So let me start by saying thanks for your help, and yes i have searched through the forum for answers. heres what i have, 1997 heritage softail 1340 evo, cv carb with 48/180 jetting, vance and hines longshots, dragtron 2 intake with k&n filter, everything else appears to be stock, so i just got the bike a couple months ago and carb had isuess (popping/farting) so i rejetted it, ran fine in the garage and around the block at normal op temps, finally got my tags so i rode to work (12miles) made it there fine. after work, warmed up fully (85degrees outside) and got on the freeway, about 8miles on the highway it starts to bogg down like it was running out of gas, quickly exited and went to gas station (barely made it) bogging and popping if i twisted the throttle. checked my tank and i had a half tank of 91 octane, tried to start but had zero power, dash lights wouldnt even come on, so at the gas station i had the ol lady bring me a fresh battery ($100) new, changed it and started right up no issues, rode 5miles and stopped at moms (mothers day) bike sat for about an hour, rode home (3miles) almost there and bike starts to do the same thing again (bogging) chugged into the garage and i let cool. checked all ignition wires and they are good, just cant understand it, maybe coil? how do i bench test the coil? any other ideas? love the bike cause its easy to work on but you cant fix a problem if you dont know what the problem is. any help is appreciated thanks again.

 

If you charge the battery, does it run right? After replacing the battery, did you do any electrical system diagnostics? Or just replace the battery and hope for change?

 

Does it still have the vaccuk operated pet **** ?

 

While many things (i.e., bad ignition module, leaking intake seals, weak coil, dirty carb, etc.) may make your engine run badly, the fact that your dash lights were dim leads me to believe that you may either have a loose ground wire(s), or possibly a bad voltage regulator or a bad stator which is not keeping your battery fully charged.
Before spending more time and money on your bike, you need to get it to a shop for a full electrical/charging check.

 

You check coil by doing a spark test. Do it like it is required on the newer ones. (Newer Harleys with ECM will not fire reliably with plugs screwed out..coil can detect compression electrically) Get you a new plug and attach it to the spark plug wires. Do one at a time. Ground the threads to the cylinder and position so you can see gap and crank it over. Could be coil on your bike or on your bike without an ECM(I think) the ignition module. You will need a service manual and a volt/ohm resistance meter to check the coil. Need to check when it's hot having problems. Still could be carb if float is not correct or jetting wrong.

 

Since your bike ran fine after installing the new battery that leads me to believe you have an electrical problem.

Do you have a volt/ohm meter?

Do you have a manual?

If you don't have a meter you will need to get one or take your bike to a shop.

As for the manual I can post an electrical check list (written by Dr Hess which is very good).

 

@DR.HESS- i just changed the battery with a new one and hoped for change, havnt done any electrical testing other than checking battery connection and all the wires to the ignition (ignition switch was changed by me a month ago). thanks

@2AMGUY- the last resort would be to take it to a shop, i got time but not alot of money, i will check the charging system like you suggested. thanks

@RIPSAW- good point on checking spark, i have a spark tester i will check that out thanks.

@TEXASHILLCOUNTRY- i was thinking the same, i doubt its fuel related cause i just went through the carb, i have a volt/ohm meter, i do not have a manual (on my to do list) if you got one on the electrical i would appreciate if you can send it to me. thanks again

i wanna thank all of you for the speedy replies.

 

Dr.Hess' How To Diagnose Your Charging System



Scale on DC Volts, around 20V max voltage scale. Nominal readings are given in brackets. Check voltage across battery terminals (12.8). Turn bike on. Check voltage (less than previous, ~12.0+,depending on headlight, accessories). Start bike and let idle. Check voltage(could be 12.0 to 15). Rev to about 2500. Check voltage (should be more than observed with bike on but motor not running, and more than with bike off.Ideally between 13 and 15.) Turn high beam on. Should be about the same, giveortake a little. If the voltage is over 15 or 15.5-ish with a headlight on,I'd consider replacing the regulator and/or checking all grounds (battery to frame, regulator to frame in particular). If the battery voltage with the headlight on, bike not running is less than around 11.5-ish, I’d replace the battery. If it’s 10, it’s past its prime.

If you pass the above tests, your system is most likely fine, including the regulator and stator. If you don't pass, then:

Bike off. Meter set on Ohms, medium-ish scale, like 20K or 200K Ohms max scale,depending on your meter. Pull stator plug. Ground the meter black lead to a good chassis ground, like a bolt or even the battery negative. With the red lead, touch a different part of the bike, like the engine case at an unpainted part or another bolt. Meter should read low ohms, like 0. If it doesn’t, you didn't ground the black lead. With the red lead, touch each contact on the motor side (stator) of the plug (the part stuck in the case). Depending on if your case has a male or female plug, if you can't see the metal part/pin of the plug, you can put a paper clip in the hole and touch the paperclip with your meter red. Meter reading should be infinity on all pins. If it isn't, your stator is shorted to the case, replace.

The following is for single phase systems. I don't have a multi-phase and haven't had to diagnose anyone else’s, so I haven't dug into those systems.

Set meter to lowest ohm scale, like 200 Ohms, typically. (Note: Not 200K ohms).Check resistance between the two stator plug pins. Should be fairly low. My Book says 0.2-0.4 ohms. The spec is in your shop manual. If it is infinity,stator is blown open. If it is 0, stator is shorted to itself.


Set meter to AC Volts, 100V scale. Attach each meter lead to a stator pin. You may need to rig up some type of temporary plug. It is important that nothing can short to ground or to each other accidentally, or you will blow the stator if it wasn't blown before. An old plug off of your last regulator is a good way to do it, but, get creative and be careful. I can do it holding the leads on the pins once the bike is running, but I don't like to. Start bike. Voltage should vary with engine speed. Specs are in your shop manual, but 35V at a couple thousand RPM is probably about right. My book says 19-26 V / 1K RPM.

If you passed that stator test and failed the first test, your regulator is shot. If you failed any part of the stator test, replace both regulator and stator.

 

Duplicate post

ooops

 

I believe your problem is that your bike is a Democrat/Socialist. Quits after a short period of time and waits for a handout.