Engine starts then quits

[jeffdean]

From intermittent strong or reduced power and missing start-ups my 1200 XL now starts for a couple of revs then dies. Every once in awhile it will fire up and run fine with no problems until the next start-up. I cleaned the tank,screen and bottom of carb. Vents and vacuums are open. Battery,coil, and wires checked out O.K. The dealership has it now and a bunch of young buck techs are as perplexed as I am, but I can be perplexed, I'm not a mechanic. I'm also pissed, I gotta H.O.G. rally comin' up in a week. The dealership changed out the intake seals and that didn't work. I talked to an out of town Harley tech and he said hit the ground points, starter relay, ignition switch and if that doesn't work change out the ignition module. Is he on the right track? Thanks for reading this nightmare, Jeff.....

[harley92]

Originally Posted by jeffdean

From intermittent strong or reduced power and missing start-ups my 1200 XL now starts for a couple of revs then dies. Every once in awhile it will fire up and run fine with no problems until the next start-up. I cleaned the tank,screen and bottom of carb. Vents and vacuums are open. Battery,coil, and wires checked out O.K. The dealership has it now and a bunch of young buck techs are as perplexed as I am, but I can be perplexed, I'm not a mechanic. I'm also pissed, I gotta H.O.G. rally comin' up in a week. The dealership changed out the intake seals and that didn't work. I talked to an out of town Harley tech and he said hit the ground points, starter relay, ignition switch and if that doesn't work change out the ignition module. Is he on the right track? Thanks for reading this nightmare, Jeff.....

when it starts and dies how does it sound and what year is the bike .it sounds like a fuel problem .when you took the bowl of was it full ,did the needle and float move freely ? does it restart right away

[RAJ1024]

When you say it runs fine until the next startup. Do you mean it will run fine until you shut it off and then go to start it again? May be the kill switch is giving you the problem? Just my 2 cents. Good Luck

[SNUFFY]

evo xl,s are notorious for bad ignition modules
thery start and run fine cold
run till you shut them off
then will not hot start
after they cool down they will start and run again
the module is in the nose cone
they take a lot of heat
they also have a start then run mode built into them
daytona twin tech has igntion modules for the xl specific
full advance if differant then a evo big twin althought the big twins work they are not correct
they also have the highist temp rating of any nose cone module
only other module with correct timming are the hd and screaming eagle
good luck
i have chased this critter once before its hard to catch

[RAJ1024]

After reading your post, I am curious as to what you found to fix your problem? I posted here a few weeks ago with a similar problem. I have a 90 FLHTC and the bike would run fine and then all of a sudden run rough and then smooth out. The other day it quit completey leaving me stranded on the side of the road...not a good feeling.. I had nothing, not able to restart the engine. Then all of a sudden it would start back up and run fine again.
I have had it in a shop for a week and everytime they ride it is runs fine, then I take it home and a few days later it acts up....maybe it's me??
I am leaning towards the Ignition Module after reading your post. Would love to hear how you made out. Thanks