Bike shut down after 40 miles.

[N8KAM]

OK so this is my post from yesterday in the "kickers mi thread" and an update from today's ride.

YEA........ did about 65 miles today myself 60 deg tomorrow through Tuesday Pumped the air ride to 100 lbs and rode like a dream..
Only had 1 problem....At about the 40 mile mark the bike stumbled and stalled out like it was out of gas (a little faster than when you run out of gas actually) Coasted to a stop and checked for power All OK.. got gas? yup.. cranked and started right back up... rode the rest of the way home with no problems.. think it might have been the check valve in the right gas cap.. took it out and will see what happens tomorrow..


OK today went for a ride and only got 12 miles and the bike shut down again.... :angry: so it was NOT the check valve in the gas cap.... This time again at approx 40 mph bike just shut off. coasted to a stop and the speedo still at 40 mph, no oil light, no head light, no neutral light... nothing... turn the key off and then back on and we are all back to normal.. :loony: (Forgot to pull the seat and chk for EHC lights) :bang:

One thing i did not mention yesterday is i had to jump start the bike yesterday for the first ride.. also the first time ever... (i left the key on about a week ago and went back to the garage a few hours later and found the lights flashing) charged and then put it on the tender..

Got home and disconnected the battery and cleaned the terminals and reassembled.. I seem to remember someone here saying that the EHC can get freaked out if batt voltage is low at start-up and disconnecting the battery will clear this condition so i thought it cant hurt.. went for another 35-40 mile ride tonight and no problems... :2thumbs:

Soooo what do y'all think...
1. Did i freak out the ehc with the low battery?
i am going to replace it this week..
2.?????
3.??????

 

[ajo771]

I was having electronic problems on my 07 Chopper. Battery tested good, but out of elimination put another battery in. No problems ever since.

dealer and BD couldnt explain.

 

[Raywood]

N8KAM, seems to me that each time it happened at about the 40 mile mark so I would wonder if you charging system is working properly? If you have a good meter I would put it on there with the bike running and see what voltage you are getting. Ohmster put it on here a few times but I think it should be like 13-14 volts.
If it is then my second guess would be your battery is not holding a charge. Even new batteries sometimes don't hold a charge as we've seen on here numerous times.
Also, I would say with our charging system that by 40 miles you battery should be getting better (increased charge) rather than going bad so again I'm thinking it would again be the battery.
I would still check all the connections and ensure everything is tight and sealed up.
Remember Ohmster preachs not to just check a battery for voltage but put a stress test on it!!!

Good luck,
Ray

 

[Big Ron]

Sure sounds like a low voltage corruption to me but I'll be the first to tell you the electrics on these beasts are not my strong point. Others on here are smarter about this.

Ever since I have been on this board I see a common theme that is don't let the voltage get low in the battery. No problem right, battery tender, ride as often as possible, solid connections, etc.

Battery bad? Who the heck knows until your ready for your next ride when all the grimlins start showing up, if it starts at all.

I just wish they weren't so voltage drop sensitive and could handle a slightly sluggish battery until it gets a little ride time on it.

Anyway, because they are like they are, I charge my battery about every week in the winter time.

You say disconnecting the the battery may have cleared a possible corruption. Interesting:up: I have done that on my F-150 Ford after I pulled to Utah and back so it would reset the transmission but have not needed to clear the dog yet.

Good luck on solving the problem. Interstate has a 310cca battery that will replace our 270 battery.

 

[Chopper Dave]

John....did you say you jumped your bike? maybe that spiked something in the EHC....I heard that jumping your bike can pop the circuit breaker....or maybe like Ray said....your battery might be weak.....If you have a weak cell in your battery...it will still show up green on the battery tender ....I am running the Interstate 310CCA battery now...and I still keep it plugged into the battery tender jr. after every ride...

 

[emcclary]

I had a similar issue early on hopefully it is the easy fix. Check the battery terminals like Raywood said. My bike died on me and I found the battery cable was loose. Not hanging loose just not fully tightened after I retorqued the bolts not a problem. I still check them every couple of months just in case

 

[N8KAM]

John....did you say you jumped your bike? maybe that spiked something in the EHC....I heard that jumping your bike can pop the circuit breaker....or maybe like Ray said....your battery might be weak.....If you have a weak cell in your battery...it will still show up green on the battery tender ....I am running the Interstate 310CCA battery now...and I still keep it plugged into the battery tender jr. after every ride...

Yea i did jump it but i remember Gas saying he did with the jump vehic running and it spiked something... so i had the jump vehic off.. And No more breaker with the VR recall.

I am going to pick up a new battery this week :2thumbs:

 

[Gas Man]

I had something similar happen today... had the bike keep cutting out... but I think its more of those funky connectors... so I'm changing them all out later this week and going straight soldier...

For you Kam... maybe the battery. I have this neat battery checker that I may start carring.

 

[N8KAM]

You running the same battery as Dave?

 

[Chopper Dave]

You running the same battery as Dave?

I think Gas is running a HD AGM battery Kam....

 

[Gas Man]

Nope AGM HD battery.

 

[N8KAM]

Thanks guys.

 

[lee]

I am guessing a bit here but if the battery was weak, or it was not charging when running, would the bike have started right up after it stopped? as we all know, the heaviest load on the battery is when it is cranking - or is it a different story when the engine is warmed up? could it be a loose connection, or a short, somewhere in the ignition system?

 

[woodysan]

Loctite!

:up: :2thumbs: :flag: Please loctite ALL battery and ground connections. Freindly advice! And :2thumbs: use batt tender. Woodysan

 

[N8KAM]

OK another update... and FYI I always have the tender on it if it sits more than a day.. So after the positive ride last night i rode to work today (the long way) 10-12 miles no problems. 1/4 mile out of work on the way home..... Quits. :angry: But this time i took the seat off and looked at the EHC and ALL the lights are on solid cycle the key and back to normal. picking up the battery tomorrow... and I think I might pm Ohmster..

 

[lee]

i would definitely pm Ohmster - let us know what you find out

 

[N8KAM]

Well I have been PMing with OHMSTER and I thought I would post the info here incase anyone else has a similar problem. First he had me chk the ign switch here is the PM...

I would look at the key switch. What you are describing is a possible intermittent power issue to the EHC and generally the key switch is the problem. If you turn the key switch on and wiggle the switch about 10 degrees at the most and power goes off on the bike or all the LED's light up on the EHC it is the switch. I would check that first.

So I checked the switch and I believe it is fine. A positive on position (spring tension) can be felt and it takes about 1/4 turn before the bike turns off and everything is off. Also the switch was replaced in February of 07 because the key would fall out...

So I told him this info and the next step is this in another PM

Ok if you don't think it is the key switch then there are a couple of other places to look at. What you describe is what we call a "brown" out condition. You are loosing all power quickly but it is coming back on. This puts your EHC in the bootloader mode and it sticks till you cycle the key back off and on. Look at your positive and negative wires at the battery for your EHC. Black wire and red wire, both 10 ga. wires and see if your terminals are crimped tight and the wires don’t wiggle in the terminal. Also, was your ignition module relocation recall done? It is possible it is an EHC but I am leaning towards a power interruption at this time. See what you find on the battery terminal wiring and let me know.

So tonight I checked the Battery terminals Cleaned and rearranged the main cables on the battery so that the main heavy gauge wires for the starter are on the bottom and tightened them down (the Neg side seemed a bit loose) found No problems with the crimping started the bike and wiggle tested all the wires and found nothing. Also checked the charging rate while I was there and found it at 13.9 to 14.2
I guess I need to ride it a bit more and see if the Neg terminal was an issue...

 

[Gas Man]

I hate that feeling Kam. Riding around, trying to shake things out, not knowing if the bike will get where you want to go. Can't ride to work cause you're not sure it will make it there. Your faith in the bike not around... it sucks.

 

[N8KAM]

PM'd Ohmster last Wednesday with my latest observation...with the neg cable a bit loose and this was his reply.
If the neg side was a bit loose then that could possibly be the problem. Once it stops raining and you get some ride time let me know the outcome. If it is still doing it, it could be a couple of other things like the key switch wiring under the tank or even an ignition module. I am leaning towards a wiring issue though. Keep me posted.

Yesterday i pulled the left tank and checked the wiring to the ign switch and found no problems. not enough time to take a ride (too many other things to do) so waited for the SNOW:angry: :bang: to stop today and when i went to start the bike the battery didnt have enough power to crank the bike and yes the tender has been on it :angry: So I'll pick up that battery tomorrow

 

[Chopper Dave]

what kind of battery are you going to get John?