Full Moon Saved Me!
Thread Starter
|
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,475
Likes: 3
From: Southeast Wisconsin
Full Moon Saved Me!
Driving along through farm country last night around 10 p.m. and my friggin headlight on the Street Glide went out. No high beam, no low beam, pitch black, no houses or street lights anywhere, just the moon to guide me to a stop.Checked the fuseand sure enough, it was blown. OK, so I'm hoping this was an isolated incident and I won't have the problem again, but if I do I reckon I'll be hunting for a short. Anybody else ever have this happen? Did it turn out to be a one time thing--just a bad fuse--or did it develop into a more serious problem with a wiring harness? Any similar experiences out there?
Oh yeah, my warranty on the bike expired this past Saturday.[:@]
Oh yeah, my warranty on the bike expired this past Saturday.[:@]
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 981
Likes: 1
From:
RE: Full Moon Saved Me!
Man, glad you made it through ok.
Good ol' mother nature was looking out for ya' with her moonlight.
AndI thought mother nature hated riders...what with all the rain I've gotten poured on me lately.
I've never had this happen to me.
I wonder how our bikes know when the warranty is up?
They seem to be pretty good at giving problems right after the expiration.
Good ol' mother nature was looking out for ya' with her moonlight.
AndI thought mother nature hated riders...what with all the rain I've gotten poured on me lately.
I've never had this happen to me.
I wonder how our bikes know when the warranty is up?
They seem to be pretty good at giving problems right after the expiration.
Thread Starter
|
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,475
Likes: 3
From: Southeast Wisconsin
RE: Full Moon Saved Me!
ORIGINAL: bigheadted
Thanks for moonlight, were you using the high or low beams when it popped the fuse, and is it the stock bulb ?
Thanks for moonlight, were you using the high or low beams when it popped the fuse, and is it the stock bulb ?
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,981
Likes: 696
From: N.C.
RE: Full Moon Saved Me!
Glad you are OK, and thanks for that M/Cevaluation link. Sudden darkness on the move can make your heart skip a beat for sure. It has happened to me before. I carry spare bulbs/fuse and one of those LED clip on head lamps so I can see what I'm doing should it happen again at night. Mine was a burnt bulb.
Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 174
Likes: 3
From: Laurel Indiana
RE: Full Moon Saved Me!
yep ,light must been out all day, then when it got dark i was on the highway and had to run about 5 more miles to get off...that was a bit scarey....fuse was blown.....what i did notice is that the spots switch led will be out if you lose your light,,,i look at that now again...
Thread Starter
|
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,475
Likes: 3
From: Southeast Wisconsin
RE: Full Moon Saved Me!
OK, removed bags, seat and outer fairing. Wiggled, jiggled, pulled and inspected all visible wires and connections. Couldn't find anything that made the fuse blow again. Maybe I'll get lucky and it was just a one-time thing, cuznext time there may notbe a full moon to light my way. [:-]
Trending Topics
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 469
Likes: 0
From: Motown
RE: Full Moon Saved Me!
Yep, my buddy had a headlamp fuse issue with his Road King Classic.
We put a new fuse in, turned on the headlamp and it seemed fine untill he turned the handlebars, and the fuse blew again. Turns out, on his, the headlamp wiring harness had rubbed all the way through to the wire at the sterring head, and made contact with the handlebars turned. We taped it up and it's fine.
I'll admit it took some time to find the short. We used a meter with an audible tone and checked continuity from the fuse block to ground. Every time we turned the steering, the meter would beep. With the hadlebars straight we pushed on some of the suspect wires until the meter sounded off, which got us very close to finding the exact location of the problem. After that it was just a matter of inspecting the wires/harness in that location.
We put a new fuse in, turned on the headlamp and it seemed fine untill he turned the handlebars, and the fuse blew again. Turns out, on his, the headlamp wiring harness had rubbed all the way through to the wire at the sterring head, and made contact with the handlebars turned. We taped it up and it's fine.
I'll admit it took some time to find the short. We used a meter with an audible tone and checked continuity from the fuse block to ground. Every time we turned the steering, the meter would beep. With the hadlebars straight we pushed on some of the suspect wires until the meter sounded off, which got us very close to finding the exact location of the problem. After that it was just a matter of inspecting the wires/harness in that location.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,616
Likes: 4,440
From: anacoco, la
RE: Full Moon Saved Me!
i was riding into work one morning about 4am and when i got to the checkpoint (i work on a military base) the car behind me let me know that i had no taillights. brake lights worked, headlight worked, just no taillights, or front running lights. after the sun came up, i took a break and went out to the parking lot to check things out. it too was a fuse. don't know why it blew, but i replaced it and all has been fine. its been almost a month now and hasn't blown again. i hope that it was an isolated incident also.
2007 road king custom
2007 road king custom
Cruiser
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 189
Likes: 0
From: Slidell, LA
RE: Full Moon Saved Me!
Good thing you had the moon looking out for you that night.
I realized after reading someone else's reply that the passing lamps on the touring bikes are powered by the headlight curcuit. I think I'm gonna find an alternative power source for my spots so if my headlight does lose power, I'l have backup lighting.
We don't get too much help from the moon down here.
I realized after reading someone else's reply that the passing lamps on the touring bikes are powered by the headlight curcuit. I think I'm gonna find an alternative power source for my spots so if my headlight does lose power, I'l have backup lighting.
We don't get too much help from the moon down here.