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Hey everyone, having an issue with my 2003 Electraglide Classic 38k miles. I think there’s some sort of electrical issue but I can’t seem to pin point it. The radio went out the other day or so I thought. It is a Stock Harley radio. Took it out this morning to ride to work and it would flicker on and right back off randomly. The voltage guard when riding would jump back and forth between 12-16v. I pulled the pin on the stator and I’m getting the correct resistance and will do a voltage test while running to see if the stator is going bad. If the stator is going bad I’ll replace stator and regulator. Now back to the radio any ideas, I have verified it’s not a loose connection at the radio and it is t either of the fuses, any tips on where to start?
battery is just a few months old, the reason I think it may be stator and or vr is the gauge is all over the place, while riding the lights will dim and brighten, there is a whirling noise in the primary but unknown if this is a normal noise from doing a comp delete after comp went out.
Ditto on checking battery voltage, and if there is a problem in the charging system once you check all the wire connections.
Hence, would replace the main breaker, from age alone since they are dirt cheap. Hence on the later bikes, the voltage regulator goes to the main breaker gold terminal, then everything down line of that is on the silver terminal, and as they get old, can get a lot of corrosion in them to not allow them to pass current correctly.
The main breaker is just a metal spring plate inside that goes between the two posts (welded to one side), will spring open if it gets too hot, but they tend to age out, with not the best connections across them as corrosion builds up on the post and plate post side.
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Also, double check the voltage regulator ground to the chassis, since if it gets corroded, could be half the problem with the voltage regulator not seeing the actual voltage of the battery. Same with other connector, including checking the fuses for corrosion that may have build up on the blades.
Last one, and is an age thing as well, may want to pull the ignition switch apart to clean the contacts on it that may have started to corrode.
Note, before you pull the ignition switch to pull it apart, make sure you get the ignition tool to put it all back together.
The last one if you still have problems, maybe time to open up the fairing to check the connections and grounds in it. It's a Harley, and will shake thing loose, as well break gauge brackets from time to time as well.
Many models they upped the main breaker around that time frame. There was even threats of lawsuits, bikes were dying on the road while riding, and people claiming unsafe. Even without that I would repalce based on age. But I don't that is his problem. If it was the breaker, they entire bike would go dead for a period of time.
Personally I would buy it from Harley not amazon, so it meets ratings. Not that I am a buy harley guy for everything. When it comes to electrical there are more ratings than just amps. Granted it probably doesn't mater. But I am just not into getting weird stuff off amazon that are that important.
But again I think the breaker has nothing to do with this, unless it is loose.
I had a similar issue on my '06 that turned out to be the 3 wires connected to the ignition switch were all loose.
A loose accessory wire (which feeds the light and the radio when the ign switch is on) could be to blame.
You report having a 2003 Electra Glide Classic 38k miles.
Is it close to factory stock?
Battery is just a few months old...has battery been load tested?
There is a whirling noise in the primary but unknown if this is a normal noise from doing a comp delete after comp went out. Who did the installation?
Reporting: The radio went out the other day or so you thought.
You took the ride to work and it would flicker on and right back off randomly...guessing the "it" means that radio would flicker some lights or sound.
The voltage gauge when riding would jump back and forth between 12-16v...The dash gauge is a very inaccurate...Consider connecting a digital voltage meter at battery terminals.
While riding the lights will dim and brighten.
From a distance it reads like a ground wire can be loose, a connector is making bad contact, bad battery or the charging system is compromised.
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Help with electrical issues
