Bug sweep! 
Harman Kardon possessed
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 899
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Harman Kardon possessed
Recently the radio in my 08 Ultra will sometimes come on when I turn the bike on, even though the radio was off when I last turned the bike off. When it does this, it always comes on in FM mode. When I then push the power button it flips over to CD mode. When I push the power button again, it turns off. Yesterday when riding and listening to a CD for awhile, when I pushed the power button to turn it off, it flipped over to FM, then was able to turn it off.
Another quirky thing that has happened recently is that when I start a CD I sometimes get a very loud pop through the speakers - I'm concerned this could harm the speakers.
This obviously is just an inconvenience and ultimatley I may have to take it to the dealer for warranty - probably after riding season is done. Would any of you who are familiar with these units have any idea what this would be and if there is a quick fix for it?
Another quirky thing that has happened recently is that when I start a CD I sometimes get a very loud pop through the speakers - I'm concerned this could harm the speakers.
This obviously is just an inconvenience and ultimatley I may have to take it to the dealer for warranty - probably after riding season is done. Would any of you who are familiar with these units have any idea what this would be and if there is a quick fix for it?
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 630
Likes: 0
From: Chesapeake VA
there is no quick fix with that unit...Mine went out last week and a couple calls and a service visit later and all I'm getting from the service mgr is "I'm waiting on a call from tech support" I plan on replacing the unit with a marine radio and using a hawg wired setup to keep my bar controls...This is my 5th Harley in 10 years and it will be my last...I love the bike but quality control has gone in the crapper...I'll just get a problem fixed with the best in the aftermarket and wait for the next one and do the same...2-3 years I should have the bugs out of it...
Tourer
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 435
Likes: 0
From: Central Arizona
Hey RexBuck, interesting topic.
My radio almost always comes on when I start the bike, even if it was turned off before I hit the kill switch. I never really thought much of it, although it really is a nuisance.
Luckily, I haven't experienced any of the other issues you mentioned (yet?) I was going to look it up in the service manual, but always forget to do so when I'm in 'wrenching' mode.
I would also be interested if anyone else is experiencing this anomaly.
My radio almost always comes on when I start the bike, even if it was turned off before I hit the kill switch. I never really thought much of it, although it really is a nuisance.
Luckily, I haven't experienced any of the other issues you mentioned (yet?) I was going to look it up in the service manual, but always forget to do so when I'm in 'wrenching' mode.
I would also be interested if anyone else is experiencing this anomaly.
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 372
Likes: 0
From: Austin Tx
I've had these situations as well...
I'm kinda like you.. while I don't like the behavior of the radio, it's not a show stopper... I've considered changing it out to something better. My issue is I like the way the stock radio looks in the bike. The fitting in the dash is just a little larger then aftermarket radios and I think the solution provided to "fix" the fit issue is not all that great looking...
I think your approach with having the dealership replace it is probably the best one. You might ask that they have the replacement radio in hand before you take the bike in to get it changed. Otherwise you'll like loose the use of it for a couple of weeks or have to ride around with a hole in the dash
I'm kinda like you.. while I don't like the behavior of the radio, it's not a show stopper... I've considered changing it out to something better. My issue is I like the way the stock radio looks in the bike. The fitting in the dash is just a little larger then aftermarket radios and I think the solution provided to "fix" the fit issue is not all that great looking...
I think your approach with having the dealership replace it is probably the best one. You might ask that they have the replacement radio in hand before you take the bike in to get it changed. Otherwise you'll like loose the use of it for a couple of weeks or have to ride around with a hole in the dash
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 899
Likes: 2
From:
The HK unit suits my needs as I don't have it on all that much (hence the irritation of it coming on by itself) so I don't really want to replace it with an aftermarket unit. If the dealer will swap it out for a new one under warranty - great. My fear is that they will want the bike, pull the unit and send it to some local repair guy for fixing and keep my bike for a couple of weeks while they mess around with it. That's why I will probably deal with it in the fall.
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 607
Likes: 1
From: JAX Florida
Recently the radio in my 08 Ultra will sometimes come on when I turn the bike on, even though the radio was off when I last turned the bike off. When it does this, it always comes on in FM mode. When I then push the power button it flips over to CD mode. When I push the power button again, it turns off. Yesterday when riding and listening to a CD for awhile, when I pushed the power button to turn it off, it flipped over to FM, then was able to turn it off.
Another quirky thing that has happened recently is that when I start a CD I sometimes get a very loud pop through the speakers - I'm concerned this could harm the speakers.
This obviously is just an inconvenience and ultimatley I may have to take it to the dealer for warranty - probably after riding season is done. Would any of you who are familiar with these units have any idea what this would be and if there is a quick fix for it?
Another quirky thing that has happened recently is that when I start a CD I sometimes get a very loud pop through the speakers - I'm concerned this could harm the speakers.
This obviously is just an inconvenience and ultimatley I may have to take it to the dealer for warranty - probably after riding season is done. Would any of you who are familiar with these units have any idea what this would be and if there is a quick fix for it?
had the exact same problem on my 07 Ultra. They had to replace the radio.
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Former Sponsor
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 618
Likes: 9
Erratic controls and "popping" when you turn it on and off are both indications of liquid damage both on the main board and the faceplate. you most likely wont do anything to the speakers, but if the damage is severe enough, it may continue to degrade.
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