Hi:

I have an 01 FLHRCI with 28,000 miles (all by me). Beginning a couple of days ago, the Check Engine light comes on soon after I pull out, then goes back off when the engine returns to idle for a few seconds. It stays on solid anytime other than when the engine is at idle. The engine is running smooth, with no apparent degradation in power.

Last year, I had it into the dealer with a similar problem. They said it had low system voltage and set the idle a little higher. I've always suspected a bad sensor, but the diagnostic computer said low voltage. If that's the case, you would think the light would come ON at idle and go OFF at speed. That is unless the alternator isn't putting out enough juice to meet the higher demand of the engine (mainly spark plugs) at speed.

Any ideas?

Thanks
PL

 

Hi there. I am not the most mechanically inclined but I can tell you this. We have a 00 Wide Glide with 20,000 miles on her. I was having a similar problem with the check engine light and it ended up being a loose sensor.

 

After posting this message, I went out to start the bike and the battery was dead. Interestingly, after jumping it to get it started, I rode the 10 miles home without the Check Engine light coming on at all. However, it would not start again after I got it home. One the one hand, I'm hoping it's a sick battery because that's a cheap fix. But on the other hand, just changing out the battery can hide a deeper problem. Either way, back to the shop....

Thanks
PL

 

The Season is here Man, get that baby checked out and getter right, let us know how ya make out!!!!!

 

id definitly try a new battery, a lot of times the bike wont charge a sick battery. good luck and let us know what you come up with!

 

Well, the snow is falling here in central Ohio this morning, so it will be a good time to sort out what's going on with the Road King. I pulled the battery and hooked it up to the battery tender a couple of days ago. The indicator light turned from red to green almost immmediately. I took that as an indication that the battery wouldn't take a charge, confirming the suspicion that it was bad. So I took it into the dealer to have them dispose of it and to buy a new one. We threw the tester on the old battery anyway, and it checked out perfect!!

I remembered that when I jumped it, I had to move the jumper cables from the battery posts to the terminal screws to get enough energy to crank the starter. The service guy and I came to the same conclusion when I said this: bad connections. Even though the terminals don't look particularly corroded, I'm going to give them a good cleaning. The service tech said to look for loose ground connections too. I'll let you know how this turns out.

PL

 

"Check Engine Light" episodes will place a trouble code in the ECM. Have your dealer scan the ECM for the code.

 

Loose connections it was. Everything back to normal and no money spent. Now all we need is for some decent riding weather to return.... PL