hey guys,
my 48 sat for a month, so today it didnt want to start. i removed the battery charged it, then started right up. After riding for 30 min, i stopped for gas, then no start. the battery has juice, the starter keeps turning, but it wouldnt start. a quick push, 2 nd, and rode back home. once there, i tried to restart it, and it fired right up again. went for another ride later, and same thing happened. no start.
here are few things i noticed:
1- the clock resets everytime i tried to start it ?
2- i can smell fuel after few failed attempt, i am guessing its normal (flooding)
3- i have a dakota digital, so i now my alternator is charging fine 14V when moving
4- bike doesnt feel or sound right after it starts, it rides fine, no hesitation but seem to run a bit rich. its back firing here and there, which never happened before. i have had a cobra autotune for the last 1500k miles and with no problems.
5- i just had the 5000k mile service done at the dealer couple of days before the bike sat, and for some reason they changed the plugs?
my first guess was a bad ground, i cleaned the connection at the battery but it didnt help, i couldnt find the other end of it.
i appreciate any help, this sucks
quick shot of the bike

mike

 

When you removed the battery to recharge it was the neg. connector on the battery loose? If so, it was probably loose for some time and may have been arcing when starting before you removed it and charged it. I suggest you remove the battery again, check the surface of the connectors on the wires where the connect to the battery and see if there is any carbon build up on the wire connectors. If there is, chip, scrap or file them off so that there is nothing but clean metal. There have been so many cases of this being the problem of a Sportster not starting.

Not sure where the other end of the neg. wire is on a 48 but most likely it is down by the starter. If you look to the right of your oil tank you should see that wire coming down from the battery and either connection to a bolt on the case around the starter or on the starter case itself. I know on my 2007 1200C Custom it is a bolt on the case next to the starter.

 

when you reinstalled the battery are you sure that you didnt forget any extra wires that could have been on the terminals?

 

Didnt the 48 have a voltage regulator issue. I remember seeing a lot of threads about that last year.

 

that's my guess

 

I would say it is not a charging issue because it turns over ...I would say it has a ignition issue...check the wires where they connect to the coil and the plug wires to make sure they are on all the way...also check the wiring to the on/off switch and the switch itself...for me what I find strange is that the bike will start fine if you push start it, but not when you hit the starter button...also check the cup behind the igniton module, it might be coming loose or the igniton module itself might be loose and moving..

 

Sorry, but the above symptoms don't add up to me.

You say the starter is spinning, so I assume you mean it's cranking (turning over) the motor, but not starting.
Then you say you push started it and that worked????

Did you clean BOTH ends of BOTH battery cables?

Other:
Auto tune 1500k miles = You've had it for 1,500,000 miles?
5000k service = Bike has 5,000,000 miles on it?

Edit: Have you checked for Diagnostic Trouble Codes?????

.

 

Not only the 48. Many HD manufactured from around 10/2011 to about 04/2012 IIRC, had the VR issue. Mine was in the set which had too.
Symptoms were iffy behavior of the electrical system before, then total failure.
If the OP bike was manufactured within that time window, it very like has a bad VR which needs replacing.

 

thanks for the all replies, i will be working on the bike tomorrow and will report back
let me clarify few things:
1- bike has just under 5k miles, the cobra was added 1500 miles ago. i removed it but it didnt solve the problem.
2- push start works. it leads me to believe its an electrical issue
3- i only cleaned ground at the battery, i finally found the other end of it, but it seems pretty tight in there, will look into it more
4- yes, the starter turns over but the bike doesnt start. if unable to find the issue, i will post a video.
Mike

 

The clock resetting each time you cycle the electronics to start it makes me think of either a faulty connection in wiring, or a a faulty ecm circuit.

The not running right part I would chalk up to resetting the ecm when you disconnected the battery, though the base map should let it run and the relearn should be relatively short. I guess I'm confused on which point exactly during this process you disconnected your tuning device and how much the ecm has had to "try" to figure out.

Keep in mind I'm just throwing out some ideas. I haven't messed with tuning one of these bikes yet and I'm not familiar with how it's setup as far as programming is concerned. Good luck.