I have a 2007 Road Glide with about 34k miles. About 9 months ago I had a problem with the bike shutting off and speedometer not working. I reached my destination and disconnected my tuner, checked my connectors at the cpu, checked battery connections and have not had a problem for the last 9k miles until today. I decided to go on a New Years ride and after about 3 hours, engine and radio was cutting out and coming back on. Luckily this happened about a mile from my house and limped it home. It can't be the battery because the charging system would keep it running.(Battery is fairly new anyway) Someone said that their bike had a ignition switch issue. What they did was to switch to accessory and back to on. He said this was a common problem. Any thoughts?

 

Any codes thrown?

 

don't count out the battery and cables- those should always be the first checks*


2.) bad battery, bad cable can kill your charging system

so check those.

remove the battery, charge it fully and then load test at autozone for free.

while it is out check the cables at both ends


the ignition switch contacts can be damaged- this is more likely when high wattage bulbs are used up front.
wiggle test it

check an idling bike in the driveway by bouncing up and down on the seat...bashing at the tires with a bat...shake it...turn the bars back and forth.



mike

* my neighbor spent $1300 at the dealer for a weird problem...kept burning up stators and voltage regulators and failing batteries...here's the fault- a $15 fix:

 

Agree - Battery test, clean all contacts, and clean and verify grounds.

 

What tuner do you have? Have you cleaned out the ECM cable, and applied dielectric grease? As above already mentioned check your battery cables for corrosion/loose connections. Feel all the way up the cable as far as you can. If it feels swollen, replace it. Again dielectric grease/correct torque.
I've read some riders going so far as to zip-tie around the ecm/connector to make sure it stays tight.

 

Mine was doing the same thing and I replaced the main breaker. Hasn't done it since and the part is less than 10 bucks so it might be a something to try.

 

Where is the main breaker? I am a mechanic by trade. I can't believe a battery problem can cause main power failure unless it is completely shorted. A car can run without a battery once it is running. I am not dismissing the help. I much appreciate the suggestions.

 

Main breaker???????

2010 Limited with some stuff!!

 

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/harley-circuit-breaker


Mine is located under the seat next to the battery. Google Harley main breaker. Maybe the newer models don't use them anymore.

 

Just a thought , 07 glide i had to turn the ign on off a couple times @20k parked and once @40k after leaving a rest area on the parkway. Engine cut off, radio cut off... so thinking fast I turned ign on off and never had to pull over, @55k has not happened again. forgot about it and never looked back. I think ive read the ignitions switch can act up hit or miss on the older bikes? Maybe the manual should include rebuilding the ign switch with new c clips as general maintenance.