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[CVOMOE!!]

I had the relay problem on my 2003 Ultra Classic and it definitely shuts the bike down totally just as you describe.  Very unnerving to say the least.  My wife's 2003 Heritage Softtail was doing what you describe as well and it turned out to be a frayed wire in the right hand switch gear.  Both of these have been offered as potential causes above to I'm pretty sure it will be one or the other. 

Cheers and good luck.

Moe

[East Coast]

Thanks Moe. Yes, that seems to be the consensus. Dealer is closed today, I'll pick up some new relay's and a main breaker tomorrow.

[Twolanerider]

Thanks Moe. Yes, that seems to be the consensus. Dealer is closed today, I'll pick up some new relay's and a main breaker tomorrow.

That main breaker is a common item.  If the dealer even still stocks it it'll cost a lot more than buying the same thing at a local parts store.  Unhook your battery, take the breaker and head to Autozone or whatever else you've got locally to match it up.  Look in the automotive electrics sections.  Probably will have a yellow card with Buss or Bussman as the mftr. 

[East Coast]

Thanks, I'll give that a shot.

[timo482]

my oo had a regular repeated main breaker thing, then there was a recall, new wire, new breaker - never another problem till i traded it in.

and the 00? - that is the bike i still regret trading in...

to

[East Coast]

Left work early to have a peek at the breaker, this is what I found. The ignition and voltage regulator wires attached to the silver stud were not very tight, I was able to move them left and right on the stud without much effort. The starter cable was secure on the copper stud. I also noticed some of the wrapping around the eyelet of the voltage regulator wire seems to have fallen off. I am the original owner and have never touched the main breaker or the wires going to it. I cleaned them up with a wire brush, look 100% better! Will pick up breaker tomorrow.

[East Coast]

Pic 2, wires removed.

[Twolanerider]

What you described in the original post sounds much more like a breaker than a cable issue.  But......  Harley battery and main cables are notorious for not being all that great.  Since the breakers are cheap and easy (nearly everything that is cheap and easy is good, right ?) and given your description the breaker is certainly a great place to swap a part to try.  But don't discount the possibility of a bad crimp on the end of a cable somewhere.  You wouldn't be the first to need to replace some cables.  Good luck getting it sorted .

[East Coast]

Agreed. I replaced the ground cable for the battery last month when I replaced the battery. The cable had rubbed against the oil tank and was in bad shape. Yeah, I'll be giving the wiring and connections a real good once over this week.

Question, wouldn't a bad crimp or short typically blow a fuse first and not cause a total loss of power? Or, could a short or crimp create a heat source in the wiring and pop the main breaker?

Thanks for your replies and input!
Erich

[OBB]

Agreed. I replaced the ground cable for the battery last month when I replaced the battery. The cable had rubbed against the oil tank and was in bad shape. Yeah, I'll be giving the wiring and connections a real good once over this week.

Question, wouldn't a bad crimp or short typically blow a fuse first and not cause a total loss of power? Or, could a short or crimp create a heat source in the wiring and pop the main breaker?

Thanks for your replies and input!
Erich

A bad crimp will leave you with an "open" circuit if it isn't making a good connection. Same as taking the power cable off the bike.

[gmeikle]

Good photos , and an "easy fix"

Having seen them , i would also be stripping/semi stripping the ignition switch as well.

Tank mounted switches seem the most prone to it ?

I've seen them corrode up real fast here in Perth Western Australia , as we get almost a daily sea breeze with remnant salt.

I've had to strip/clean 2 of my own bikes before now , a 2000 Deuce and a 2006 Anniversary Dyna

Exact same symptoms as your bike mate , dying in roundabouts etc. "Sphincter twitching moments" indeed !!

Only cleaning / labour and lubricant(s). I have reccomended that to several other Aussie bikers with good results

I have also removed many defective Power Commander units of that age, but that's already been mentioned.

[Twolanerider]

Agreed. I replaced the ground cable for the battery last month when I replaced the battery. The cable had rubbed against the oil tank and was in bad shape. Yeah, I'll be giving the wiring and connections a real good once over this week.

Question, wouldn't a bad crimp or short typically blow a fuse first and not cause a total loss of power? Or, could a short or crimp create a heat source in the wiring and pop the main breaker?

Thanks for your replies and input!
Erich

Those are all possibilities.  Would depend on where the extra resistance from the poor connection impacted most.  Easiest enough to at least accept the possibility that extra resistance from a poor or loose connection on a 10 year resettable circuit breaker (that already has some corrosion of its own) could be a problem. 

You're in the fortunate position to have some relatively easy and inexpensive options in front of you for basic troubleshooting no matter which of them the problem turns out to be.  Honestly were it me I'd likely swap the breaker, ride it for a bit, then even if it didn't act up swap the questionable looking cables too.  Just to be sure.  The bikes are too  damned heavy to push home to save the cost of a cheap-ish cable replacement.

[East Coast]

Just a quick follow up. I replaced the breaker today and took the bike for a quick ride, all went well. so far so good, time will tell. I forgot to mention in the start of this thread before I took the bike out last week I noticed my auxiliary lights were not working, I didn't think anything of it at the time. I have replaced a few bulbs over the last 18 months, it seemed every time I took the bike out one was blown. After I returned from the ride today I flipped the switch on and both lights were working. Hopefully cleaning up the wire ends and tightening the main circuit breaker connections has solved that problem and the shut down bug!

Thank you all for your replies and helping me out! 

[GOVIKES1439]

Major Gremlin!

I haven't ridden the bike in a while and decided to take a quick spin this afternoon. The bike started right up and was running normal. As I was into the ride for 10-15 minutes the bike just shut down while cruising. I had no power at all as if the battery was removed from the bike, completely dead! See attached pic, the speedo needle remained at the speed I was cruising in when the bike shut down. This is the third time this has happened while riding over the last two years, speedo holds shown speed after bike shuts down.  It is intermittent, it doesn't happen all the time. I coasted off the road, waited 2-3 minutes, turned the ignition switch on and had power. The bike was difficult to start but fired up and didn't want to hold an idle, it ran okay as long as I was on the throttle. I rode another 15 minutes to my brothers place where the bike stalled while parking. I waited 20 minutes, hit the button and it fired right up. The bike ran great on the way home, held an idle as if nothing happened?

The bike is a 2002 Heritage Springer with top end motor work which was done 7 years ago, I have a Power Commander USB 3 on it. I have short apes with internal wiring which was done 8 years ago. I swapped out tins recently and replaced the rear harness with a new one. All connections to the battery are clean and tight. I checked the ignition switch, all looks good, clean and all connections tight, switch still snaps on and off. I am not blowing any fuses. I am not showing in diagnostic codes.

Anyone have any ideas what would cause a total loss of power while riding?

Faulty ignition switch? ECM? The Power Commander?

Thanks in advance!!
Erich

I had the same problem on a Dyna, found it to be the main breaker from the battery to the bike.  This is a resettable breaker and when it goes bad or when it gets hot, it can shut down your bike.  It just needs to be replaced, about $10.

[ltank]

One thing to remember about the thermal circuit breakers that reset. Each time they reset the rated amperage that they are set for debates the breaker and it will reset to trip at a slightly lower rating