I've had my 2005 SE Fat Boy for a little over 4 years.
This morning during a ride, I stopped at a car dealership to check out the new car models. When I took off I inadvertently turned the ignition switch to the left instead of the right. The bike fired up and as I was driving off I noticed my speedometer and tach weren't working.
I tried the turn signals and they weren't working either. The head light and tail light still worked. My biggest concern was if the brake light was still working.
It was only about 15 miles from home and I figured if I pulled over the bike might not start again, so I headed home.
When I got home I found out the brake light wasn't working either.
Then I finally noticed that I had turned the ignition switch the wrong way.
Has anyone else managed to do this?
Tom

 

my switch went out the other day. the ing, side did not work, but the acc. did. would have give a $100 bill to have the damn thing start up in acc. instead of having to wait 2 hours on a trailer to come and get me. I would be more worried about how the EFI worked in acc. mode. but that is just me.

 

Did you try to start your engine with the switch in the ACC mode, when it wouldn't start in the ignition position?
The biggest concern for me would be the lack of brake lights.

As I stated in the OP, it was just an accident that I started the bike in the ACC position. I have started this bike thousands of times and have no idea why I unthinkingly turned the ignition switch to the left this time.

The reason I posted this was in case someone else was to do this. When they notice their speedometer and signals aren't working, hopefully they will immediately check the position of the ignition switch.
Tom

 

My bike is older, but I'm pretty sure from reading the wiring diagram, that there is no way the bike can be started in the "accessory" position, as the ignition circuit is not live in the accessory position. Wierd that a newer bike would be.

 

Sounds like a broken switch. I'm dealing with a similar situation on my '02 FLSTS right now. Ordered a new switch last night.

 

it isnt suposed to do that.. you have a bad switch.. the acc position locks so it can sit on the side of the road in an emergancy with the lights on and not be started/stolen

 

I thought that it was odd the bike started in the ACC position. Everything else works fine, so I think I'll just leave it the way it is.
I'm pretty sure I did the same thing about 4 years ago. I was leaving a store and noticed my speedometer,tach and signals weren't working.
Brought it to the dealer the next day, since it was still under warranty.
When I started the bike up to bring it to the dealer, it worked fine again, but thought it best to have them check it out.
At the time I thought it was a loose connection. The dealer said it was a loose wire and they fixed it.
I doubt if they found anything wrong, so they just told me it was a loose wire.

 

After reading this thread, especially since I have a bad switch on my '02 I checked the owners manual. It's not supposed to have ignition in the ACC position. My '02 will start now in ACC. I've had a chance to check a few other Softails today and found another one that also did this. When I pulled the switch out of my '02 I can hear a small piece shaking around inside, I guess this is the broken piece. I don't know how long it has been like this, but I'm replacing the switch because it didn't give any warning for the partial failure, I don't expect it to give any before a total failure.

 

Mine starts in ACC mode too. I rode home at night one time in ACC mode. I am not going to bother to fix it right now.

 

mine caught fire on the ing side. mine wont start in acc. i removed the console and reversed the wire connector and drove home in acc. found a new switch on enay for under $20
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HARLE...7#ht_554wt_938