A couple weeks ago, my check engine & battery indicator light came on during a ride to work. I turned off my bike (07' FLHP 103" Twin Cam), then tried to start it again right away and it would not start. The starter clicked a little bit, then nothing. A couple hours later, I checked my connections, everything looked good, hit start, then it fired right up.

Ysterday, on my way to gas up before a 120mile ride, the battery indiactor & check engine light came on again... Pulled into a gas station, turn my bike off, gas up, hit starter, and it fires right up. This time no indiacator lights.

Hit the road, then about 55 miles into the trip my indicator lights come on (engine/battery), and I notice a little power loss and A LOT of back firing. (Rare on my bike). At about 60 miles, my bike takes a ****. The indicator lights flash, my speedo goes haywire, then stops, then comes back on. Then the engine died.

I jump the bike, it fires up. I make it to my destination (about a mile up the road). Now it's running trouble free, with no indiactor lights. I turn it off and start it up again, right away, no problem.

I go hiking for a couple hours, return to my bike. Attempt to fire it up, DEAD. I jump it, it starts, make it a few miles up the road, same thing. Loses power, backfires numerous times, and dies. Now I jump it again, leave the battery hooked to my buddy's truck to let it charge for a minute. Ride it to my next destination about a mile and a half up the road. It runs fine, no trouble indicators. Get to my buddy's house. Turn it off, then start it up again, it fires up, no problems.

While at this BBQ, I turn my bike on and off several more times through the afternoon, with no problems. Now comes time to leave and head home. About a 65 mile trip. I test drive the bike around my friend's hood, and NO issues. I decide to chance and head home. I make it home with no issues, the bike runs as it should.

I leave this afternoon, fire my bike up. It starts right up, runs/sounds fine. Then 2 minutes into my ride the indiactor lights come on again (battery/check engine).

What gives? Bad coil? Thoughts?

 

How old is the battery? Start there first.

 

and the battery cables, tight and clean connections?

the tech/ electrical section has tutorials on diagnostics, if you feel handy with a voltmeter.

IF your battery is duff ( or even bad cables) you can blow the charging system running teh bike after getting a jump.

a $ or $$ problem becomes a $$$ problem

mike

 

...two weekends ago I rode my '05 RK on what was supposed to be a 250mi HOG ride and 50mi in at the first break stop my '05 RK decides not to start, had power for everything, not enough juice to crank the engine. I get it pop started, headed straight for the home Harley shop and made it about 17mi short. VR went out I guess sometime early in the ride and bike ignition was running off the battery until the battery didn't have enough juice to fire the ignition. Ended up taking out a 1.5yr old battery according to the dealer. So, after a week in the shop, a new VR and a new battery and a $544 repair bill, the bikes running great.