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Intermittent no start - electrical HELP PLEASE

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Old 03-22-2014, 11:37 AM
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Default Intermittent no start - electrical HELP PLEASE

2000 Dyna Wide Glide

I'm guessing I have a loose connection somewhere but I don't have a clue as to where to start looking. Below is a description of what happened and I am hoping someone can tell me where to start...

Yesterday I went to start it, turned the ignition on and the odometer came on but no neutral indicator or the red oil light indicator. And nothing when I pushed the starter button. Checked the kill switch (on) and cycled the ignition a couple of times. Checked the fuses (good). Cycled the kill switch and ignition a few more times. Looked at all the connections. Tried it again a couple minutes later and everything was back to normal and it started.

Later, it started fine, but then I noticed my turn signals were not working. About 30 seconds later they worked fine.

I really hate electrical problems so any suggestions or advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!
 
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Old 03-31-2014, 07:55 AM
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I'm having a similar problem. I turn the ignition and no lights go on and of course it doesn't start. I shut of and on a few times and the lights come on and it starts. Runs great for for hours, but when I shut it down the problem occurs again intermittently.
Mine is a 95 Fatboy, I was thinking it may be a bad ground, corroded connection or something along those lines. I'm not sure where all of these connections may be but my service manual may get some bent pages in the next few days as I look for clues...I haven't noticed a tune signal issue
 
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Old 03-31-2014, 10:00 AM
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Check battery cables BOTH at the battery and at the OTHER end.
 
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Old 03-31-2014, 10:52 AM
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Originally Posted by GLIDEGASM
I really hate electrical problems so any suggestions or advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!
Let's start by taking a deep breath and purging your mind of all evil thoughts about electrics! Most electrical faults are actually mechanical. That is to say that problems like yours are often simply dirty or loose contacts. They are easy to check. Repeat after me, they are easy to check!

Places to start are both ends of the big battery cables, plus the ground cable under your bike. Disconnect the negative side on the battery first, insulate it and leave it disconnected until you finish. Work your way round the fixings, disconnect each, clean and retighten, using dialectic grease, to waterproof and improve conductivity.

Move on to other power cables, such as to the fuses, ignition switch etc. If you find you cannot make progress, get in touch with a local indy. Far better that than leave yourself in limbo.
 
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Old 04-01-2014, 02:29 PM
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Problem solved. My Fatboy is a 1995 and has a mechanical ignition switch not the all electric installed on the new bikes.
The roller contact and brass contact buttons have 19 years of crud on them. The service manual says to clean with contact cleaner (I'm using DeOxit) and apply dielectric grease when assembled. You gotta love classic evo's !
 
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Old 04-08-2014, 03:46 PM
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It looks like it is the connector to the main ignition switch, which by the way, does not have any kind of locking tab to keep it connected. I pulled the connector plug which contains 3 connectors. It was kind of loose and the connection on the right looked like it has not been making a good connection. Cleaned all of the connectors and used a couple of small zip ties to keep it from vibrating loose again. Haven't had any problems so far. Thanks for all the suggestions!!!
 
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