1992 Fatboy - Harley Forum

ramock · #1 07-23-2008, 11:08 PM

Thanks for the input Frisco-rigid. The bike is back in the shop. I have ridden it over the last week after F&S Harley replaced the battery. I thought was coming and did not think it was the solution but what do I know. After dinner tonight it would not turn over and then another dead battery after trying to start it three times I think. The last work I had done before this crap started was to replace the tank console. I wonder if it is in the ignition switch and told F&S this the last time. They say the electrical system checks out. Today when the bike ran it started to backfire no matter where I choked it at and the bike was warm, not just a cold start. Does the bike have a timing belt/chain and could this be the problem? Tonight when I tried to start it I had it in neutral but it wanted to kick like it was almost in gear before it went dead. I would appreciate some direction. This is getting old.

frisco-rigid · #2 07-24-2008, 12:07 AM

Hi Ram

I had to go back and read the original thread to remember..

This is a real difficult prob cuz it sounds like both Fuel/Carb and Elect..

Do I understand this right.?---You rode it this week and it ran good or at least decently after the New Batt but now it's screwed up again..???? Yes??

With your description of events I still think it must be related to the work on the center console, heck it started right after that work..!

Elect. probs are crappy cuz they can mimic carb probs and vice/versa..

There is no timing belt/chain, only an electronic modual and the other usual suspects (coil, wires, etc.) so if your timing went out then it's really gonna get confusing cuz it would only be outa adjustment if someone messed with it..
BUT--- there are similarities. I'll explain..
The timing weight springs to my ignition broke and the timing was all over the place, it also back-fired and kick-started poorly.. Another time a wire was broken IN-Side the insulation right at the switch and the symptoms were very similar-- back-firing, stalling, dying etc..
My guess is still electric and related to the console work.. Broken wire, short, bad connection,, something under that console..
Ooh BTW---
When starting, pull in the clutch, that will take some strain off the starter cuz it will not have to spin the clutch-hub, main-shaft and tranny gears even if it is in nuetral..

I'll put out a BoLo for Wright, shovel, JC,, we got a guy needs assistance boys..

JCourneyaP · #3 07-24-2008, 04:12 AM

To me it sounds like a wiring problem. Who replaced the console? Has the wiring been re-checked? Thats what I would look at first. I am useless on this one.. Sorry

Shovel, Wright, Ken..........

ramock · #4 07-24-2008, 08:00 AM

Thanks all,
I bought the bike around the beginning of June for F&S Harley in Dayton. It had a cracked console when I bought it and about a month later I replaced it with a new one. F&S did the work. It ran fine prior to that and deteriorated afterwards with the battery crashing, three times so far and finally with a new battery being installed. They also replaced the carb seal during one of its return trip to the dealer because it cold started real rough. After it gets real warmed up it runs fine. I told them my suspicions about the ignition switch and they said they checked it, again. Yesterday when it went dead i had pretty strong turn signals and a head light. I am not sure how bright the head light was because if was late afternoon but all the selenoid would do is click. I knew i should have bought a new bike and a new bike warranty. They only other thing I know to do is have another shop pick it up and work on it. I don't want to get into a grudge match or fist fight at the dealership because they are Harly guys and might kick my ass.

evoKENevo · #5 07-24-2008, 08:40 AM

I've got 'nuthin' that has'nt been said here already...except that in original thread it was mentioned that the electrics AND battery "checked-out" at the dealership...yet this time the battery was replaced. Which is telling me that if they can miss a bad battery,they could be missing other stuff,too.

Could the guy who replaced the cracked console have messed something else up ?
And,could something he messed up have queered other stuff,as a result ?

Or, could this be an entirely new/unrelated issue,in the charging/starter syst'm ??

Does'nt sound like a carb OR ignition (timing) issue,to me. Because,it seems that at times,the bike has been ridden w/o a problem...things like that don't generally just come and go...and, they don't account for the batteries (two different ones) going dead.

Wright,Shovel...anybody ???

PS...does'nt matter if you buy a new OR used bike...stuff DOES happen...new bikes are ONLY new ONE day...most anything CAN be fixed once diagnosed...it's USUALLY some SMALL thing...and there's NO difference in the "run-around", in the meantime...depending on WHO'S doing the work.

ramock · #6 07-24-2008, 01:58 PM

Well, I feel like swearing at this point. I talked to the repair people at F&S and they have my bike to the front of the line, thankfully, and have a tech assigned. Iasked them again to look at the ignition switch. Sincerely now, you think a new bike with a new bike warranty doesn't get a different look than one that is 16 years old?

frisco-rigid · #7 07-24-2008, 02:56 PM

Good to hear that they put your sickle to the front..

Yes, it could be the switch but-- quite often when a customer suggests a fix that's all they do cuz they have no incentive to do more,---- "heck, that's what the customer wanted.."
Catch my drift.?

Even though we could all be wrong, we all think it is something associated with the work done under that new console and THAT'S what I think you should be pushing back at them.. THE SICKLE RAN GOOD BEFORE YOU GUYS WORKED UNDER THE CONSOLE..
Then pay for it with a credit card and if it isn't satifactory charge it back and go elsewhere..
Keep that fire in your belly and keep us informed Daddio..

Wrightturn · #8 07-24-2008, 09:30 PM

Good evening,

Frisco is most likely on target with the dealer having screwed up the console installation. It could be the switch but that would be because the tech wired it wrong. Keep the heat on the dealer to fix this.

If I had to work on your bike I would follow this drill:
1. You need volt-ohmeter to track the problem. Disconnect the battery and connect the ohmeter across the terminals. There should be zero draw (infinity reading) on the meter with the switch off. Something is pulling on the battery if this happens after you turn the bike off causing it to go dead.
2. Open the console and look for spliced wires, tape, scraped or pinched wires. The Harley splice looks like a crimp connector with a little glue on each end. While they look profesional they are an invitation to hook things up wrong. Disconnect things one at a time till you get zero draw and you will kow what circuit is causing the problem.
3. Charge the battery and take a reading after it sits for a couple hours. Start the bike a take a voltage reading across the terminals. Should be up 1.5 to 2 volts. Rule out charging problems.

Print out this thread and take it with you to the dealer. Let him know this is not good advertising.

Buzz Kanter · #9 07-24-2008, 09:51 PM

Wrightturn gets my vote on this one.

If the new battery died after a very short time, my guess is most likely an electrical drain or short. And under the dash is as good a place as any for a wire to ground out and draw the battery down. If not a short, I'd then check out the charging system.

Good luck.

ramock · #10 07-25-2008, 07:56 AM

I will do that. Good ideas and thanks to all. I was thinking on the way into work this morning about what else changed around the time all of this started. I am not a quick thinker but i eventually get where I am going. I put new grips on around this time and had to cut the left one off to get the left grip on. The left grip was part of the light, turn signal, horn housing-one piece. Could this have resulted in a grounding problem or an open circut?