Hi all! I just bought my first harley a couple of weeks ago (1998 ultra classic). So far I love it. Today though it did give me some problems and I hope maybe a couple of you can help me diagnose the problem. We took about a 300 mile ride today round trip. About 140 miles into the trip my bike shut off and all the whole electrical system was off just as if the switch was turned off. I started to flip switches on and off to see if it would come on and it didnt. After about a minute everything came back on I fired the bike up and went on. A few minutes later it did the same thing. It did this like five or six times. All this happened within about a twenty minute span. Now the only modification I did to the bike since I got it was change the swith buttons (starter, turn signals, etc.) and I thought that I better check the wiring harnass there first to see if maybe a wire had gotten broke or something. Everything looked fine. After messing with the wiring harness it did shut off on me again. After that time I was able to ride the rest of the way home with out any problems. Now I did this mod almost immediately after buying the bike because of a missing button so I really didnt have it long enough to know if it shut off before doing the mod. One person suggested that maybe it is a bad relay (if they have relays, I am not very mechanically inclined) because it shuts off and then just turns back on, on its own after a few seconds or minutes. The longest was actually maybe only a minute. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

Heat is the problem gets hot shutdown. That would tell me the problem may be with your exhaust (wiring being routed around the exhaust some how). Just my cents.

 

You might also buy a mainbreaker......it could be failing under heat....mine did that and i went and bought one and have one any problems since. but you might go ahead and check all you wiring in the switches first.

 

limited info. is bike fuel injected, miles ?
If bike was OK before this issue then it is possible that during the change-out of switch buttons an intermittent short was created. This model may have a circuit breaker under the seat that might be protecting the circuit during each "short"..once cooled everything would be OK again.
consider:
You may need to start bike and maintain stationary... try to isolate when short occurs..
is it when you press brake?
is it when you turn the bars?
signals?
horn?
has wire rubbed insulation off someplace?

 

Could be faulty ignition switch. Gets hot and melts around the contacts

 

Thanks for replies guys. Just to answer some questions that were asked. It is a 1998 ultra classic, it has 25,000 miles and is fuel injected. I have not noticed any pattern as to when it shuts off. One time I was going up hill another time turning another time just on a straight road in town. It shut off 5 or 6 times within 20 minutes. We took a break and tore the switch housing apart to see if there was any wires that looked damaged and didnt see anything. After that we took about a twenty minute ride to another location and it shut off once. After that we made 150 mile drive home incident free.

 

This is my first harley and I dont have a manuel for it yet. Where would I find the main breaker? Under the seat?

 

1998 fuel injected should have a CAM POSITION SENSOR.
Sensor is located inside "cone" on throttle side above floor board behind the 3" circle with two revits or bolts..look for leakage/melting of this sensor at area were wire exits this cone on the bottom...if any melted stuff leaking out that hole then cam sensor "could" be an issue...BUT it normally would give a warning with a check engine light first or farts/burps at start-up.

 

here is a link that may help you with parts location on your bike.
http://www.bikebandit.com/harley-dav...1998/oem-parts

 

the relays are under the seat to the back of battery and near fender.
the breaker i believe is in front and down from battery..
Consider turning bike "ON and running" and in stationary position... consider wiggle every wire you can find one by one and see if it cuts out...It seems like it would be something simple like a shorted wire inside fairing.