Problem with the Sportster
#31
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The absolute worst scoots to deal with is those 2007 and later that have been submerged in a ditch alongside a road that has been heavily treated with desalting chem or been driven down those roads thru rain and winter slush up north where they spread deicing chems.....It wasn't that big a deal 5 years ago, but todays scoots are totally reliant on their electrical systems and many even include all electric throttles and other drive by wire inovations that include ABS braking.
2007 was the dawn of serious electrical issues related to what was up til then normal environmental conditions. The environment didn't change-but the Scoot did where HD made all their scoots injected and tied their ignitions to their ECU's....They didn't consider that the up til then survivable water intrusion issues would lead to total electrical degradation over time and would be so devistating and have such impact.
HD made many changes to their electrical systems on the 2010 scoots to correct their mistakes they made starting 2007. All those changes were driven by the above issues that developed starting in 2007 when HD shifted totally to electronic fuel injection and ECU driven ignition systems that require very clean and stiff electrical conditions.
Many here will never experience the first problem with what I've described because they simply don't expose their scoots to the elements and keep them stored in nice garages and only ride them when the sun is shining.
Some however, will think their scoot is a total loss due to constant electrical failures that seem impossible to diagnose and correct and only manifest themself in poor performance and/or unreliable drivability/starting issues....It's those guys who will be chasing their tails attempting fixes by first replacing batteries and fuses and never knowing if the next day their scoot is gonna start after a day in the worksite parking lot or a night outside their appartment house.
#32
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You bought a lemon. It's got "issues". Now you know why it was for sale.
Hey, it ain't nothing you can't fix, but stop wasting your time worrying about trickle chargers and leaving the key on and all the hokey crap they sold you along with the bike.
Jerk the left battery cover off and then yank out every fuse and examine every connection. Like the guy said, wire brush it all and then apply liberal ammounts of dielectric grease to everything that even looks electrical.
The odds are the bike was submerged in brackish water and is exhibiting ills from it. You can recover cheap enuff if you have the skills and patience.
Hopefully, you didn't pay book value and know how to twist wrenches.
Hey, it ain't nothing you can't fix, but stop wasting your time worrying about trickle chargers and leaving the key on and all the hokey crap they sold you along with the bike.
Jerk the left battery cover off and then yank out every fuse and examine every connection. Like the guy said, wire brush it all and then apply liberal ammounts of dielectric grease to everything that even looks electrical.
The odds are the bike was submerged in brackish water and is exhibiting ills from it. You can recover cheap enuff if you have the skills and patience.
Hopefully, you didn't pay book value and know how to twist wrenches.
#33
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I'm going to call the MoCo this week and poke around a little bit, see if I can't get them to OK some dealer work. Just so I know, is it only the 07's that have this issue? And what exactly is the fix? Replacing the fuse block? Relocating it? Both? And if they relocate it, to where?
The main reason for the "to where" question is because I plan on putting an EFI tuner on the bike and just want to make sure that there won't be any issues with location.
Oh, and thanks to everyone for the help so far
The main reason for the "to where" question is because I plan on putting an EFI tuner on the bike and just want to make sure that there won't be any issues with location.
Oh, and thanks to everyone for the help so far
#34
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Good luck with your scoot...
I have a 07 and have heard of these issue relating to exposure to the weather..
but I rode mine in the rain for the first 2 years and have never had a single electrical problem...or any other problem with the bike...so far.
The bike has run like a champ.
hopefully you'll get this worked out and you can get to enjoying the ride and not have to worry about breaking down.
I have a 07 and have heard of these issue relating to exposure to the weather..
but I rode mine in the rain for the first 2 years and have never had a single electrical problem...or any other problem with the bike...so far.
The bike has run like a champ.
hopefully you'll get this worked out and you can get to enjoying the ride and not have to worry about breaking down.
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