Greetings,
I have a very low mileage anniversary FLHTC. Riding normally around town the other day, she decided to die on me at 50 miles an hour as though I ran the fuel tank dry. "Not so" I said to myself as, I had just filled it up yesterday. Having pulled over, I checked the usual petcock position, the ignition wires, took a/c cover off and saw fuel shooting into carb, and took off fuel cap in case of bad venting ... I did all possible on the side of the road I could do. Lots of battery power - engine would easily turn over - just no starting.

Pushed 'er under some shade ( over 100 degrees in Florida this week) and let her cool for 10 - 15 minutes. Well, I tried starting her again and she fired up as though nothing had happened. So, I heave my happy *** onto the seat and away we go for the 5 miles home to figure out what happened.

We got 3 blocks and she died again. OK ... I figured we'll sit out another few minutes and she'll start again. Yuppp ... she started again but this time, I got only a block and she died again. Called a tow truck and we got her home. Started her up on the driveway, she idled for about 10 seconds and died again. From that point on, she turns over nicely but will not ignite.
I put in new plugs (gapped per manual) and installed new Screamin' Chicken wires. Still, no go.

What would cause this gradual engine failure? I realize all the sensors and everything are old and may have begun the age thing ...
What would the next suggestions to inspect be?
Thanks.

 

Can you check for diagnostic codes ?

 

I had something very similar happen with a 96 Triumph, it ended up being the crank position sensor. It gets hot and fails, cools down when you stop, and then fails again once it heats up.

 

Fuel sending unit?

 

Vapor lock?

 

Charge up that battery and have it load tested , most places will do it for free . If the battery checks out , then check both pos / neg cables , both ends and along the jacket , corrosion has a funny way of getting in there and destroying what you can't see .

There are 2 posts just under the rear of the tank , in front of the battery , Check and clean all your ground wires .

Coil might be causing your issue when it gets hot , get yourself an inline spark tester and test for spark , the bike would have to be acting up for you to notice the issue , but I don't think that's your issue .

Yes , check for error codes .

Sounds like something is heating up , then causing issues , suspect voltage regulator . Get yourself a volt reader and follow these steps for testing your charging system . If you can get the bike to act up / die while at idle , you'll know if it's a stator / regulator issue .

Check the two connectors under the front of the frame , just under the oil filter , ( voltage reg and crank sensor ) , oil from doing oil changes drip down onto them and can cause issues . Clean them up with some electrical contact cleaner .

Good luck , hope you find your issue .

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/elect...sting-1-a.html

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/elect...sting-2-a.html

 

When it happens you have to get a plug wire off, and use one of those spark tester thingys to see if you are dropping spark or or having a fuel issue.

It could be a coil getting weak and failing due to heat as the bike gets warmer.... lather rinse repeat.

If you crank it when it dies does the Tach show movement? Short of having a spark tester that is the next best thing