i bought this kit for my 1998 flhtcui...what a nightmare...trying to install the switches is a real pain in the a**..anyone got any ideas as to make it easier..should you take the switch housing apart somehow?

 

Ya kinda have to take the housings apart! Can't be done without taking them apart. Just go slow, it can be a PITA and many folks break one of the caps upon install so be careful

 

A very small flat-bladed screwdriver and magnetic tipped phillips head screwdriver make the job easier. Each cap has a cogged/geared side and plain side. The small blade is used to pry the cogged side off the switch. The magnetic-tipped Phillips is for removing and installing the small screws that secure the wires and switches inside the housings.

Yeah, the housings come apart and the switches are removed from the housings. Almost as important as the tools is attitude. Don't rush or you will likely break a cap which will then need a replacement which will requirea trip to the HD store for a replacement while the bike remains apart and unrideable.

On reassembly, be extra careful to route the wires out of the housing and along the recess in the handlebars--it's very easy to pinch a wire when reassembling the switch housings causing a short circuit--then you can really get p-o'ed and wonder what you were thinking about to even bother with the project.

 

It is a PITA. You have to pull the housings apart. And if you heat the caps up a bit with a hair dryer it makes them a little more flexible and wont crack as easy.

 

Good luck! I did mine a week or two ago and don't want to do another set anytime soon!!