[R. N. Bullock]

My 03 electra glide had a recall for faulty 40 amp main circuit breaker that would cause complete power loss. I had recall service performed which consisted of upgrading to 50 amp breaker. I'm on my third breaker and I'm still having the same problem. Usually occurs after sitting in heavy traffic, and as I start to pull away from traffic light I completely loose electrical and mechanical power. It's appears to be heat related. After waiting for 2 - 3 minutes I regain power and it will restart. I've had it to several dealerships and they can't seem to reproduce the problem. Of course they don't take it out into heavy, slow moving, traffic. My biggest concern is loosing power in the unforgiving traffic. They really get irritated when your bike shuts down in rush hour traffic. Let me know if anyone has had a similar problem or a solution.

 

[mlewis]

Even for an EG, a 50 amp draw under any normal circumstance seems way excessive. Perhaps if you’re operating extra running lights and or a supper high wattage stereo you might get up near that point. Whatever the source of the high current draw is, what probably is happening is that while you’re idling away in traffic the battery reaches a low state of charge as the alternator may have insufficient output to keep up. Meanwhile, the breaker warms up from both the air temp and the static power draw. When traffic allows you to pickup motor rpm, the alternator now tries to recharge the battery which adds to the static current draw, exceeding the 50 amp trip point. You should try to identify what item is drawing so much current with an Ammeter and decide if it is normal for that device or necessary to operate. To test, place a 50 Amp minimum rated Ammeter in series with the suspect breaker or just swap the Ammeter with the breaker terminals. Starting with everything in an off state, then turn each device on and off one by one and note the current draw. Add them all up and see how close to 50 Amps you get. If any one item seems to draw way higher than the rest, investigate what is normal for that device. Also, are you idling above the minimum (~950) recommended RPM? Staying well within the recommended RPM range may help prevent battery discharge at idle.

 

[Zeus]

the factory fix is to replace the 3 terminal ends at the main circuit breaker-1 on the copper post & 2 on the silver post

 

[tbull55]

Zeus,
Can it be that easy? Would he have to replace the terminal ends with bigger connectors? I am not having this problem as of yet but the problem sounds so simple to fix!! Are the connectors to small and as a result they get over heated? I have very limited knowledge and I'm interested in any easy fixes should I develop this problem in the future. Could you explain what the deal is. Please excuse my ignorance on this.

Thanks,
Tbull

 

[Zeus]

Zeus,
Can it be that easy? Would he have to replace the terminal ends with bigger connectors? I am not having this problem as of yet but the problem sounds so simple to fix!! Are the connectors to small and as a result they get over heated? I have very limited knowledge and I'm interested in any easy fixes should I develop this problem in the future. Could you explain what the deal is. Please excuse my ignorance on this.

Thanks,
Tbull

I Ran across this problem twice last summer after doing the circuit breaker recall 0n 2-2003 vehicles-in both cases the circuit breaker would over heat & shut down-according to the motor company the terminal ends at the main circuit breaker used in production on some 2003 vehicles causes excessive resistance (heat) over time & should be replaced with good quality after market terminals-this fix corrected the problem in both vehicles-it also fixed a similar problem on a V Rod-I used the same size terminal ends and doubt bigger would be better

 

[tbull55]

Cool,
Sounds like that would do the trick! I'll keep that one in the back of the old steel trap and one day some one will be having this problem and I'll just spout off how to fix it and then I'll just sit back and look cool!!!!!!!

Thanks Zeus