battery strap bolt is larger in diameter, and when I was taking the bolt out of the negative terminal, it snapped off inside. Took the battery to dealer and showed them. They told me, I can't imagine why our technician would do that... but ended up giving me a new battery. Got home, installed the new battery and took off the Fuelpak and the bike ran without stalling. Sent the Fuelpak to Vance and Hines to have them diagnose it, and still waiting to hear back.

I had ordered some X14iEDs because I have not heard a single bad thing about them. Installed them and have been riding for a little over a week with no problems... until today when the bike just died on me. At this point I have no idea what to think anymore. Stupid saddlebags. Everything was fine until I had the dealer relocate my turn signals and license plate. I just used my free HOG membership for buying a NEW motorcycle to have it towed back to the dealer. The other HD Service Manaer told me that if there was an issue caused by something that was done by the first dealer, that they would not cover it.

I am so discouraged right now, I don't even want the bike anymore. I had the bike for six months with no issues, and all it took was one sloppy service call to install a genuine HD part and my luck has turned the other way completely.

The first dealer, where the bike will be going in the morning even told me over the phone earlier "Yeah I've seen those Fuelpaks do bad things to bikes," basically hinting that I am screwed. Any thoughts?

 

^^^without reading through the book of eli......did you trace the connection from the fuel pump down the backbone and near the outside of batt. box. this happen to me and the clip on the connector broke. hence the fuel pump not turning on. theres also a connection in betweeen the cylinders on the exhaust side that came loose on me once. bike ran on one cylinder as a result, putting and sputtering. it was f-ed up.

wait a sec...you don't want the bike anymore? come on man **** happens. just get it straight and get back on the road.

 

Dammm Saddlebags !!! they mess with the fule every time.

JonMon total yucking it up .

 

I'd start with a volt meter and start testing pins for voltage.

 

i was first gonna say check the battery connections, i had a similar problem and it was caused by a lose battery bolt, i ended up doing a voltage test on everything and it was that loose negative bolt all the time. I too messed up in my shed switching the battery bolt and the tie down bolt but I caught my mistake before ruining the battery but thats why that bolt was loose.
Do as BMX said and follow that wire, that connection will bend sometimes and eventually break if one isnt careful and it sounds like the Dealer had a Minotaur work on your bike (Greek mythological beast)
Yes Vance and Hines doesn't have the technical support they used to and because of it I got rid of my fuel pak. Hopefully they didn't send you the incorrect model like they sent me back in the day.

With all that being said, don't get discouraged man, stuff happens and things need to get fixed, that's why you should to own 2 bikes.

I would check and see if the original dealer that did all the F-ups will fix it for free, but then again I don't know if I'd want that technician touching it

 

This may seem super obvious but wasnt mentioned...............does it have gas?

 

 

you laugh but its often the most simple thing. One reason I mention it, it happened to me....in a way. When I originally did my tank lift I disconnected the fuel line QD. Apparently I didnt get it ALL the way back on. After several miles of riding it quit on me. After 5 min on the side of the road I noticed the QD didnt look right, from riding it wiggled off enough to cut off the fuel supply, same as running out of gas I would think. Of course right after it died I tried restarting and it acted just as the OP was describing. At first it would start then soon die, then eventually I wouldnt hear the fuel pump anymore and it wouldnt start at all.

 

i just laugh because he better have checked that before coming on here and posting the book of eli.....lol. i don't understand his lack of patience to be honest. he lives in hawaii for crying out loud, what could be so bad? lol. vkleinstu...i'm just messing dude. let us know how you make out.

 

Book of Eli.... lol. I don't know the cause obviously. Maybe the dealer didn't mess anything up, or maybe they did. But when they screw up the small things like not installing the $.98 retention washer on the seat, it makes me wonder about the rest of the work. You know? That being said, I am impatient. I will agree to that. I posted the Book of Eli because a lot of times in these posts, people don't give enough information, and all of these problems appear to be linked together as there was no problem before. Thanks for the ideas.