Need help Troubleshooting : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

Seahag · 08-14-2005, 08:35 PM

We were out ridin with some friends today and 150 miles into the day my buddy pulls me over to tell me his turn signals aren't working and neither was his horn. Well we stopped at the next service station and discovered that besides the symptoms already mentioned, his brake light didn't work (tail light did...it just didn't get brighter when you applied brake), the speedometer is stuck at 20mph and does not return to zero or go up when you exceed 20mph...He also claimed that it wasn't running as well and popped on decel and such like it did prior to having the SERT installed and dyno tuned....Could it have blown the SERT and resorted to its base map?

Headlights, taillights, ignition, tach...all worked properly

Heres what we tried: We pulled the seat, saddlebags, and side covers....checked connections to the battery, checked all fuses (only visually...no meter along), pulled the speedo sensor and cleaned it...even though it was pretty clean....ended up disconnecting the battery for 20-30 minutes to see if the ECM or whatever would reset and fix itself...it didn't

Well we tried everything we could think of on the side of the road...so we headed back early and I've forwarded him the Diagnostic Troubleshooting guidelines stickied in the twin cam tech section. Those codes are supposed to be for 2004 touring bikes but I'm hoping its basically the same as my buddy's bike is a 2003 Road Glide...tricked out with HTCC heads, pistons, and SERT.

So if anyone has run into a similar problem or can offer us some help, we'd greatly appreciate it. We'd like to try to do the run that got cut short today in a couple weeks again...so we have either got to figure it out on our own or shell out the big bucks ($90.00/hr) to have the "pros" look into it.

Thanks,

Clay

08-14-2005, 09:01 PM

Odd,

Two posts with nearly identical problems in the same evening. Bad ignition switch. The "B" position, for accesories, is bad. It's the R/GY wire from the swticth to the fuse block.

Harris

Snaps · 08-14-2005, 10:37 PM

I had a problem with my Wide Glide where the speedo and odometer started to act erratically. I traced the problem to a wire bundle that was chaffing underneath the tank console. A couple of the wires had grounded out on a clip under there. A little electrical tape and some repositioning, and I haven't had a problem since.

I know there's not a lot of room under the seats for SERTS and such, so I'd look around that area for pinched or chaffed wires.

Seahag · 08-15-2005, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harris

Odd,

Two posts with nearly identical problems in the same evening. Bad ignition switch. The "B" position, for accesories, is bad. It's the R/GY wire from the swticth to the fuse block.

Harris

Harris...Could you clarify this for me? I looked for another thread with a similar post and didn't find one. Are you saying YOU had this same problem and found the source to be those wires? Are you also saying its all three of those maladies? What is the "B" position for accessories anyway? My accessory switch just seems to be ON/OFF.

hogg831 · 08-15-2005, 07:15 AM

...I'd put a test light to the fuse. All the items you list are on the same circuit. I encountered the same on an 03 Ultra, visual indicated good fuse, test light indicated otherwise.

08-15-2005, 07:22 AM

Clay,

I didn't have this problem. That is the common denominator for those symptoms. The "accesory" setting is position "B" on the ignition switch wiring (connector 33A from the ign switch to the main harness). It is supposed to be hot when the switch is in either the "acc" or the run position. The switch is apparently not making proper contact on your bike.

Just over one hour before yours, this was posted:

http://www.v-twinforum.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=60577

That's what I ws saying was odd, was that the same problem would show up nearly simultaneously on two bikes.

Harris

08-15-2005, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hogg831

...I'd put a test light to the fuse. All the items you list are on the same circuit. I encountered the same on an 03 Ultra, visual indicated good fuse, test light indicated otherwise.

The items aren't common to a single fuse, but they are all on the ignition branch of the wiring harness.

Harris

Seahag · 08-15-2005, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harris

Clay,

I didn't have this problem. That is the common denominator for those symptoms. The "accesory" setting is position "B" on the ignition switch wiring (connector 33A from the ign switch to the main harness). It is supposed to be hot when the switch is in either the "acc" or the run position. The switch is apparently not making proper contact on your bike.

Just over one hour before yours, this was posted:

http://www.v-twinforum.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=60577

That's what I ws saying was odd, was that the same problem would show up nearly simultaneously on two bikes.

Harris

Thanks for that link Harris...It appears my friend has another thing in common with the Ultra guy....He was in a hurry to clean his bike up before the ride, so he took it to a pressure washer the night before. I'll pass along the suggestion to try compressed air on the ignition switch. I figured if there water a water intrusion, it would have shown up before we got so far into that ride.

Clay.

08-15-2005, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seahag

Thanks for that link Harris...It appears my friend has another thing in common with the Ultra guy....He was in a hurry to clean his bike up before the ride, so he took it to a pressure washer the night before.

Clay.

I'll bet that's it then.

Harris

STxFarmer · 08-15-2005, 09:40 AM

Since I am on the road for two weeks I always end up taking my bike to the local car wash to get the bugs off. At the car wash where my problem developed it only had the high pressure, not the lower pressure when the unit turns on. I always use the lower pressure just to hydrate the bugs and then they wash off with the lower pressure. This was "all or nothing". So now I have a problem that Harris helped me out on. The rain and the other car washes over the first 3500 miles did nothing to the bike, just this one car wash. Not fun when you still have 1500 miles to go in the next four days.

Seahag · 08-15-2005, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STxFarmer

Since I am on the road for two weeks I always end up taking my bike to the local car wash to get the bugs off. At the car wash where my problem developed it only had the high pressure, not the lower pressure when the unit turns on. I always use the lower pressure just to hydrate the bugs and then they wash off with the lower pressure. This was "all or nothing". So now I have a problem that Harris helped me out on. The rain and the other car washes over the first 3500 miles did nothing to the bike, just this one car wash. Not fun when you still have 1500 miles to go in the next four days.

Did you get a chance to try the compressed air yet?...If so, did it work for you? I've forwarded this info to my friend but haven't heard back from him as of yet.

rolorich20 · 06-11-2012, 04:55 AM

rolorich20;2140941]I have an 2002 roadking. 48000 miles. I have a stalling or missing what I describe it as. I ride and when I stop and turn it off for a short time. When I crank it up and start to take off it bucks stalls or misses until I crank on it hard then it stops. It also seems to back fire alot more then usual. Riding down the highway no problem runs great. Its the low speed crapping out that concerns me. Im hoping its an easy fix cause I cant afford a major bill to repair it. Can you help me out and get me looking in the right place to repair it or do I have to take it to harley?