I've got a strange electrical problem on my 09 Ultra. A few weeks ago the little red key icon came on while I was riding. I checked for codes when I got home and there were none. The next time I rode it was gone.

A week or so later, my radio lost reception like the antenna had been disconnected. The next time I rode it was better, but I discovered that when I used the front brake, the radio had nothing but static. When I released the brake lever, it played fine.

It sounded like a bad ground in the tour pack so I checked the connections back there, but it made no difference.

This weekend I found that when I used my rear brake pedal the radio played fine. That lead me to figure out that my brake lights aren't working when I use the pedal. I'm stumped.

I'll probably take it to the dealer if I don't figure it out before then. With the wealth of knowledge here, I thought someone might have seen something like this before. Anybody seen this problem before?

 

In all my years of dealing with gremlins like your experiencing, 99% of the time it was ground related. Good Luck!

 

That's what I'm thinking. It will probably take some searching. I appreciate the advice.

 

Check that ground up by the neck under the fairing. Seems if they over grease those neck bearings it can get grease all around it. Mine was loaded with grease everywhere. Check the ground on the battery as well. If you pull you RS cover off where the ABS module is there is a ground behind that as well almost right in front of the tire. I am guessing you have a ground gremlin.

 

I've checked the ground on the battery, but not the other two you mentioned. I'll check those two as well. Thanks for your help.

 

Pull the liner out of the trunk. I had a brake light wire rubbed raw under there. Plus the antenna cables are back there.

Cale

 

Check the wiring from end to end, pay close attention to any place it might be pinched or rub. I'd start inside the fender and under the seat.

 

Hate it when people say "it`s allways the ground". They have a 60% chance of being right and don`t have a clue. In your case it very well could be a bad ground though. I work on trucks and they like to chafe and pinch wires to no end. The key there is to look for green dust. The copper turns green where the insulation is cut or chafed. This is a valuable tip when troubleshooting electrical problems. Let us know what cures your problem.

 

Just to add to the mix and I don't see it mentioned on most posts about electrical problems.

Looking to see if something chafed or loose is one thing. Sometimes you find it sometimes you don't. Most of the wiring is hidden so if its in there you would be up chit creek visually speaking.

Go buy yourself a multimeter to help check for broken or grounded wires. If ya google it you will find instructions on how to use them. Be "damn" sure to read and re-read the instructions though.

With that being said I'm hoping you have a shop manual for your bike as well.

 

Yep, I have a shop manual, I've pulled the liner out of the trunk and checked things back there with a multi-meter.

Since the brake lights work with the front brake lever, but not with the foot pedal, I'm gonna focus in that area next. I suppose it could be a problem with the brake light switch.

If I don't find it there, I may move to the dealer installed security system to make sure there's not a problem there.

Sometimes things like this are a pain to find.