2002 Ultra Classic died on freeway

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Mar 2, 2024 | 09:14 AM

#11

NorthWestern

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Joined: Apr 2016

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From: Inland NW

Duplicate

Mar 2, 2024 | 09:15 AM

#12

Jackie Paper

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Joined: Mar 2010

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From: Honah Lee

Deleted.

Last edited by Jackie Paper; Mar 2, 2024 at 11:22 AM.

Mar 2, 2024 | 09:27 AM

#13

Rounders

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Joined: Mar 2021

Posts: 18,460

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From: backwoods

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorthWestern

You don't "got it correct"
So, you think this is his life's story:
"Today was taking my 2002 FLHTCUI to the Woodlands in Texas. Needed some stuff from Cycle Gear. " ??
The OP then goes on to tell the issue.

The irony is thick! All you do is tell stories about yourself, usually. Now you try to be Mr. Helpful, and complain about the OP?

To the OP, as mentioned, do the electrical 101 first, start at the battery connections.
Good luck!

When telling stories I am not asking for help.

It is typical in this threads for people to give way to much info, such that people miss key details, which people did in this thread.

I am trying to help the guy

My understanding is he was riding and it just shut down, and 20 minutes later it was fine

Is that right or wrong?

Breaker, ignition switch maybe battery are most likely.

I base this on 30.minutes later it started. He did not mention tighten battery cables. That year has main breaker, but he flipped ignition or kill switch and that may have done it.

I have heard stories about batteries being intermittent, but never seen one myself

Mar 2, 2024 | 11:17 AM

#14

foxtrapper

HDF Community Team

Joined: Nov 2012

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From: USA

Don’t take it into personal attacks. Keep it civil.

Mar 4, 2024 | 09:09 AM

#15

chrisclay

Thread Starter

6th Gear

Joined: Jan 2024

Posts: 10

Likes: 11

From: Texas

Thanks everyone for the responses. Reason I included "my life story" lol... I thought it (the stop-and-go traffic especially) was relevant to the cause of the problem potentially.

On Saturday I replaced the main breaker. Looks like it had been previously upgraded to the 50-amp version, but the circuit breaker looked quite old. All the terminal connections were clean and I didn't see any other obvious problems.

Then I took it out for a 180 mile ride. No real "stop-and-go" this time around. Bike ran great. Guess we'll see if that fixes it long term.

Mar 10, 2024 | 08:43 AM

#16

ADVNTR

Cruiser

Joined: Oct 2006

Posts: 137

Likes: 22

known problem by HD. The wiring harnesses were made in mexico. The terminal on the wire that feeds the ecm is defective so it heats up causing a high current draw and trips the breaker. Reterminal the wire ensuring the reconnect is properly performed and replace the breaker.

As for the rhetoric that seems to now appear in all sorts of forums - those getting their panties in a bunch should go ride and leave the phone in the saddle bag

Mar 10, 2024 | 09:28 AM

#17

hattitude

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Joined: Sep 2008

Posts: 14,160

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From: San Diego, CA

OP, your explanation was fine... It is really hard to try to diagnose and issue via the internet. Most often the more info about the issue, the better...

As with any electrical, intermittent glitch, start with the easy & free stuff first...

Check for codes if you know how. Not just the easy odometer codes, but the engine diagnostic codes... unfortunately on a 2002 that is not as easy as the newer bikes..

If you can't get the codes, move to the 2nd step. Check your battery and the connections. A bad battery or a loose/corroded connection can cause all types of weird things to happen. So do a load test on your battery and check the connections carefully, and don't forget to check the grounds.

Once you have ensured you have a good, stable 12V system, then you can start looking at other causes for the intermittent power loss..

I also suggest you don't just throw parts at a problem. Do a proper diagnosis and check parts before replacement. It's good to sometimes replace things on an older bike, but you want to know what the problem is... so you will know when it is fixed.. If you just throw parts at an issue, it can get expensive pretty quickly. You MAY accidentally fix it along the way, but you may never know what the problem was, and you won't learn anything from the experience...

Electrical problems, especially when intermittent, can be a pain in the butt.... They are not my favorite, nor am I especially competent with electrical issues. My saving grace is that unfortunately, over the years I have had some experience with them, and I can follow the Electrical Diagnostic manual...

You may or may not have fixed it... time will tell...

If this problem reappears, and you decide to tackle this yourself, you will need to be systematic, thorough, and persistent... Start again with codes, battery, connections.. then go form there.

Good luck and enjoy the bike....

Last edited by hattitude; Mar 10, 2024 at 09:30 AM.

Mar 10, 2024 | 11:43 AM

#18

bson

HDF Community Team

Joined: May 2022

Posts: 506

Likes: 241

From: CA

The battery isn't used while the engine is running; everything is powered off the alternator and the only reason to keep the battery connected is to charge it. If the bike shuts off while running it's not because of the battery, but it could be the rectifier/regulator. It might be on its last leg and stops working (fails open) when it gets warm.

Edit: it might also fail closed (short) and short out the alternator, effectively overloading it and it's possible this is detected and the bike shuts down (not sure about a 2002)

Last edited by bson; Mar 10, 2024 at 11:46 AM.