Okay here goes... I finally pulled the trigger on a used 2000 Road King with 59K on the clock and after a lot of back and forth with my brother who bought an '02 Electra Glide Classic with 67K miles on it; I wouldn't have believed him had I not seen the odometer myself. His bike looked like it came off the showroom floor the first time I saw it.

Reason I'm writing this is the fact that I was able to track down a rather bothersome short that has been ailing my Road King for quite some time now just by reading the threads on this forum. The problem with the short was that it would always blow the ACC fuse (15 amp) randomly so this was the first thing that frustrated me. It was difficult to assess. This fuse was responsible for the horn, blinkers, the speedometer/backlight, odometer and the brake lights. Thank God it didn't strand me out on the road!

Taking into account that I have replaced the rotors and brake pads and the handlebar grips made the tracing of the short all that more difficult. To add more frustration, I also moved the handlebar closer towards the seat. It was just too far a reach for me being inline with the fork so I was thinking maybe I moved a wiring harness that I shouldn't have. There was also the case of the the right front turn signal light loosening from its mount and I had to modify a 9/16" deep-well socket so I could tighten that nut. All these things I did came to mind when I thought about the short.

Initially the short would blow the fuse and I was able to just change it and ride again. As time went, the duration between the time it blew got shorter so it was telling me that it got worse. It got to the point where I was buying too many fuses.

Finally, I ordered a resettable fuse on Amazon and I was going to tear the whole bike apart if I needed to and pick the whole harness wire by wire if I had to. I found a tweaked wire for the right turn signal where the brake lever clamps down on the bar so I fixed that. The resettable fuse was still tripping. I went to disconnecting connections one by one and used the resettable fuse until it stopped tripping. I found out that the front cable that goes to the front fender marker light was rubbed raw by the tire. After I fixed this cable the fuse stopped blowing. After putting everything together (even put the harness in a little neater than I originally saw it.)

All this I couldn't have managed without reading into these threads! Thanks!

 

As you seem to have disturbed the handlebar switch units, to change grips, I suggest you start with them. It is a common problem that reassembling them can trap or damage a wire, so retrace your steps and take a look inside them. Of the things you list the horn, blinkers and brake light all have wiring inside the switch units.

 

Looks to me like he found the problem!!

 

Most excellent post and it is threads like this that help other people so good on you. And good job finding your issue.

 

Awesome!

 

It's a real feeling of satisfaction when you find and fix a problem by yourself isn't it !...b.

 

Fender tip lights on the Heritage and the FL's have had a long history of creating issues. I bet you told yourself it would have been easier to start there.

 

When I introduced myself to the forum, I said that I was going to write a little thread on why I decided to join and why it was so valuable to me that I found this forum.

This is the story behind why and how invaluable the information was that I was able to find here. Without the info I dug up here, I probably would've basket-cased the Road King a while back. Something as easy as that cable was not what I thought. I literally tore the bike's wiring harness apart. I even went as far as taking the speedometer, the ignition switch, and the indicator panel out and cleaned them out to make sure it wasn't that.

Needless to say, she and I bonded for those three nights that she was apart! Yes, I definitely have a better feeling knowing that I can accomplish something without having to take her straight to a shop... and a lot more gray hair!!!

 

Let's be clear here...it was YOUR skills that solved the problem! I think that getting onto the World Wide Web often confuses the issues, and causes one to chase those unicorns...nothing like being on the job in the moment sussing out problems, along with the factory service manual, to get the job done.


So, to YOU sir, I say...well played.


Now.


Go ride.

 

Good for you for persevering and finding it. I HATE electrical trouble-shooting.