UPDATE: Harley Engineering got involved and again determined that it is a Voltage Regulator so for the Second Time, I had a new Voltage Regulator installed. That was in February. Today is now March 25th and here we go again!

This weekend, (Saturday evening) it started that surging all over again, the volt meter pegged all the way to the right and then I began loosing electrical power to the dash lights, then the Infotainment Center. I pulled the bike into my garage and shut it off for the night. The next morning (Sunday), when we returned from breakfast, I thought that I would try it again to see if it was still having that issue. I started it up right in the garage and shortly after warming up, it began again, the volt meter pegging to the right and loosing power to the dash gauges and then the infotainment center. The infotainment center came back but the dash stayed out and then the motor shut off. I shut everything off and then grabbed my phone to start videoing it this time. Once ready, I started it again and again it started to have the volt meter peg to the right, loose power to the dash, came back on and then the volt meter went wildly over to 12 and then back to just past 14 then pegged again all the while, the power was going off and on to the dash everytime the volt meter would peg to the right.
I DID note that although it seemed to continue while the handle bars were at or around 10:00 to 11:00 position, I could NOT duplicate it once I rolled it outside and stood it up. I also noted that when the volt meter was pegging to the right, the running light/turn signal bar under the windshield was blinking rapidly while the headlight and running lights stayed steady.
This is effecting my heated handgrips (left side) as well as my heated jacket which sporadically will shut off while riding and then when turning it on again, won't go past the second setting to the third setting. Instead, it just shuts off.
Since its only a 2017, IT'S STILL UNDER WARRANTY BUT ONLY UNTIL JUNE but it is now getting ready to go back again for the third time and I'm getting nervous that Harley is only fixing the RESULTING DAMAGED PARTS INSTEAD OF THE CAUSE and if it's NOT FIXED by the time the Warranty expires, I'll be stuck with this massive problem i.e. what if it's in the Wiring Harness somewhere? OMG! $$$$$$$$$$
SO, HERE WE GO FOR THE THIRD SHOT AT GETTING THIS FIXED!

 

John, it won't be much consolation but a friend of mine had repeated electrical problems with his CVO a few years ago, which nobody was ever able to solve. He did eventually get a new replacement bike out of it. Very best of luck in getting to the bottom of this. Be persistent, but stay polite!

 

First, Pennsylvania's lemon law does not apply to motorcycles (and in fact few states have lemon laws that apply to motorcycles)

Second, modifications which affect the electrical system were done, so the motor company will, justifiably, not honor the warranty as relates to this issue. At a minimum, they could (justifiably) insist that it be put back to stock (likely at owners expense) before they do any testing.

 

Ouch.

 

Couple things -

So - much of the electronic stuff was installed by the dealer before delivery correct? As I understand it, if it's Harley Davidson stuff, it's all covered under the factory warranty. So was any of that HD product? I know the Daymakers are, but you added those later. Heated grips? Stereo upgrades?

Next question - when did this start? Before or after the Daymakers were installed? Sounds like everything was fine until you did those. Am I correct?

As has been said, at this point I would start removing the added accessories and check results. That voltage spike is worrisome. I would not want that happening to the sensitive electronics in my bike. And a 3rd bad VR? I highly doubt it. If the problem started with the Daymakers I would start by removing those. I would also get rid of, or at least disconnect, the LED (neon) accent lighting (if I read that correctly). The grip heaters could definitely be an issue. I had nothing but problems with mine and they were added by the dealer too. Stereo stuff? Who knows.

On the heated jacket liner - how is that connected to the bike? The proper way to do it, imo, is to run a lead right off the battery. I know some folks like to run it off the accessory wiring, but I feel that invites trouble. Especially on the Can-Bus systems.

I'm kind of a do it yourself guy with stuff like this. Personally I would start disconnecting stuff on my own. It doesn't sound like your dealer knows how to apply deductive logic to a problem.

 

I hope you took a video of the bike while it was acting up, great to show the Dealer and Tech help line not to mention a Lawyer if it comes to that. If not try to get the bike to do it again and have the camera ready.

I would call the Tech Line the dealer gave you the number for and calmly explain what you've been through. What I would ask for is they have a HD Electrical expert at the Dealer they pick to fix the bike.They should have that Dealer pick the bike up.I would also be pressing HD to give or sell you a ESP at cost.

What codes are you seeing?

https://www.fuelmotousa.com/p-29661-...es.html#pcodes

 

Sounds like the dealer is attempting to help. Though in my experience being threatening isn't going to get them to move any faster or better. I have worked at some companies when the word lawyer and lawsuit came up we where instructed to stop all work and give them a phone number. It is a cover your *** moment and wouldn't surprise me if a dealer would do this.

Sounds like the electrical is getting overloaded. The battery is probably dropping voltage, the regulator and stator is being taxed and over heated and the rest is failing with the battery being discharged. When this happens is the radio is on playing music? Is the Music Loud? Are the Neons on? and etc.

If yes then to do a simple troubleshoot turn the radio off and ride. If it doesn't cut out then turn the radio on at a low volume and run it. Rinse and repeat till you can duplicate the error.

 

OP: Please don`t make your posts so difficult to read, my eyes are 64 years old.

Paragraphs please.

 

Clearly the bike is over loaded. Amp, heated grips, heated gear, refrigerator, disco ball, etc etc.

 

Understand it is very hard to diagnose over the internet without having the motorcycle to look at. This is a good place to get ideas and vent frustrations but make sure you exhale once in a while.

It almost sounds like there is a short somewhere. If I was a betting man, I would say the battery has issues, then look at the wiring coming from the stator to the voltage regulator, then the wires from the voltage regulator to the feed panel to the battery. There is a fault chart procedure for checking the battery, voltage regulator and stator. All the wiring needs to be looked at for the additional equipment and accessories to see if there are any area that a short could occur.

If you are dealing with the dealer in York PA, they have good technical staff and should get it resolved. If you are dealing with a dealer near Reading, I do not know.

Something is causing the voltage regulator to spike and usually that is caused by a short. Intermittent shorts can be hard to find; however, a look under the seat and see if there is anything there that is touching the battery terminals or looks out of place. Also the fuses, a check to see they are all firmly in place and none of them are broken/cracked. As stated before, what was the last thing added to the bike when the issue started.

Your motorcycle is old enough that if it was ridden when salt was on the road, there may be corrosion if proper maintenance was not performed. I understand you say you are technically challenged; however, talk with the dealer as it seems they are trying to find the issue. Another place where the issue could be is the ignition switch.

Good luck and hope it works out for you. Just a FYI - See how the paragraphs are separated? Makes for easier reading for us old guys