My '01 FLHRI developed an oil leak that started shortly after H-D replaced my engine in warranty. The leak dripped from the area of the drain for the primary although it wasn't the drain plug leaking. For a long time I figured it was the inner primary seal and just kept wiping it. Then one day I discovered the oil was leaking from the grommet where the stator wires exit the primary case in the front of the engine. The oil would blow back to where it was leaking. Some black RTV sealed the grommet temporarily but it really got fixed when I changed the stator recently. I guess the old grommet got damaged when they transferred the stator over to the new engine. Lesson learned - the oil goes where the wind blows.

 

Make sure you have the plug above the regulator as they had a issue with oil travleing throught the harness and shorting out the stator or reg

 

Yup, they did that for me when they replaced the engine in warranty. It was a Lemon Law Victory. The first thing I noticed was the connector was tied to the cross brace above the regulator. Recently, when I was helping my brother with his '03 Road King, he unplugged the stator connector and over the phone I heard him say, "oil is running out of the connector!!!".

Back in the '80s GM cars had a problem where the engine temp sensor would leak and anti-freeze would "wick" along inside the wire and fill up the computer inside the car! Take out the ECM and it was full of green muck!

I recently had to change my stator and found that the winding wires were burned where they connected to the external wires in the stator. I don't think that shorting the stator wires together would ruin the stator. I know that if they went open the voltage would go to infinity and there would be a fat spark. Certainly, it would result in no output to the regulator.

This oil leak had only to do with the grommet. I suppose that the wire may have had a break in the insulation at the grommet though. Thanks for your suggestion.