so today, i went to my friends.
when i was leaving i turned my key and pressed the start button..... nothing!
no read out on the clock. no dummy lights.
damn!
so first thing was to check all the fuses.
all seemed ok.
but when i had some of them out, i noticed that the clock and neutral light had come back on.
great, i thought.
so plugged all my fuses back in.
start the bike...... nothing!
so i pulled each fuse, one at a time.
when i pulled the lights fuse, my bike electrics came to life again.
i checked my front light, worked.
rear lights, worked.
all lights and indicators worked fine.
even though i there was no lights fuse.
but with the fuse back in, the bike is dead.

im no electrician, but this doesnt make sense to me.
how can my lights work with no fuse?
and more importantly why is my bike not working when the fuse is in place?

my bike is fine to ride with no symptoms suggesting any problems, but obviouslt there is a problem somewhere and it cant be safe to leave it alone

2011 Iron

 

Have you tried replacing all the fuses with brand new fuses? Its a cheap check. I would inspect all fuse terminals. Make sure they are clear of debris and make sure nothing is arcing them together.

 

arcing was my first thought to why the lights are still working without a fuse.
but i cant really see right to the bottom cos the hole is so tight.
but i would imagine the only place it could bridge would be across the top. and there is nothing bridging across the top of the two teminals

 

Sounds like you may have a short in the lighting circuit

 

If it was mine, I would remove the 4 turn signal/running light bulbs and tail light bulb (if you have one), leaving just the headlight. See if the symptoms change.

 

Thanks guys, cant get to my bike right now, but il try that. only problem is all my rear lights are LED, so the only bulbs i could remove would be the front turn signals

 

Then unplug them (hopefully you didn't hard wire them) and remove any load equalizers that were installed with the LEDs.

 

the iron comes with LED's as stock. cant even get into the turn signal housing

 

Follow the wires, usually they run under the rear fender. I don't have a wiring diagram for that year, but the wires should end up in a plug, probably under the seat or battery box area somewhere.

 

Check Your Battery for Loose or Poor Connections, they loosen up over time especially the ground (which is a pain)