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I've had some discussion about this frustrating electrical problem in another thread here, but decided to give it its own heading to make it easier for future searches.
2002 Wide Glide.
8 Months ago, bike died when I came to a stop at a light. Odometer blanked - not sure if check engine light came on, but I don't think so. It would crank but not start. Turned ignition off & back on, odometer lit up, bike fired right up. No further problems.
Last Saturday, rode through some heavy rain for a couple of minutes. A few miles later, the check engine light came on & the odometer blanked. Pulled into a parking lot. Tried the ignition off & then on thing, didn't work. The battery was dead. After 3 hours on a battery charger, rode home (about 30 miles). About halfway home, the check engine light came on, odometer blanked, headlight went dim. Pulled in the clutch & revved the engine, check engine light went off, odometer came back on, light got bright. Rode the rest of the way home with no problems.
The next day, Sunday, went on a run. Shut off the bike & started it several times. Everything was fine.
Using a multimeter, I checked the battery, voltage regulator & stator. Voltage regulator tested bad. Replaced the voltage regulator & dropped in a new battery. Checked the stator again - good readings - went up by 20 per 1,000 RPM's. With the new parts in, checked voltage at the battery with the bike running, got 14.8. Everything looked good.
Went on a run Thursday. Same thing - shut off the bike & started it several times, everything was fine. Coming home, it was raining the whole time. Sitting at a light near my house, the check engine light came on & the odometer blanked. Revved the engine, things went back to normal, rest of the ride home (a couple miles) was fine.
Today - went to start it, the battery was dead. Put it on the charger for a few minutes & fired it up. Left it idling while I went inside to wash my hands and grab my jacket so I could take the bike for a test run. As I was getting ready to go, the bike started to run poorly - check engine light was on, odometer was blank. Tried to rev it & make things go back to normal - no dice. It was running off the battery & the battery was about out of juice.
Since I'm getting good readings at the stator, I have to assume I have a bad connection or wire somewhere. Right?
I've taken off every connection I can find & cleaned up the terminals (some of them did have some rust on them). Nothing appears loose, none of the wiring appears bad.
Doesn't look like the bike is throwing a code. Not sure - I think if it was, the check engine light would come on for 4 seconds, go off, then come back on (or maybe it would blink - haven't quite figured that out yet).
I'm at the point of thinking I may have to give in and let the dealer fix this. I know a good local indy, but, he tends to keep things in his shop for a rather long time, and I'd like to get some more riding in while the weather is still somewhat decent.
Any ideas?
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My two favorite things - my wife & my Harley
Could water be running down and getting into the fuse box?
Since I rode in the rain the last two times I had a problem, I thought it might be a water issue, but, the bike has been sitting in the garage, nice & dry - and it's dead today, so... probably not a water issue (although, if there's a bad connection or wire, it could be exacerbated by riding in the rain)
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My two favorite things - my wife & my Harley
Replace the circuit breakers, all of them. It's cheap and easy, and use dielectric grease.
I have to replace mine every few years, but I ride an old shacker. Mine cost $2.99 each X 4 = easy........
I don't know if you saw the reply I posted today in the other post but I chased a similar problem all summer. Mine turned out to be the stator wire had rubbed on the motor and wore off the insulation creating a short to ground. I cut and spliced the wire and put on some shrink insulation and problem was solved. It was a major pain to find.
Have you checked the connections to the 30 amp circuit breaker, behind the electrical box? They are fairly inexpensive I would change it just because. Power goes from the battery to the starter,from starter to copper stud on C/B. The silver stud has the wire from the regulator to ignition switch and to security fuse. since the WG ignition switch is on top of the tank (yes/no) and subject to rain maybe the problem is in the ignition switch wiring. The FXD and FXDL switch is protected by the seat.
Electrical Problem/Check Engine Light
