I am having what I believe is an electrical problem with my 03 Sportster. The other day when I went to start my bike, I pressed the start button and the starter turned over once and then I lost all electrical power (no headlight, turn signals, odometer, speedometer back light) and the starter will not ever attempt to turn over. Now, when I turn the ignition to the "ignition" position I still have that same result (no power). However, when I turn the ignition to the "ACC" position I will the speedometer backlight will come on, the odometer will flash the mileage while making a vibriting sound, and then the odometer will come one and stay on. My first thought was that it might be the battery, so I put a wrench on the leads to be sure they were tight and put a battery tender on to be sure the battery was fully charged. I am still having the same issue. Any ideas what might be causing this?

 

I am not sure if the Sportsters have it but try the main fuse. It may be blown. My EG has a 40 A main.

 

You have a bad ground, run down the ground wire from the battery to the starter and chassis. Check every connection. Also examine both cables carefully, if you see any green on the wiring where the terminal ends crimp on, and the cable feels stiff. Take a knive and split the insulation, you will be surprised how corroded the wires can become inside the cables.

 

My guess is you have a bad connection where the pigtail plugs in the ignition switch,. I just had that same thing happen on my Heritage,. After finding it, I retentioned the connectors, and tweeked the spades on the switch,. All is good now,.. If you tap on the ignition switch you may get it to come back on,. . But you'll have to that it apart to get in to where the back of the switch is,.. .

Good luck..

 

After reading some of the posts I was able to track down the problem. It was in fact a bad ground. Thank you to everyone that replied. As someone who is relatively new to the motorcycle community, it is nice to have help from folks who have been there.

Thanks,

Caleb

 

WOW.. Where was the ground issue at??? For future referance it would be good to know. . :-) thanks.

 

Glad you found the problem and it wasn't serious.
I had a few bikes that did the same thing come through and it had the same problem. I coat all the battery connections now with a dialectic grease, both on the battery, frame and starter connections.
This stuff stops electrolysis and corrosion. Be careful with use as it does conduct electricity and can cause short outs if not used carefully.

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